FROM CORRUPTION TO GLORY
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Genesis 6:11-12
From the majestic mountains to the grand canyon, the polar bear, the porcupine, all the way to the crown of creation man himself, they were all created to shine with the glory of God. All of creation was created to reflect and illustrate who God is. However that once shiny reflection has been tarnished or corrupted by sin. This word corruption is used to describe weakness. For example if there is rust on a support beam it is referred to as corrupted. Or if there is rot in a board it is corrupted and unable to support what it originally was able to.
The strength, dignity, and integrity of a good and blessed creation have been weakened by the decay of sin. The ones who were created to subdue and fill the earth have been reduced to the base lusts of the flesh and exist on this planet just as animals. We have failed in our worship of the incorruptible God and chose to exalt all that is corrupt and have become weak in our thinking about God, man, and creation. We have weakened ourselves by submitting to base human desires. The societies of the world are driven by lust.
We were created to be like God. We were made in His image and his likeness. It seems modern Christianity is doing its best to make him in our image and ourselves we consider to be like a dog willing to join our selves to anything in heat.
This is the tragedy, through Christ we have been made heirs to all God's kingdom while we choose to live like animals consumed by our own lusts. It is God's good plan and desire to share what He has with us.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9
We have been made joint heirs with Jesus. Consider that He is sharing His inheritance with us. it is truly joy unspeakable and full of glory that we can give what we have to Him, but He also shares with us
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4
The express image of God, the brilliance of His glory is the same Jesus who died for us. He has inherited all things and after He had purges us from our sin has sat down at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus is the word of God made flesh. He is the creative Word of God in an earthen vessel. Like us the Word walked, talked hungered, thirsted, anything you have felt, He felt. He is in every way one of us, but He is also of god, and by name has inherited a more excellent name. That name is the name of God.
This same Word upholds all things by His power, the same Word created the heavens and the earth, the same word that was, is, and is to come; the same Word is the Alpha and Omega. That Word we know as Jesus us the one who was made perfect through suffering has ascended to the throne and has also brought us into His glory.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Hebrews 2:10-11
It sounds too good to be true but we have been made the brothers of Jesus. in this world we are used to things that fluctuate. It is difficult for us to grasp absolutes, yet the nature of our inheritance is absolute. Soon this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible will put on incorruptible. Our inheritance is incorruptible.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 1 Peter 1:3-8
Our inheritance is greater than gold which will tarnish or fade. It is difficult not to rejoice while we are being transformed in the midst of suffering. We have joy unspeakable and full of glory because we have an inheritance reserved for us that cannot be weakened, tarnished, or diminished in any way.
The inheritance is not a car that will rust out, a house that will rot, clothes that can be eaten by moths. It needs no maintenance. It has no tax. It will never weaken. The price has been paid not with a currency that fluctuates in value, but with blood. The blood of the Word made flesh.
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1 Peter 1:18-20
In the blood is the life. Our blood carries the cells which fight disease, the hormones that cause emotions; it even carries a hormone that causes extra strength by traveling through the blood awaking nerves and causing reaction.
However, our blood is corrupt because we were born in sin. Our mothers were sinners and our fathers were sinners therefore we are born sinners. Our bodies are corrupt and weakening. Hair plugs, hip replacements, contact lenses hearing aids, etc are all testimonies of our corrupted bodies.
Jesus, on the other hand, was never bitten by the serpent therefore His body was free of sin's venom. He received his blood from the His father and was not born in sin but rather was born both the Son of God and the Son of Man and lived His life without sin therefore His blood was pure, undefiled, and untouched by this world. It is His blood that was shed as a sacrifice, but His body would not see decay or corruption.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:10-11
It has already been established that Christ is seated in heavenly places at the Father's right hand, and we are seated there with Him (Eph 2:6). Understand that you have been bought with the Word of God's incorruptible blood. That means our redemption is from God meaning it is both perfect and complete. Equally our salvation is for God meaning we belong to Him. In addition it came through God meaning it will return to Him. He has redeemed us all by Himself and expects the reward of His suffering.
Born Again
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. John 3:5-8
The new birth spoken of in John 3 is speaking of more than a commitment, a religious decision, but it is literally how God infuses the believer with His Spirit. The salvation experience begins with a birth that comes from the Word of God. That is why the preaching of the Gospel is so important.
Since we are redeemed through the incorruptible blood of the Eternal Word of God who seen no decay we have been born of incorruptible seed.
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1 Peter 1:22-25
Our spiritual DNA is not of man but of God. We have a Father and He is the sovereign creator and sovereign ruler of all. He is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and immutable and He is our father if we have been born of Him. We have been born of the same family Jesus, the son of man was spiritually speaking. While we are not sovereign we have been born of the sovereign. We are being transformed into His image and that is initiated by the new birth. You have been born a royal son of the Kingdom of God; spiritually speaking you have received your Father's blood. That is why Peter wrote:
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:22-25
The elements that fight disease are carried in the blood that flowed from the stripes on Jesus' back. This is why we are able to live in the realm of blessing because we have been born through the incorruptible seed, the Word of God.
The Promise God made to Abraham was that His Seed would be blessed. Because we have born of that Seed then we are truly the sons of Abraham as well and entitled to the blessings promised. Indeed we are living stones like Jesus the Chief cornerstone.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19
We, those who are born again, are the priesthood that binds and looses. We have the keys that unlock gates and prison doors. We have the key of David because we are born of the same Spirit and led by Him.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:14
Yahooo!
The Great Escape
So why are we weak? It seems that a people like us born of royalty and given all the resources of Heaven should be more powerful and more like Him than the rest of the world. It is true that we are supposed to be but we are held back by one simple thing, lust. It wars against the divine nature.
In order to walk in the Spirit or Godliness we must crucify our flesh.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:24-25
Too much comfort is not good for us. The western mindset says if it is uncomfortable it must be wrong. If it's a challenge it's not God. We don't accept suffering ever as from God. We believe that nothing God does ever causes suffering. We must be reminded that it was through suffering that Jesus was made perfect. If the Father was willing to sacrifice His first born he will sacrifice you as well for the advancement of His purposes on earth.
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-2
Concerning the promises of God, the lusts of the world make us weak. We are therefore, to crucify our bodies and lusts so we may partake of the divine nature through His promises.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4
The world is hostile to our family because we are different than it. Its mindsets are born of its father the adversary. You have escaped the corruption that is in the world and manifests in our lusts and wantonness. We have been born and are as different as night and day, light and darkness. We are a new creation that should not be driven by carnal pursuits and desires. Holy must be the way we are.
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:15-16
We should appear to be from another world when it comes to holiness. It should be noted that I am not talking make up and hem lines, I'm speaking of inner holiness that is separated completely to the purposes of god. Our lives should demonstrate that we have been born of the incorruptible seed. Knowing God and self crucifixion can bring you into the divine nature.
This is the foundation of fasting; it is a type of flesh crucifixion allowing the Word of God to be our food and drink. Jesus is that Word.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4
We are partakers of the Divine nature through Christ the living Word. He is the portion that has been given to the royal priesthood. In the Old Testament form of worship the priests were to eat the meat sacrificed and to drink some of the wine to be poured out as a drink offering. This is why Jesus said
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. John 6:53-58
All the promises of God are in Christ and we are in Him and He is in us. We are to partake of His sacrifice if we are to partake of His promises. We do that by escaping the lusts of the world and partake of His nature. Fellowship with Him is the ultimate.
