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think-things · 1 year

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Today, 4/19/23, something is occurring within me. As I was reading the chapter called “Walking in the Spirit” I think that I have found my answer in regard to fighting against this sin in my life.

The difference between asking God “to make me more self controlled” versus asking Christ “to live His life through me” is becoming more real to me. All of my failures seems to show that there is not a strengthening of myself thats needed but instead a removal of myself and a substitute to live in my place. I feel that I may be beginning to learn in truth what is the difference. This would be a happy conclusion especially in the sense that I think God has been leading my mind to think this way.

Unfortunately I do not get that kind of advice from anyone. At least not in such a clear way. Watchmen had the nerve to say to his friend who asked for him to pray for patience that God wouldn’t give that because that is not what they needed. They were already saved! But he said patience is not what is needed but they need Christ to be patience for them. I am learning to think and talk about this but I feel as though I am on a track for peace and security.

Perhaps even my post about “partakers of the divine nature” really doesn’t mean we become like God in our nature but really that we get put away and hidden and He actually exercises His own nature through us. Please direct my heart to understand Your salvation, Oh God!

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think-things · 1 year

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In light of thinking about promises of God, through which I can become a partaker of the divine nature (as 2Peter 1 speaks). I was reading Ezekiel starting from chapter 35. As I read I saw this, Ezekiel 36:24-32.

“24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.”

God was speaking of how Israel had been rightly been judged and kicked out of the land for their uncleanness and idolatry. And how, as they were scattered among the nations,

“…they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.”

The way people spoke about Israel as the people of God being put out by Him was “profaning” his name. So He decided to vindicate his name, to act for his name sake, through them by doing as Ezekiel 36:24-32.

God is the one who will by His Spirit “cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Careful obedience to God is brought about by God. This is consistent with Him acting for the sake of His name, for the sake of His glory. I don’t want to think that it is otherwise, because what hope is it to rely on something else. If God created everything for His glory, I’m sure He won’t fail to do this work also in me for the sake of His glory.

These verses remind me of Romans 1:5. They seems to find their fulfillment in Jesus. Paul speaks of His ministry as an apostle in this way

…through [Jesus Christ our Lord] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations

Here, as well as in Ezekiel, we see God/Jesus (through the ministry of the apostles) bringing about obedience for the sake of His name among the nations. He is the ultimate cause, using means, yes, but He indeed is the causer. Lord help me trust you and look to you.

I hope later to also ponder about the self loathing (“you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations”).

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think-things · 1 year

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1 John 3:4-10

4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

The thing that prevents me from being one who makes a practice of sinning is this: I have been born of God, God’s seed abides in me.

God’s seed abiding in me, me being born of God is what prevents me from being one who makes a practice of sinning.

“Cannot” is an important word. It’s speaks of a lack of ability. The word for “can’t” is δύναμαι (dynamai). Literally, I don’t have the ability to go on making a practice of sinning for this reason: God’s seed abide in me.

Why then do I often commit some of the same sins? Am I “making a practice of sinning” if there is a certain sin that struggle with, having varying degree of obedience and moral failure? Is there no distinction?

One thing I know is that when I am thinking clearly, my desire is to not continue to do this sin. One of the thing I hope for most is the day when all temptation to sin will cease, the day when I will be changed and made perfect.

When I think of how to deal with these questions, I am inclined to think that what John is speaking of as “keeping on sinning” is may not be the same as the ongoing battle I have to fight. He doesn’t use a special word for sin here so as to clearly distinguish it from “struggles” so I am saying this with caution.

But what is most clear is this: the thing that would (or is) preventing from sin (in the way that John is speaking here) is to be a child of God, having Gods seed in me.

And so for the sake of hope for myself, I think of verses like John 1:12-13 which says,

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Belief in His name, receiving Him is what is true of those who are born of God. And they are born NOT BY the desire of man but the desire of God. God wills for one to become His child, not man. Then man becomes a child of God. This is most deeply in God’s hand.

When I consider myself, it is still possible that I may have received some self created version of Jesus, than is the real One. Many have. Many say they love Jesus but to them He may not be being received by them as who He truly is. It is also still possible that I may have once received Him with joy but desires of the flesh have choked out that faith. These are the deeper questions that I wrestle with daily.

But my hope is the same, I need and will need God. He is the One who can (and I believe has) birthed me by His will and caused me to receive Christ. And I believe that this does and will continue to have impact on my avoidance of sin. May God keep me in Him! It is truly my hope that I will see Him soon and be transformed never to sin again.

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