• InTruth

    by Published on 06-30-2017 10:15 PM     Number of Views: 1475 
    1. Categories:
    2. Spiritual Warfare

    Make No Provision for the Flesh

    If we allow the Spirit of God to do a deeper work by the cross our circumcision will become increasingly real. “We are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3.3). That confidence in the flesh is relinquished through the circumcision performed without hands. The Apostle makes glorying in Christ Jesus the center of everything. He explains to us that there is danger on the one side yet security on the other. Putting confidence in the flesh tends to destroy glorying in Christ Jesus, but worship in spirit gives us the blessed joy of life and truth. The Holy Spirit uplifts the Lord Jesus but humbles the flesh. If we genuinely desire to glory in Christ and to let Him secure glory in us, we must receive the circumcision of the cross and learn to worship in the Holy Spirit. Do not be impatient for impatience is of the flesh. Do not try different methods because they are useful solely in helping the flesh. We must distrust the flesh entirely, however good or able it may be. We should trust instead the Holy Spirit and submit to Him alone. With such trust and obedience the flesh will be humbly kept in its proper place of curse and accordingly lose all its power. May God be gracious to us that we may put no confidence in the flesh—yea, that we may look down upon ourselves and acknowledge how unreliable and utterly fruitless is our flesh. This is a very real death. Without it there can be no life.

    “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh” (Gal. 5.13). We have obtained freedom in the Lord; let us not therefore give any opportunity to the flesh, for its rightful place is death. Do not unconsciously construe the activity of the Holy Spirit to be your own, but forever be on guard lest the flesh should be revived. Do not usurp the glory of His triumph and thereby afford the flesh a chance to resume operation. Do not grow overconfident following a few victories; if so, your fall cannot be far away. When you have learned how to overcome and the flesh has long lost its power, never imagine that thereafter you are altogether triumphant over it. Should you not rely upon the Holy Spirit you will soon be thrown once more into a distressing experience. With holy diligence you must cultivate an attitude of dependency, else you will be the target of the flesh’s attack. The least pride will supply the flesh an opportunity. Do not be fearful over the possibility you may lose face before others. The Apostle, immediately after his teaching on the crucifixion of the flesh and walking in the Spirit, said: “Let us not become vainglorious” (Gal. 5.26 Darby ). If you humbly recognize how worthless you are before God, then you will not attempt to vaunt yourself before men. Suppose you hide the weakness of your flesh before men in order to receive glory. Are you not unwittingly giving occasion to the flesh for its activity? The Holy Spirit can help and strengthen us, but He Himself will not supplant us in performing what is our responsibility. Therefore to fulfill that responsibility we on the one hand must maintain the attitude of rendering no occasion to the flesh; but on the other hand we must put that attitude into actual practice when called upon to deny the flesh in all the daily realities of our walk.

    “Make no provision,” exhorts Paul, “for the flesh” (Rom. 13.14). For the flesh to operate it needs a harbinger. That is why no provision ought to be made for it. If the flesh is to be kept confined to the place of curse, we must be watchful always. We must examine our thoughts continually to see whether or not we harbor the least self-conceit, for certainly such an attitude will give great opportunity to the flesh. Our thoughts are most important here because what is provided for in the secrecy of our thought life will come forth openly in words and deeds. The flesh must never be offered any ground. Even when conversing with others we need to be on the alert lest in many words the flesh is equipped to perform its work. We may love to say many things, but if these are not uttered in the Holy Spirit it is better to say nothing. The same applies to our deeds. The flesh can conjure up many plans and methods and be full of expectations. It has its opinions, power and ability. To others and even to ourselves, these may appear to be quite commendable and acceptable. But let us be reckless enough to destroy even the best of them for fear of violating the Lord’s commandment. The best the flesh has to offer must be delivered mercilessly to death for the simple reason that it belongs to the flesh. The righteousness of the flesh is as abhorrent as is its sin. Its good acts should be repented of just as much and as humbly as its sinful deeds. We must always maintain God’s view of the flesh.

    In case we fail, we must examine ourselves, confess our sin, and resort to the cleansing of the precious blood. “Let us purify ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7.1 Darby). Not only must there be the work of the Holy Spirit and that of the precious blood; we ourselves must work towards cleansing too. We must search out all the uncleannesses of the flesh and consign them to the cross of our Lord. Even the best that is done—though it may not be sinful according to man—is nevertheless condemned by God as unclean. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” This covers both the person and his deeds. God is not so much interested in the form or shape as in the source. Hence we must be purified
    by Published on 07-07-2015 08:23 PM     Number of Views: 1100 
    1. Categories:
    2. Dividing Spirit, Soul, Body

    The ORDINARY CONCEPT of the constitution of human beings is dualistic—soul and body. According to this concept soul is the invisible inner spiritual part, while body is the visible outer corporal part. Though there is some truth to this, it is nevertheless inaccurate. Such an opinion comes from fallen man, not from God; apart from God’s revelation, no concept is dependable. That the body is man’s outward sheath is undoubtedly correct, but the Bible never confuses spirit and soul as though they are the same. Not only are they different in terms; their very natures differ from each other. The Word of God does not divide man into the two parts of soul and body. It treats man, rather, as tripartite—spirit, soul and body. 1 Thessalonians 5.23 reads: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse precisely shows that the whole man is divided into three parts. The Apostle Paul refers here to the complete sanctification of believers, “sanctify you wholly.” According to the Apostle, how is a person wholly sanctified? By his spirit and soul and body being kept. From this we can easily understand that the whole person comprises these three parts. This verse also makes a distinction between spirit and soul; otherwise, Paul would have said simply “your soul.” Since God has distinguished the human spirit from the human soul, we conclude that man is composed of not two, but three, parts: spirit, soul and body.

    Is it a matter of any consequence to divide spirit and soul? It is an issue of supreme importance for it affects tremendously the spiritual life of a believer. How can a believer understand spiritual life if he does not know what is the extent of the realm of the spirit? Without such understanding how can he grow spiritually? To fail to distinguish between spirit and soul is fatal to spiritual maturity.

    Christians often account what is soulical as spiritual, and thus they remain in a soulish state and seek not what is really spiritual. How can we escape loss if we confuse what God has divided?

    Spiritual knowledge is very important to spiritual life. Let us add, however, that it is equally as, if not more, important for a believer to be humble and willing to accept the teaching of the Holy Spirit. If so, the Holy Spirit will grant him the experience of the dividing of spirit and soul, although he may not have too much knowledge concerning this truth. On the one hand, the most ignorant believer, without the slightest idea of the division of spirit and soul, may yet experience such a dividing in real life. On the other hand, the most informed believer, completely conversant with the truth concerning spirit and soul, may nonetheless have no experience of it. Far better is that person who may have both the knowledge and the experience. The majority, however, lack such experience. Consequently, it is well initially to lead these to know the different functions of spirit and soul and then to encourage them to seek what is spiritual.

    Other portions of the Scriptures make this same differentiation between spirit and soul. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4.12). The writer in this verse divides man’s non-corporal elements into two parts, “soul and spirit.” The corporal part is mentioned here as including the joints and marrow—organs of motion and sensation. When the priest uses the sword to cut and completely dissect the sacrifice, nothing inside can be hidden. Even joint and marrow are separated. In like manner the Lord Jesus uses the Word of God on His people to separate thoroughly, to pierce even to the division of the spiritual, the soulical, and the physical. And from this it follows that since soul and spirit can be divided, they must be different in nature. It is thus evident here that man is a composite of three parts.

    The Creation of Man

    “And Jehovah God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2.7 ASV). When God first created man He formed him of dust from the ground, and then breathed “the breath of life” into his nostrils. As soon as the breath of life, which became man’s spirit, came into contact with man’s body, the soul was produced. Hence the soul is the combination of man’s body and spirit. The Scriptures therefore call man “a living soul.” The breath of life became man’s spirit; that is, the principle of life within him. The Lord Jesus tells us “it is the spirit that gives life” (John 6.63). This breath of life comes from the Lord of Creation. However, we must not confuse man’s spirit with God’s Holy Spirit. The latter differs from our human spirit. Romans 8.16 demonstrates their difference by declaring that “it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” The original of the word “life” in “breath of life” is chay and is in the plural. This may refer to the fact that the inbreathing of God produced a twofold life, soulical and spiritual. When the inbreathing of God entered man’s body it became the spirit of man; but when the spirit reacted with the body the soul was produced. This explains the source of our spiritual and soulical lives. We must recognize, though, that this spirit is not God’s Own life, for “the breath of the Almighty--the Holy Spirit--gives me life” (Job 33.4). It is not the entrance of the uncreated life of God--eternal life--into man, neither is it that life of God--the Holy Spirit--which we receive at regeneration. What we receive at new birth is God’s Own life--eternal life--as typified by the tree of life--eternal life. But our human spirit, though permanently existing, is void of “eternal life.” We receive the same life of the Holy Spirit.

    “Formed man of dust from the ground” refers to man’s body; “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” refers to man’s spirit as it came from God; and “man became a living soul” refers to man’s soul when the body was quickened by the spirit and brought into being a living and self-conscious man. A complete man is a trinity—the composite of spirit, soul and body. According to Genesis 2.7, man was made up of only two independent elements, the corporeal and the spiritual; but when God placed the spirit within the casing of the earth, the soul was produced. The spirit of man touching the dead body produced the soul. The body apart from the spirit was dead, but with the spirit man was made alive. The organ thus animated was called the soul.

    “Man became a living soul” expresses not merely the fact that the combination of spirit and body produced the soul; it also suggests that spirit and body were completely merged in this soul. In other words, soul and body were combined with the spirit, and spirit and body were merged in the soul. Adam “in his unfallen state knew nothing of these ceaseless strivings of spirit and flesh which are matters of daily experience to us. There was a perfect blending of his three natures into one and the soul as the uniting medium became the cause of his individuality, of his existence as a distinct being.” (Pember’s Earth’s Earliest Age) Man was designated a living soul, for it was there that the spirit and body met and through which his individuality was known. Perhaps we may use an imperfect illustration: drop some dye into a cup of water. The dye and water will blend into a third substance called ink. In like manner the two independent elements of spirit and body combine to become living soul. (The analogy fails in that the soul produced by the combining of spirit and body becomes an independent, indissoluble element as much as the spirit and body.)

    God treated man’s soul as something unique. As the angels were created as spirits, so man was created predominantly as a living soul. Man not only had a body, a body with the breath of life; he became a living soul as well. Thus we find later in the Scriptures that God often referred to men as “souls.” Why? Because what the man is depends on how his soul is. His soul represents him and expresses his individuality. It is the organ of man’s free will, the organ in which spirit and body are completely merged. If man’s soul wills to obey God, it will allow the spirit to rule over the man as ordered by God.

    The soul, if it chooses, also can suppress the spirit and take some other delight as lord of the man. This trinity of spirit, soul and body may be partially illustrated by a light bulb. Within the bulb, which can represent the total man, there are electricity, light and wire. The spirit is like the electricity, the soul the light, and body the wire. Electricity is the cause of the light while light is the effect of electricity. Wire is the material substance for carrying the electricity as well as for manifesting the light. The combination of spirit and body produces soul, that which is unique to man. As electricity, carried by the wire, is expressed in light, so spirit acts upon the soul and the soul, in turn, expresses itself through the body.

    However, we must remember well that whereas the soul is the meeting-point of the elements of our being in this present life, the spirit will be the ruling power in our resurrection state. For the Bible tells us that “it is sown a physical body--a soulical body--, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15.44). Yet here is a vital point: we who have been joined to the resurrected Lord can even now have our spirit rule over the whole being. We are not united to the first Adam who was made a living soul but to the last Adam Who is a life-giving spirit (v.45). Jesus is a life giving spirit because He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.
    by Published on 06-02-2015 01:16 PM     Number of Views: 1100 
    1. Categories:
    2. The Fall of Man

    In Every Sin We See Self at Work

    In every sin we can see self at work. Although people today classify sins into an untold number of categories, yet inductively speaking there is but one basic sin: all the thoughts and deeds which are sins are related to “self” In other words, though the number of sins in the world is indeed astronomical, the principle behind every sin is simply one—whatever is for self. All sins are committed for the sake of the self. If the element of self is missing, there will be no sin. Let us examine this point a little more closely.

    What is pride? Is it not an exalting of self? What is jealousy? Is not jealousy a fear of being supplanted? What is emulation? Nothing less than a striving to excel others. What is anger? Anger is reacting against the loss the self suffers. What is adultery? It is following self’s passions and lusts. What is cowardice? Is it not a caring for self’s weakness? Now it is impossible to mention every sin, but if we were to examine all of them one by one, we would discover that the principle within each one is always the same: it is something that in some way is related to self. Wherever sin is, there is the activity of the self. And wherever self is active, there will be sin before God.

    On the other hand, in examining the fruit of the Holy Spirit—which expresses Christian witness—we shall readily see the opposite: that they are none other than selfless acts. What is love? Love is loving others without thinking of self. What is joy? It is looking at God in spite of self. Patience is despising one’s own hardship. Peace is disregarding one’s loss. Gentleness is overlooking one’s rights. Humility is forgetting one’s merits. Temperance is the self under control. And faithfulness is self-restraint. As we examine every Christian virtue, we will discern that other than being delivered from self or being forgetful of self, a believer has no other virtue. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is determined by one principle alone: the losing of self totally. . . .

    The Lord looks not at the good or evil of a thing. He looks instead to its source. He takes note by what power the thing is done. Apart from His own will, God is not satisfied with anything else. Apart from His own power, He is not interested in any other. Were it possible for a believer to do something better than the will of God, the latter would still condemn the action and consider the believer as having sinned.

    Is it true that all your works and pursuits are according to God’s will? Or are they simply your independent decision? Do your works originate with God? Or are they done according to your pleasure? All our independent actions, no matter how excellent or virtuous they may appear to be, are not acceptable to God. Everything done without clearly knowing the will of God is a sin in His eyes. Everything done without depending on Him is also sin. . . .

    The meaning of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is none other than being active outside of God, seeking what is good according to one’s thought, being in haste and unable to wait to obtain the knowledge which God has not yet given, and not trusting in the Lord but seeking advance in one’s own way. These all can be summed up in one phrase: independence from God. And such was man’s first sin. God is displeased with the man who departs from him and moves independently. For he wants man to trust in Him.

    The purpose of the Lord in saving man as well as in creating him is for man to trust in God. And such is the meaning of the tree of life: simply put, it is trust. “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,” said God to Adam; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” Among all the trees whose fruit could be eaten, God especially mentioned the tree of life in stark contrast to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” In taking note of God’s mention particularly of the tree of life, we ought to realize that of all the edible trees this is the most important. This is what Adam should have eaten of first. Why is this so? . . .

    The tree of life signifies the life of God, the uncreated life of God. Adam is a created being, and therefore he does not possess such uncreated life. Though at this point he is still without sin, he nevertheless is only natural since he has not received the holy life of God. The purpose of God is for Adam to choose the fruit of the tree of life with his own volition so that he might be related to God in divine life. And thus Adam would move from simply being created by God to his being born of Him as well. What God requires of Adam is simply for him to deny his created, natural life and be joined to Him in divine life, thus living daily by the life of God. Such is the meaning of the tree of life. The Lord wanted Adam to live by that life which was not his originally.
    by Published on 01-05-2014 08:33 PM     Number of Views: 1907 
    1. Categories:
    2. Hell,
    3. Atheist, Agnostic, Agtheist,
    4. Islam, Muslim, Koran

    I don't think we should believe things without some sort of support or evidence for it. For example, I don't think we should be atheist or agnostic because there is nothing to support those ideas, but we do have evidence for God and evidence for the Christian God as follows as I see it.

    I know that non-existence can't cause anything to come into being because it doesn't exist. That should be enough, but I also have another reason which is we see cause and effect in nature over and over, time and again, with no hard evidence of something from nothing without assuming it. Therefore, this is a solid that nature ALWAYS needs a cause whether it be the first event of nature or anywhere in between. You don't need to know all things to know if this is true, just enough evidence is all you need which is what we have. Besides, if you had to know all things, you are claiming you would have to be God "all-knowing" (omniscient) to know for sure, but that is self-contradictory, because obviously you are not God, and do you remember creating the universe? How forgetful of you being all-knowing! Funny.

    The only other thing that one can try to fathom to fight off God is to say nature always existed, but that has two insurmountable serious flaws which are:

    1) if nature always existed in an eternity of the past of cause and effects, then by that very definition, you would have had an eternity to come into being before now so you should have already happened. And...

    2) you should never have existed because an alleged past eternity would continue to go on forever in the past so as to never reach this point.

    So by this overwhelming preponderance of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, we can be certain nature needs a cause outside of itself, that is, outside of time and space, being uncreated. And that is what we are talking about the uncreated when we speak of God.

    Not only is God uncreated, always existed, but He can't be below us for the Creator is always greater than the created. Therefore, since we are personal, accessible, have a mind and self-consciousness, God must have all these attributes too. Anything less is debasing God for your own twisted and selfish thoughts.

    There is only 3 faiths that are pervasive enough (accessible enough around the globe) to meet the necessary criteria worth considering: Islam, Hinduism, Christianity. All other faiths or beliefs or world-views or ideas fail to meet this accessibility law as they have so few adherents. If in a billion years another religion rises up to be popular it can be included in the mix to compare to, but for now there are only three that make up the majority of people.

    But we know Islam is false because you can't come along six centuries later and claim Jesus never died on the cross or even went to the cross without anything support said claim in your attempt to overturn the plethora of evidence and corroborating reports we have from the first century. If you make blind claims like that then you can make blind claims about anything and start a new religion anytime anywhere, making the whole thing up. But that's not too bright!

    Now Hinduism is false too, because its god is said to be Amoral which is below the morality of humans. And sin is never effectively addressed if you get an endless number of chances to become a chicken then come back as a human to change your bad behavior. How can a chicken hold the moral burden and responsibility of human being to become a human again? That would be too much for the chicken to bear. Do we as humans pin our bad conduct on an ants? I know some atheists do but that is just goofy!

    You really don't need more than this lifetime to make the decision. As a practical matter, notice virtually nobody has come to the cross as helpless sinner to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior past the age of 40, indicating that this lifetime is more than enough time to decide whether you want to be with God and the Lamb Christ Jesus in the New City and New Earth or to be eternally separated from the love of God and His presence. Ceasing to exist is not an option because God made us in His image which can never cease to exist. If God allowed annihilation it would debase His creation to something lesser and destroy the true essence of free will each of us are bestowed with. So claiming you will be annihilated so that it doesn't matter if you kill yourself or a billion people is morally retarded and imbecilic! The consequence of your attitude is you will burn in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. This fire is no natural fire that eventually burns out. It is a metaphorical fire using figurative language to depict God's judgment on you.

    I should also add that Islam and Hinduism are both works based faiths which is an impossibility, because how can a sinner ever bridge the gap between himself and an infinitely great God. Impossible! Only in Christianity do you have the correct starting point by being born-again "taking the water of life freely" (Rev. 22.17), giving a free will offering like Abel did and not of your works like Cain did. By doing so God makes you acceptable to Him to begin fellowship with. From this starting point you can begin to overcome for real the sin of your body and selfishness of your soul, because you would have been totally forgiven and died with Christ on the cross to your old man, giving you power over sin and self. Satan can't operate through that which is dead (lost communication), so all the Christian needs to do is appropriate this new life as a new creation of God by trusting in God's word (66 books of the Bible) completely. The old creation, all we inherit from Adam, has died on the cross. Some Christians realize this. Others are foggy about it so they need to appreciate it to appropriate its power.

    That's why I am a Christian, once saved always saved, for those who are born-again "they shall never perish" (John 10.28). Calvinists and Roman Catholics, about 2 billion in total, are false Christians so they are going to Hell too along with Atheists, Agnostics (Bible says if you are not for Christ, you're against Him), Pentecostals (as many as 500 million), Muslims (over 1 billion), Hindus and Buddhists (over 1 billion), and Atheists/Agnostics (over 1 billion). Calvinists claim you are irresistibly made to be saved; whereas Roman Catholics claim you can lose salvation tomorrow once saved. Both groups are living a lie.

    There is another way which is God's way (OSAS Arminian): giving your life to the God, Christ Jesus, who keeps, accepting you could not keep yourself saved. Give your life to the God who keeps and never lets you go to be kept. Only in Christianity! That is true love. God predestinates by foreknowing your free choice: a conditional election, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, for preservation of the saints. Remonstrants were wrong because they like the RCC teach you can lose salvation once saved.

    Praise the Lord for this discernment!
    by Published on 10-15-2011 03:08 PM     Number of Views: 1572 
    1. Categories:
    2. Spiritual Warfare

    Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12.31.
    Even though at present Satan temporarily rules over the world, he is but a usurper who has occupied it by force. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross He already cast out the prince of this world. In His death He “despoiled the principalities and the powers . . . [and] made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2.15).

    Although the world still lies under the evil one, it is totally illegal. And God has appointed a day when the kingdom shall be retaken and His Son shall be king over this world for a thousand years, and onward, then, to eternity. Yet before that time arrives God only permits Satan to remain active, while He himself holds the reins of government of this world.

    Satan may rule over all that belongs to Satan himself, he may even persecute all that belongs to God; nonetheless all of this is but for awhile. And even in this short while, Satan is entirely restricted by God. He may harass the saints but only within certain limits. Aside from what God permits, the enemy has no authority whatsoever.
    by Published on 07-23-2011 10:09 AM     Number of Views: 1616 
    1. Categories:
    2. Consecration and Breaking

    Lay thou thy treasure in the dust, . . . and the Almighty will be thy treasure. Job 22.24, 25.

    Generally speaking, believers seem to have financial difficulties. This is due either to their inability to continue on with whatever improper occupations they had engaged in before or to some spiritual reason for which God is dealing with them specifically. God sometimes takes our wealth away so as to induce us to seek after Christ that He might have the preeminence in all things. It is not impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, it is just difficult for them to do so.

    God dealt with the children of Israel in the wilderness by depriving them of earthly supplies of food and clothing so that they might recognize the abundance of God. As the supplies on earth ceased, the supplies from heaven came. Material difficulties drive us to seek after the Lord, to learn the lesson of faith, and know Christ as the first in all things.

    Because the Lord is impacting Christians because they have the Holy Spirit God influences their financial lives in ways the world is not affected by since the worldly don't have a conscience in Christ to be be touched by the Lord. Hence, this explains why Christians generally have financial difficulties. That's a good thing, not a bad thing, even though it may not feel like it at first.
    by Published on 06-05-2011 12:46 PM     Number of Views: 1566 
    1. Categories:
    2. Partial Rapture

    But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Luke 21.36.
    The Lord distinctly promises that the church may escape the Great Tribulation and "stand before the Son of man"—This no doubt refers to rapture. Nevertheless, there is a condition involved. Not for all who are simply born again, but for those born-again ones who watch and pray. "That ye may prevail"—If you watch and pray, you may prevail. Hence the promise is given to those who do these things.

    Does everyone in the whole church watch and pray? Let us pay attention to this.
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