2015.03.08_Not to Be a Spiritual Orphan

Spiritual People

God is the true Father. Although Christians call God as their Father, many of them today fail to receive His comfort. This is because they seek to fellowship with God by their flesh. The flesh has no communion with God. For this reason God breathed in to man the breath of life to become a spiritual being.
The spirit of man that was dead due to Adam’s fall, came to life through Jesus Christ. We are spiritual people, as the ones who have become God’s children in Jesus Christ. However it is disappointing that a great number of Christians only acknowledge those who have special spiritual gifts as spiritual men, but deny their own status as a spiritual person. This kind of passive attitude is a serious hindrance to one’s spiritual life which surely needs to succeed. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeem the time, because the days are evil.” While the words, ‘the days are evil’ does suggest there is serious moral corruption, in a deeper sense, it actually means maintaining our spiritual life is very difficult. In the present age of advanced scientific civilization, we must be watchful and on guard in order to succeed our spiritual lives.

Jesus Fulfilled the Two Requirements of the Law

The Law constantly demands man to observe the commands. If a person obeys all the commands of the Law but fails to keep one, he will have to pay the price of that sin. The Law demands two things from man. First, it requires man to confess that he is a sinner, and secondly, to pay the price of sin. Every man is a slave to the Law; no one can escape its rule. Jesus Christ came to the earth to liberate man bound under the Law.
Jesus Christ fulfilled these two requirements of the Law in the place of mankind. He is the sinless Son of God, and yet He was punished like a sinner. The punishment of the cross He bore, is more than enough to offset the eternal punishment man was to receive. Hence, in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Law can demand nothing further nor extend any more power upon man.
Although many people say they believe in Jesus Christ, they still regard themselves as sinners. This is noticeable in the way that they pray. “Lord, I sinned again. Wash away my sins by Your precious blood!” This kind of prayer is not entirely incorrect. Then again, it is difficult to say that it is completely in line with the Gospel.
Strictly speaking, the power of the blood is not the washing our sins but paying the price of sin. Everyone has to die eventually. The problem is that afterwards, they must face eternal punishment as the price of sin. However Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the price of man’s sins once and for all, and we have come into Him. We are no longer sinners but the children of God, whom He deemed righteous. God does not take sinners as His children.
In spite of this, so many Christians accept the authority of the Law again. For example, if their children fall over and get hurt, they say, “O Lord, I’m a sinner. It’s my fault. They got hurt because of my sin.” Jesus Christ fulfilled the two requirements of the Law by coming in the flesh and dying on the cross. First, He carried our sins, and second, He received the punishment due us. We have accepted this truth and received baptism to be united with Jesus Christ.

A Sinner or God’s Child?

The Law cannot demand anything from the one who has been baptized. We are now sons of God, not slaves to the Law. Because people do not have faith, they still think like they are slaves to the Law even after being baptized. The Devil targets such people and condemns them saying, “You’re a sinner and you must pay the price of your sin. You’re going to be punished to death.” We must not fall into this deception of the Devil and say, “I’m a sinner!” We ought to declare, “I am a child of God!”
As long as we are in the flesh, we will never be faultless. Even so, we must not treat ourselves as a sinner. Rather than saying, “I’m a sinner,” it is far better to acknowledge God by saying, “I rely on Your grace and mercy, God!” Jesus does not die on the cross day after day. Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” The death of Jesus Christ happened only once. If anyone professes to be a sinner after receiving grace, he is bringing ruin upon himself. Hebrews 10:26-27 says, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
The name Jesus bears a very important meaning. Matthew 1:21 says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” In the past we were under the Law, found to be sinners, and doomed to perish. But through Jesus Christ we have now been saved. We have been delivered from the Law, sin and punishment of Hell.
Now we need to follow the Law of the Holy Spirit. Those who follow the Law of the Holy Spirit call as Father in Jesus Christ. Christians should not doubt their relationship with God just because their business or personal matters do not work out as planned. Whether believer or non-believer, everyone has to work hard to be successful in this world. But they cannot receive the love of God as His children by means of their hard work and labor. God did bless the flesh also, by which the flesh can be fruitful and multiply. Nevertheless, that blessing cannot aid the spirit. Hence one should not judge his own spiritual condition with either worldly success or failure.

God’s Word is Perceptible Only When the Spirit is Clean

How can we know that our spirit has been saved, that is, our spirit has been cleansed? It is evidenced by the fact that we are able to hear the word of God. Fleshly (earthly) blessing is given to both Christians and unbelievers. God gives the sun and the rain to them alike. Anyone can be blessed in the flesh if they are honest and hard-working in this world. But that cannot save our spirit. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (Jn 6:63).
The spirit of man that died due to Adam’s sin, was brought to life through Jesus Christ. As those in Jesus Christ, we are spiritual people. That is why we are able to receive the spiritual words of God. God’s word is spirit (Jn 1:1), and hence our flesh cannot receive God’s word. It is only our spirit that can receive God’s word.
If someone has been united with Jesus Christ but is unable to hear the word of God, it is because his spirit has been blinded (2 Cor 4:4). On a foggy day when visibility is low, there is an increased chance of collisions on highways. Similarly, if the Devil, deceiving spirits and demons blind people’s spirit, they cannot see Jesus Christ who is the Way for our spirit (Jn 14:6). Such people might appear to be zealously living by faith, but they do not have the assurance of salvation in their heart.

For people who fail to see the Way, giving offering would seem like a waste of money. They would be miserly in their offering. On the contrary, those who do see the Way would give joyfully and store their treasure up in Heaven. With all of their heart, they would prepare their offering in advance before the Lord’s Day comes (1 Cor 16:2). This is because they could hear the Lord’s words, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21).
When our spirit is clean, the Word enters us. And it is the Holy Spirit who brings the Word into our spirit (Jn 14:26). Our spirit is blessed when the Word comes in. During the creation of the world, God did not create anything on the seventh day, but blessed that day and rested on it. God made the Israelites remember the Sabbath. By doing so, He made them remember that God had blessed that day for Him to dwell in it. In the same way, God gave His blessing to our spirit. Yet we cannot receive His blessing if our spirit is unclean. Our spirit has to be saved and sanctified in order to receive blessings.

Not to Be a Spiritual Orphan

The reality of an orphaned child is truly sad and tragic. Even if the orphans become successful after being raised in the orphanage, they bear a painful anguish and sense of loneliness of not knowing their parents. Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (Jn 14:18). The fact that He has gone into Heaven after His resurrection, does not mean that He has abandoned us. He is with us by the Holy Spirit. 1 John 3:24 says, “We know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” The Holy Spirit abiding in us means Jesus is in us, which in turn means that the Father abides within us.
Jesus said, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20). When we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us, God the Father will love us (Jn 14:21). Faith is about receiving God’s love. To practice self-discipline whilst failing to receive God’s love is not faith. The Pharisees were men of great self-discipline and yet Jesus said to them, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (Jn 8:44).
Souls that cannot receive God’s love are like orphans without parents. God sent us the Holy Spirit so that He may pour His love without limit. No longer should we remain bound under the Law, but follow the Law of the Holy Spirit. If anyone is oppressed by the Law and does not have spiritual freedom, his spirit is unclean. If his spirit is unclean, he is unable to hear God’s word, and without God’s word, one cannot receive God’s love. Since Jesus has saved us from the Law, we must now follow the Law of the Holy Spirit. By receiving God’s love, we should be joyful and blessed through the Holy Spirit.