Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the
Father.
If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins] (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with God the
Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
God
is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth. (Joh 4:24)
The
Plan of God
THIS
IS THE BEGINNING of a basic study course. Our textbook will be the Bible. God
does not reveal His plan to us today through visions, voices, dreams, or any
form of direct revelation as He did to the Old Testament prophets and the New
Testament apostles. The Scripture is our only source of information about God’s
plan. All of God’s revealed Truth or Teaching is found in the Bible. So,
familiarize yourself with the Scripture using, (Heb 4:12) as an example. This is an easy task since both the Old and the
New Testaments are divided into “streets and houses.” Hebrews is the street;
the house number is 4:12 — chapter 4, verse 12. Hebrews is found in the New
Testament. If necessary, look up the street location in the index. You should
not be embarrassed by doing so. Now before we begin our study, we should
examine six introductory Propositions (Thoughts) about God. We are not
seeking to prove them, simply to state them. These Propositions are a
requirement to an understanding of the plan of God.
PROPOSITION ONE: GOD EXISTS
The
assumption that God exists is the foundation for this study. Whether or not you
think God exists is not a concern at the moment. What should concern you is
maintaining logical and clear Thought. If you say, “I do not believe God
exists,” you are being arbitrary and foolish. (Psa 14:1; Psa 53:1-3) A logical statement might be, “On the basis of
rationalism or empiricism, God does not exist.” But if you dogmatically say, “I
do not believe God exists. . . ,” you demonstrate inconsistent thinking. If you
truly do not think God exists, at least express the concept by making a
statement that shows you are a logical thinker. There are three basic systems
of human perception and two advanced:
1. Rationalism — perception through reason;
2. Empiricism — reality based on what you see,
touch, taste, hear, and smell;
3. Faith — reality
based confidence in the authority and or truthfulness of another.
4. Occultism — realities based on demon and sin
nature activity.
5. Spiritual Faith
— the teaching ministry of Scripture during and after Salvation by God the Holy
Spirit.
At
some time during your life you depend upon three basic systems of perception.
But the system on which you rely the most will affect your grasp of Reality.
Now when I say, “God exists,” I mean I believe by faith that He has always
existed — not as a figment of my imagination, but as a Person who has no
beginning or end. You may ask, “Who is God? What is God?” These questions can
be answered because God has revealed Himself.
PROPOSITION TWO: GOD REVEALS HIMSELF
If God exists, all-powerful and sovereign, then
it follows that God had something to do with our being here. If God created
man, logically He should reveal Himself to mankind. If God has always existed
and He created mankind, then it follows that He will reveal Himself to mankind
and He must reveal Himself in a way that man can understand.
PROPOSITION THREE: GOD MAKES SENSE
If
you continue with this study, you will learn that God reveals Himself to us in
a way that makes sense. And God makes organized
sense because God is totally organized. And God’s organized sense is presented in the form of a plan we
can understand.
PROPOSITION FOUR: GOD HAS A PLAN
God
not only has a plan, but His plan is perfect and His plan includes you! Proposition
five, then, shifts from God to you.
PROPOSITION FIVE: YOU ARE THE OBJECT OF GOD’S
PLAN
If you can say, “I am a person, I am a human
being, I belong to the human race,” then you can say, “God has a personal plan
for me.” That is why you are here on this earth.
Here is the point: If there is a God, if He has
revealed Himself, if He makes sense, if He has a perfect plan, and if He has a
perfect plan for every human being, including you, then you owe God a hearing!
PROPOSITION SIX: YOU OWE GOD A HEARING
I want
you to notice the word “hearing.” Nothing is required of you except an open
mind. There are no gimmicks — I only want to give you information God has
provided through the Bible. All
you need to do is listen to what God says through His Word. You have nothing in
this world to give to God except a hearing! Whether or not you listen is strictly your own choice. This may
be quite different from what you expected, particularly if you have been
exposed to “religion.” Religion is man’s attempt
to gain a relationship with God or the approbation of God by man’s own works.
Religion obscures the plan of God and deceives the human race. Religion was
designed by Satan to make you hostile toward the Biblical plan of God. Notice, I said religion — not Christianity! Biblical Christianity asserts that only the
work of God through Jesus Christ provides the means of Salvation and an eternal
relationship with God. As the light of the
world, Jesus Christ illuminates the plan of God. (Joh 8:12) Christianity proclaims God’s way of Salvation for the human
race. Since the objective of this basic course is to develop the plan of God,
let us review the points in our introduction.
1. God exists.
2. God reveals Himself.
3. God makes sense.
4. God has a plan.
5. We are the object of God’s plan.
6. We owe God a hearing.
If you accept these propositions as true, then
you recognize that God does have a plan for you. But, remember, God’s perfect
plan must contend with our flaws, imperfections, and depravity. Our human sin nature is so far beneath God’s perfect standard of
righteousness that we can have no fellowship with Him. Since we cannot
associate with God in our Spiritually depraved condition, God must find a way
to bring us to Himself. God designed a three-phase grace plan so we might
approach Him.
Phase One: Salvation
Phase Two: Your lifetime as a believer
Phase Three: Eternity
PHASE ONE: SALVATION
God’s
plan for your life begins at the cross. The cross is the key to the plan of
Salvation. When Jesus Christ hung on the cross, between heaven and earth, He
was judged for every sin in the human race — past, present, and future. He
became the substitute for our guilt; He received the penalty of sin; for us!
He
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross... (1Pe 2:24)
Any
member of the human race can have an eternal relationship with God by simply
believing in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall
be saved. (Act 16:31)
But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
(Joh 1:12)
The
first phase of God’s plan reconciles the total depravity of man with His
holiness, a word that refers to His perfect righteousness and justice. When
teaching a basic Theology course, I usually begin by exploring the character of
God, His Divine essence. This time I will begin with a study of our essence so
we will know why God had to solve the problem of the barrier between the human
race and Himself.
THE ESSENCE OF MANKIND
I
will begin with us, as we were at birth. We were not conscious of this Reality,
but at the moment of physical birth we became a person with a soul. The left
half and the bottom of the diagram shows the essence of the human soul at birth
as it comes from God. The right side is after Salvation.
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS.
When
we were born, we were not aware of our existence. Later when someone called us
by our name, we responded. If we see ourselves in a mirror, we associate our
name with our face. Eventually we become aware of ourselves as an individual.
MENTALITY.
Obviously, the mentality of a newborn baby is not developed; otherwise
he could speak fluently at the moment of birth. Vocabulary must be learned; words must be put together. Remember,
all conscious thinking is accomplished by means of vocabulary, so our
vocabulary greatly determines our ability to reason.
VOLITION.
Volition is the decision-maker of the soul. A baby’s volition is
completely controlled by his environment. Since he has no vocabulary, a baby
cannot say, “I’m hungry.” All he can do is open his mouth and cry. When someone
forgets to feed him or does not change his diaper, a baby’s volition becomes a
vocal expression. But this is not a fully developed volition.
EMOTION.
I
have tried to think back when I was a baby and remember what I appreciated. I
do not remember anything. However, we do know babies have emotions. Apparently,
some babies feel loved and others do not. Psychology tells us parent-child
bonding has a profound effect on behavioral patterns in later life. Whether
this idea is true or not, part of God’s design is the potential for emotional
stability.
CONSCIENCE. (NORMS AND STANDARDS)
A
baby is born without teeth, but they grow in. Likewise, a baby is born without
norms and Standards. You have a conscience at birth, but it does not contain
one norm or Standard. These gradually develop through social, academic, and
Spiritual training. Just as eventually you acquire teeth, eventually you
develop norms and Standards. But those norms and Standards are flawed because
of the old sin nature.
THE OLD SIN NATURE
The
old sin nature utterly contaminates mankind so that no one can approach God’s
perfect essence or please Him. Although not a part of the soul but the center
of rebellion toward God, the old sin nature seeks to influence and control the
soul. This depraved nature came into existence as a direct result of Adam’s
first sin. The old sin nature portrays the disobedient trend of Adam in action
after the Fall.
Therefore, just as through one man [Adam]
sin [The sin nature] entered into the world, and [Spiritual] death through sin,
and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Rom 5:12)
The
sin nature is passed from the original parents through procreation to the rest
of the human race and resides in the cell structure of the body. (Rom 6:6; Rom 7:5) With the exception of Jesus Christ, every person born has an active sin nature. I was
born with one; you were born with one. The sweetest little baby you ever saw has a sin nature! Mothers
may “oh” and “ah” over their babies saying, “Isn’t he beautiful!” “Isn’t she
adorable!” “Look at my precious baby!” Do you know God’s attitude toward
babies? I am going to shock you. Babies are unacceptable to God. We look at the
physical appearance of a baby, but God sees the sin nature. So, no matter how
many people admire the beauty and innocence of a baby, remember: Only one baby
has ever been beautiful to God — Jesus Christ!
The
reason God found Jesus Christ beautiful and all other babies less than
attractive is not because of how they look. Babies are unacceptable to God
because they are Spiritually dead, born separated from God because of their sin
natures. (Rom 5:12; cf., Eph 2:1-3)
Jesus Christ was the only baby ever born without a sin nature and perfectly
acceptable to God. (1Pe 2:22) Let us look at babies from God’s Viewpoint. I was born Spiritually dead; you were born
Spiritually dead. With the exception of Christ, every person who has ever come into the human race, or who ever
will, is born with a sin nature and, therefore, is born Spiritually dead!
Some
people have the erroneous idea that the first time you sin personally you die
Spiritually. Not true! Even though you are born physically alive, at that same
instant you are born Spiritually dead. But God does not condemn you for acts of
personal sin. His attitude is not based on what you do, because as a newborn
baby you have done nothing good or bad. God’s attitude is based upon the fact
that your physical body is contaminated by the sin nature. After you begin to
grow and develop, you begin to commit acts of personal sin. The first words you
may say are “Mama” or “Dada.” Eventually
you will say, “No, I won’t!” This is your volition responding to your sin
nature. Every sin nature has many facets and produces
extremes of both “morality” and “immorality.” Therefore, in order to understand yourself, you must understand
your old sin nature!
PRODUCTION OF THE OLD SIN NATURE: THE AREA OF
WEAKNESS
The
sin nature has an area of weakness from which all temptation for personal sins
originated, there are three categories of personal sins.
Mental Attitude Sins.
What
are mental attitude sins? Pride,
envy, lust for someone or something, intolerant to being wronged, (Either real or imagined) discontent, jealous, being unforgiving, having a grudge, being
nosey and prying, wanting to get even, hatred, wanting to get over on, hostile,
condemning, being selfish, deceiving, greedy, guilt feelings, fear, worry,
anxiousness, self-pity, self-righteousness, (Thinking that we are
better than others) etc. These are the worst kinds
of sins because they can quickly become a cluster of sins destructive to the
Spiritual life! Since we all possess a
sin nature, each of us will sooner or later succumb to some of these mental
attitude sins.
Now,
when I start to talk about sins, do not become defensive. If I “step on your
toes” just remember I have not been following you around. One secret in
learning is to “stay loose.” Relax! You may be a heavy mental attitude sinner.
You are not alone. There is not one person in the human race, except Jesus
Christ, who does not commit mental attitude sins periodically. Some Christians
even become “chain-sinners.” However, the point I want you to remember is that
this is a category of sin. What
you think can be a sin — a mental attitude sin!
Sins of the Tongue.
This
category includes badmouthing, judging,
condemning, bullying, gossiping, to flatter and or lying, etc. You may wish to classify some of these as
malicious slander. Notice how the tongue is described in the book of James:
So also the tongue is a small part of the
body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set
aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of
iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire
body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
(Jas 3:5-6)
One
match, one ember, and you can burn down a forest. That is the devastation of
the tongue. One word can spark complete havoc in your life and the lives of
others.
Overt Sins. Overt sins involve other people,
just as do sins of the tongue. So obviously, other people will be affected by
your sin nature. Murder, adultery and or
fornication, drunkenness, stealing etc, are sins that the Bible names as sins. (Exod 20:13-15;
Act 21:25; Rom 13:9) However, there are
many overt acts which misguided and self-righteous people may call sinful, but
the Bible does not. We will stay with what the Bible says.
These
questionable activities may amount to nothing more than taboos or personal
prejudices. You may have taboos from your religious background, and you may
honestly believe these taboos are sins. Just because you think something
someone does is a sin does not mean God condemns it as sin. Neither is it
sinful to wear red or black, nor to follow your own inclinations with regard to
dress. And believe it or not, it is not sinful for women to dress attractively.
Some of you will have difficulty with this because you have always considered
women who wear certain types of clothing or makeup less than decent. You may
have condemned women whom you consider to have stepped over the line of
propriety. Such condemnation is an example of tabooism and personal prejudice,
which falsely denounces Christians with tastes or backgrounds different from
your own.
Many
of you have a happy personality and some of you have a sad personality. Some of
you are intense, and some of you are naturally relaxed. Some are in-betweens,
not quite happy and not really sad. The Scots call that “dour.” It is not a sin
to smile; it is not a sin to frown. The Bible does not say, “Life for a
believer is not a feather bed, brother; you had better put on a somber face.
Never dare smile about anything because God abhors people who smile.” When
Christians smile or seem to have a good time, tabooists may retire to a corner
and say, “Look at those frivolous people; they are not very Spiritual, are
they?”
Your
personality is not the measure of your Spirituality. This may not mean much to
you now, but later this Concept will become meaningful. To have a vivacious or
social personality is not a sin. The sin nature resides in every cell of the
body. Just as the soul is invisible, the sin nature is invisible. Therefore, the
sin nature tempts your soul in private. Likewise, your soul succumbs to or
resists temptation in private. So, remember one word which we are going to
emphasize — privacy. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a
priest, and you have a right to your privacy. As a priest you are responsible to the Lord for your sins, but to
no one else. There is one Person who
can see your sin nature, moment by moment, and that is God. Whenever you commit a sin, whatever the
category, God can see the sin! (Pro 28:13)
Area Of Strength. In addition to sins from your
area of weakness, the sin nature has an area of strength. Deeds that derive from the area of strength are
called human morality. Morality can be accomplished by both the believer and
the unbeliever using volition and determination, apart from the grace
provisions of God. These grace provisions are the filling of God the
Holy Spirit for the comprehension and application of Truth through grace. (Joh 4:23) Of course, God despises sin which comes from the
area of weakness, but also, God is not impressed with human morality.
(Isa 64:6) says: “... all our righteous deeds
[Human morality] are like a filthy garment!”
How
can I illustrate God’s contempt for human morality? A dog goes # 2 on our lawn,
and starts producing an aroma; so you apply perfume to it, now it smells much
better; but what is the source! So if our sin nature smells better, what is the source! Next certainly all of you have had the experience of being around
someone who was self-righteously proper. Did you appreciate them for it?
Probably not! When I was growing up, my sister was this way. I can remember so
many times when she was right and “rubbed my nose in it.” Of all the natural antagonisms I ever had, I remember this one
most. I can recall clenching my fists as my father warned me, “If you ever lay
a hand on her, you will regret it!” By every standard she was right, but I did
not appreciate her self-righteousness. At some time in your life you have
probably had the experience of hostility toward a person whose pompous attitude
obscured their correctness.
By
way of example, that is how God looks at human morality: A right thing done in a wrong way — an antagonizing display of self-righteousness. God cannot abide
this attitude. He calls human morality “a
filthy garment” — a euphemistic expression for something far more
repugnant. (A feminine menstrual garment)
Let
us say that at the time you believed in Jesus Christ you were twenty years old.
Over that period of time you accumulated a number of sins and good deeds — say
several thousand. The moment you accepted Christ as Savior, all those thousands
of sins were blotted out. When Christ died on the cross all of those sins were
poured out on Him and judged — every one of them. After you accept Christ, you
may live another fifty years and commit many more sins and good deeds. Christ
was also judged on the cross for those sins you commit after Salvation.
When
Christ paid for all of our sins on the cross, His sacrifice nullified human morality as a means of Salvation. Human morality represents our works of righteousness which are
totally unacceptable to God for Salvation. (Eph 2:8-9)
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, [Grace] by the
washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Tit 3:5)
Since
we are saved by grace and execute the Christian way of life by grace, (2Pe 1:3-4) human morality is excluded from the plan of God. Religion usually promotes morality as a basis for
gaining the approbation of God or being saved. The plan of God
operates on Divine power, never on human ability! (Eph 2:10) All the human morality in the world will not save
even one person or pass for Christian service! Only Divine Virtue produced in the power of God the Holy Spirit
receives recognition from God as service. (Zec 4:6) God simply has no use for human morality to advance His plan. (Rom 8:8-14)
Let us also say that before you were saved you
performed one hundred thousand deeds of human morality. After you were saved
you performed a million more human “moral” deeds. Humanity may honor you for those deeds, but God
will not honor any of them. Someday in heaven He will burn those deeds — all the “wood, hay, and
straw.” (1Co 3:12-15) He will burn all the human production — but not you. He will not
allow one moral human deed into heaven? We are here to be Spiritual, (Rom 8:5) not moral or immoral!
By
now you should realize that you are carrying around quite a package in your
body. But there is more. As if the areas of weakness and strength were not
enough, every old sin nature also has trends.
TRENDS OF THE OLD SIN NATURE
There
are two trends in every old sin nature: One is toward asceticism; (Self-denial
leading to self-righteousness, morality) the other is toward lasciviousness. (Self-indulgence leading to
licentiousness, immorality) A person will generally move in the direction of his habitual
trend when under the control of the sin nature. That is why there are ascetics
on the one hand, and hedonists on the other. However, there is no fixed
pattern. One can have a general
trend toward asceticism and sometimes move toward lasciviousness, or be lascivious and suddenly develop an area of self-righteousness. This equals relative standards with no absolute! When you become a Christian, God does at least
forty things for you, but there is one thing He does not do for you — He does not remove the sin nature! The
day you accept Christ as Savior and become a believer, (Act 16:31; Joh 3:16; Joh 3:36) you walk right into
the Christian life with your own personal sin nature. No matter which trend is
dominant or how your sin nature operates, there is nothing you can do to remove
it. (Rom 7:24)
THE LUST PATTERN OF THE OLD SIN NATURE
We
need to examine another characteristic of the old sin nature — the lust
pattern. What is lust? Lust is an illicit, sometimes insatiable desire. Desire is an intense motivator. Lust can consume you and can influence all your
thoughts and actions. The most basic motivation is approbation lust — the desire to be recognized, to promote oneself. (Jas 3:14-15)
This is why youngsters dare each other to do certain things — to get attention
among their peers. And adults with
approbation lust are like children, even though the means of gaining attention
may be more sophisticated. Everyone operates within his own framework to
gain attention. For instance,
recognition may commence with some spectacular physical, academic, social, or
professional achievement. Such
recognition becomes an all-encompassing motivator in life. Once you begin
to get attention, this leads to power lust: you desire to organize people who
give you attention so you can control and manipulate them. Sexual lust is often
a substitute for romantic love. Materialism lust consumes many in our society
with the desire for possessions. There are other lusts, but these are the basic
ones.
The
sin nature inherent to mankind; is a constant, grim companion. But phases one and two of God’s plan provide a
solution to the sin problem.
PHASE TWO: THE BELIEVER IN TIME
People who believe in Christ have the privilege of entering immediately
into phase two of God’s plan. God’s plan, called OPERATION GRACE, is designed
for appropriating God’s happiness through learning and applying the Mind of
Christ. (1Co 2:16) The Mind of Christ is available to every believer
as the Word of Truth. Although the sin nature
will never be removed or shed in phase two, (Rom 7:14-25)
the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, (Gal 5:16) and growth in Truth, (2Pe 3:18) means progressively more time spent serving the Lord, (By staying in fellowship, and Thinking with His
Thoughts) and sharing His happiness.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
At
the moment of Salvation, when you believe in Christ, you are said to be “born again.” (Joh 3:7) The Theological term for born again is regeneration. You are
reborn into the family of God; you are His child; you are made righteous
because of the work of Christ on the cross. (Rom 3:21-22;
2Co 5:21; Php 3:9) But when we sin in phase two, the sin nature controls
us, and we have no fellowship with God in that condition. (Psa 66:18)
Regeneration makes us a new creature with a permanent family relationship with
God, but we still have an old sin nature which tempts us to sin and lose
fellowship with God. We can still be motivated
by lust.
The encouragement of approbation lust may be
instigated right from the beginning of the Christian life. Often new VIP (Very
important person) believers are asked for a dramatic testimony on how they
found Christ as Savior. Everyone wants to hear from the captain of the football
team, the beauty queen, the successful professional, or the famous socialite.
This may be good public relations, but it is not necessarily Christianity. This
type of recognition could act as a catalyst to promote arrogance and stimulate
the lust pattern. Just because believers are VIPs in the human realm does not
make them more important in God’s view than an unknown individual who never
receives attention from anyone. When “Mister Little” accepts Christ, he is just
as important in God’s eyes as “Mister Big.”
And opening his mouth, Peter said: I most
certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every
nation the man who fears [Respects] Him and does what is right, [Executes the
plan of God] is welcome to Him. (Act 10:34-35)
Regeneration is Spiritual birth. (Joh 3:6) As a Christian in
phase two, you have — borrowing an expression from a wedding “something old and
something new.” The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is brand new, but your
old sin nature is an old holdover from your physical birth. As we enter our new
life, God has provided marvelous assets. God gives us forty things which we
never had before. These new assets make us “new
creatures in Christ.” (2Co
5:17)
You
must understand that the sin nature has nothing God can use. A Christian’s life should operate on the basis
of being controlled by God the Holy Spirit, When a person is controlled by his sin nature after Salvation, the
Bible calls him a carnal Christian. “Carnal” is an old English word, a real antique. Over three hundred fifty
years ago carnal meant fleshly, and “flesh”
is sometimes a designation for the old sin nature. So, a carnal Christian is any believer — you or me — when he sins.
The first time you sin after being saved may
shock you. After a while sinning becomes second nature. If you live your Christian life without Spiritual
growth — and by that I mean you never learn the Word — you will cultivate and refine your old sin nature in carnality. For example, you might find out the ground
rules in a certain local church — what people will accept and what they will
not accept — so you can learn to hide your areas of weakness. If you are ignorant of Truth and of how to
restrain the sin nature, you can develop into a first-class phony. Today, Christian hypocrisy is everywhere and
any smart unbeliever can spot it immediately. New believers must, therefore, be taught that God has provided the
means to avoid cultivating the sin nature. (Joh 4:23)
STALL RECOVERY
Through learning Truth you can increasingly
resist the constant temptation of the sin nature in your life! (1Pe 4:1-5)
But sin will inevitably occur, (Rom 7:21-25)
and when you sin you must learn how to escape the subsequent control of the sin
nature. The bad news is that the sin nature cannot be eradicated. But here is
the good news: We have the means of controlling our sin nature. Learning about
flying an airplane provides a wonderful illustration. Your flight instructor
initially takes you to an aircraft and says, “This is an airplane” — much in
the same manner as when I said, “God exists.” Of course, you already know it is
an airplane. It has basic controls — a rudder and stick, a bank indicator, and
a throttle. As you are shown the various parts, the instructor explains, “This
performs a certain function . . . that performs a certain function.”
Eventually, you get into the plane where he shows you how to strap yourself in,
and then takes you on a familiarization flight.
In
the course of flight school you must learn how to recover from a stall. And
this recovery can be as dramatic as the instructor wishes to make it, depending
on the nature of the aircraft and the instructor’s grit. Many instructors like
to push the stick forward, go into a good dive, and then pull back on the
stick, which makes the plane sit on its tail, while you sit there with your
stomach pressed against your backbone. Then “Whoom,” you go into a hammer-head,
a violent stall in which the nose of the aircraft drops past vertical and you
end up on your back. Or the instructor may simply pull the throttle back, chop
it off, and suddenly you can hear nothing but the wind — the noise of the
engine is missing. Down you plunge as your stomach now goes to your head. Stall
training can be sensational!
A
stall means the aircraft is not maintaining flying attitude. In other words,
the plane has a bad attitude which could become instant disaster. Therefore,
you must first learn to recover the right attitude. Why does the instructor
teach you this technique first? So you will not break his neck, as well as your
own. Flying a plane without knowing the stall recovery technique is courting
disaster. Likewise, a believer
trying to live the Christian way of life without knowing how to control the sin
nature is in a stall. Like the untrained
pilot, he faces disaster. That is exactly why I cannot teach you anything else
until you know “stall recovery.”
You
do not learn to fly in a stall, in a dive, or in a spin; you learn to fly when
the plane is moving on a normal course. In God’s plan you cannot learn Spiritual Thoughts when you are in a
stall under the control of your old sin nature. You learn Truth, as we
shall shortly see, only in the way that God has designed.
Some
Christians have the misconception that once you accept Christ your problems are
over; you will never sin again and you will be happy. Consequently, when a
believer without Truth fails, he may assume he was not really saved at all. He
reasons he must have been mistaken. He does not understand that once he
believes in Christ, in spite of subsequent sins and failures his eternal life
can never be lost. (Rom 8:38-39) Believers who repeatedly question their
eternal security will try different methods for reassurance and reaffirmation
but never really solve the predicament. What is required to correct their
misconception is the Doctrinal briefing concerning Corinthian carnality the
apostle Paul gave in. (1Co
3:1)
THE CARNAL CORINTHIANS
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as
to Spiritual men, but as to men of flesh,
as to babes in Christ.
(1Co 3:1)
Paul is speaking here as a teacher to students,
and he says, “And I, brethren.” The
word “brethren” refers to persons who
have made the greatest of all decisions — the decision to believe in Jesus
Christ — to receive Him as Savior. Brethren refer to members of the family of
God. We become members of His family by accepting Christ as Savior. (Gal 3:26) Just because the Scripture calls us brethren, does not mean you
need to run around calling everyone “brother” and “sister.” The word brethren
is significant only because it means that all believers are members of the same
family.
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you.” Here is Paul, the greatest teacher of all time,
and he cannot speak. Why? Because these people were not Spiritual. Immediately
you think, “Well, who and what is Spiritual?” You might even say to yourself,
“I don’t feel Spiritual.” How does it feel to be Spiritual? Is it a dreamy feeling
up on “cloud nine”? A consciousness of the presence of God? A satisfaction with
your righteousness? Not at all! You are Spiritual when you are controlled by
God the Holy Spirit, and how you feel has nothing to do with it. If you are in fellowship with God the Holy
Spirit by means of; (Pro 28:13; 1Jn 1:9) He controls your life, and you are Spiritual!
Spirituality is an absolute. At any moment you are either filled with or
controlled by God the Holy Spirit, or you are controlled by the old sin nature. (Rom 8:4-8)
You can be Spiritual with a sinus headache; you can be Spiritual and feel blue;
you can be Spiritual and feel good; you can be Spiritual and sleepy; you can be
Spiritual and alert. How you feel has nothing to do with Spirituality. Spirituality
is the Holy Spirit’s control of your life. (Eph 5:18)
You
have to be controlled by God the Holy Spirit to learn and apply Truth and
execute phase two, just as you have to be flying on a level course to learn and
apply the principles of flying. The most difficult aspect of flying is holding to a straight
course in crosswinds or bad weather. Likewise, Spirituality is maintaining your relationship with God under all
circumstances! You cannot learn or apply or Think with Truth when
you are controlled by the sin nature. Paul expresses his frustration when he says, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to Spiritual men, [A
person controlled by God the Holy Spirit] but
as to men of flesh.” [Carnal] Every believer is a priest, responsible for his
own Spiritual life. And every believer-priest must learn the stall recovery
technique in order to be controlled by the Spirit so he can learn and apply
Truth. The Spirit teaches Truth
(God's Thoughts) to our human spirit. (1Co 2:2-13)
The stall in Spiritual
growth is being out of fellowship — carnal. (1Co 2:14) “Babes in
Christ” means the Corinthian believers had not advanced in the Christian
way of life because they were carnal.
Let
me illustrate with two circles. The top circle portrays eternal fellowship with
God; the bottom circle, temporal fellowship with God. Every believer is put
into union with Christ at the moment of Salvation and can never get out of the
top circle; (Psa 37:24; Joh 10:28)
you can never lose your eternal life. The bottom circle represents the Holy
Spirit’s control of your life, and is called “fellowship” or “Spirituality.” Outside the bottom circle is where
the sin nature controls your life, which is the state of “carnality.” So, the Spiritual
believer is inside the bottom circle, and the carnal believer is
outside the bottom circle of fellowship.
Paul
says, “When I am speaking to you and you
are outside the circle of fellowship, I cannot get through to you.
When you are in this circle of fellowship, I can get through to
you.” (1Co 2:14-15 ; 2Ti 3:14) Paul cannot make them get back in the bottom
circle. He cannot force them back into the circle. No one works his way back
into the circle; no one goes through a system of penance or pays money to get
back into the circle. Getting back into the bottom circle requires a stall
recovery technique. We call that technique “rebound.”
Before you can learn Truth, you have to
understand rebound! Paul says:
I gave you milk to drink, not solid food;
for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are
not yet able. (1Co 3:2)
Paul really blasted the Corinthians. In effect he is saying, “Look, you are out of fellowship. You were not able to take in Truth,
and you are still not able to take it in.” Then he adds: “For you are still
fleshly.” (1Co 3:3)
The
moment you are born into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, God
the Holy Spirit puts you into union with Christ. At the same time, you are
under the control of God the Holy Spirit, inside the circle of fellowship in
the status of Spirituality — until you sin. When you sin, out you go? You see, you still have your old sin nature. You stay out of the bottom circle when you commit
sins, but you can recover at
any time! You need to know how to go from outside the
circle to inside the circle — from carnal to Spiritual. That requires the
rebound technique. (1Jn 1:9) That is the stall recovery, and it is the
basis for learning Truth. Rebound is the key to living in God’s plan and
reaching Spiritual maturity. (Joh 15:5-8)
For
you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you,
are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? (1Co 3:3)
Paul
describes a type of sin which the Bible condemns many times, jealousy. How did
the Corinthians get out of the bottom circle? Jealousy! Jealousy is a mental
attitude sin that produces a chain of sins. And once outside of the bottom
circle strife develops. What is strife? Strife is
disagreement and fighting. Because a person is jealous, he may become
unforgiving and then seek revenge. Such a person wants to hurt, to badmouth, to
blackball, to condemn; he generates an attitude of total hostility. What happens when a group of people are
involved in sin? They start with mental attitude sins and end up with conflict.
Strife is the complete antithesis of a relaxed attitude. Inside the circle of
fellowship anyone can have a relaxed attitude. Outside the bottom circle
believers are “tied up in knots,” or
completely involved in their “carnal human life.” (Pro 1:32) This is why Paul could not teach Truth to the
Corinthians. They had the mental attitude sin of jealousy, which converted to “strife and divisions.”
Paul continues: “...are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” (1Co 3:3) What is the one possession
you brought with you into the Christian life? Your old sin nature! Every
believer does! The phrase, “walking like mere men,” means that you
are out of the bottom circle. “Mere men”
is simply a technical title for anyone who has not accepted Christ as Savior. In other words, you walk or live like an
unbeliever. It may be a moral or an immoral unbeliever, a religious or a
non-religious unbeliever, a foolish or a smart unbeliever — but you live and think just like any unbeliever. So, the old sin nature is your enemy. But it is
part of you — it is inborn. You will not be relieved of the sin nature until
phase three. Therefore, God provided a stall recovery procedure called rebound.
This technique is found in. (1Jn 1:9)
THE KEY TO FULFILLING GOD’S PLAN
If we confess our sins, He is faithful
[Consistent] and righteous [Just] to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. (1Jn
1:9)
Remember the twenty-year-old who committed thousands of sins before
Salvation. His sins were all judged
on the cross, and at the moment of Salvation they were all blotted out. He
is in the bottom circle before he commits his first sin. His first sin may
parallel the Corinthian sin of jealousy — a mental attitude sin. As soon as he becomes jealous, he is outside the
circle of fellowship; he is carnal. He is in a stall. An act of jealousy never stands alone, but
always leads to other sins; jealousy is part of chain-sinning. Although this
believer is now carnal, he has not lost his eternal life. God dearly loved him
when he was in the bottom circle; God loves him just as much outside that
circle because he is still a member of God’s family. But at this point he will
receive Divine discipline; he is going to be spanked.
For those whom the Lord loves He
disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline
that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom
his father does not discipline? (Heb 12:6-7)
How
does he recover? By using, (1Jn
1:9)!
The first word “if,” introduces what is called a third-class condition in the
Greek. A third-class condition means you have to decide for yourself what you
are going to do — use the volition of your soul. Every person can make positive
or negative decisions. When you do what (1Jn 1:9) says, you exercise
positive volition. Therefore, “if”
means you may exercise either positive or negative volition; and the word “we” refers to all believers in Jesus
Christ. Our next word is “confess.”
This word simply means “to cite, to name
or to admit.” Originally the Greeks used the term to mean “to cite a case.”
The case referred to here is the cross. “Our sins” were judged on the cross,
and we simply name or cite these sins privately to God the Father — not to
anyone else. Why just to God? Because the person who is confessing is a priest
(1Pe 2:9) and must deal directly with God. God always
responds in grace and forgives us. Confession or naming your sins requires no
penance. Confession does not even mean to feel sorry for the sin or to beg God
for forgiveness. Just name the sin to God, privately. Why? Remember privacy?
Every believer-priest must have his privacy to live his life as unto the Lord.
David committed adultery, he murdered, he committed all kinds of sins. But when
he finally rebounded, he said, “Against You, You only, I have sinned And done
what is evil in Your sight...” (Psa 51:4) Sin is against God, an offense against the character of God. Other people may be involved in some way, but
the believer-priest confesses directly to God the Father.
“If we confess our sins, He [God] is
faithful. . . .” “Faithful” means God responds the same way every time. He
has never been inconsistent. Never! Faithfulness is one of God’s eternal characteristics: He is always consistent.
“He [God] is
faithful and righteous [Just].
. . .” God is righteous and just because our sins were poured on Christ at the
cross. (1Pe 2:24) God the Father judged every sin at that moment,
and no believer will ever be judged for his sins again. Therefore,
because of Christ’s work on the cross, God the Father is justified in forgiving
our sins and His perfect righteousness is not compromised.
“He is . . . righteous to forgive us our
sins. . . .” “Forgive”
means “to forget and to blot out.” God not only forgives the named sin, which we
call a known sin, but at the same time He forgives all unknown sins. The last
phrase, “and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness,” refers to all of our unknown sins.
This is our “stall recovery,” the rebound
technique in summary. The Christian should always keep short accounts with God.
When you sin, immediately use, (1Jn 1:9) so that you will be in
fellowship and under the control of the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit. (1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19) First John 1:9 is not a license to sin, but a license to serve. Rebound allows the believer to operate in the power of God the
Holy Spirit — to be filled with the Spirit, (Eph 5:18) to walk by the Spirit.
(Gal 5:16-18) Rebound is the Divine asset which makes the
Christian way of life function. This is God’s grace provision for the control
of the old sin nature and the advance of His plan in phase two. (2Pe 1:2-11)
GRACE IS GOD’S PLAN
Phase two of the plan of God provides every believer
with a blueprint for the Christian life. But unless we understand who God IS, what His plan is and how to
fulfill it; His plan remains
confusing to us! None of us earn or
deserve what God gives us; everything depends on His grace! In fact, a synonym for God’s plan is grace. The first step to
glorying God in time is to consistently utilize the grace technique of rebound.
But God’s grace does not end with regeneration
and rebound Exercising rebound is only the beginning. God has provided every
Church Age believer with advantages and privileges that stagger the
imagination. (Eph 1:3; Eph 1:18; Eph 3:20) Learning to use God’s grace provision should be the goal and
purpose of every believer in phase two. Your Christian life cannot proceed to maturity without the Wisdom
of Truth as your guide. God has freely given you riches beyond your wildest
imagination. Only Truth reveals the treasures of God’s plan to you. As we advance from “babes in Christ” to Spiritual maturity, only then can we begin to
“Fully Understand” and execute phase two in the plan of God. His Command is:
Grow in grace and knowledge [Spiritual
Thinking] of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be
the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. (2Pe 3:18)
PHASE THREE: THE BELIEVER IN ETERNITY
Phase
three is guaranteed to every believer. (1Pe 1:4-5)
At the moment you depart from this life, you are “face-to-face with the Lord.” (2Co 5:8) You will receive a resurrection body, a body
like that of the resurrected Christ. That
body will be without a sin nature, (1Co 15:35-49) and will forever free the believer from the
slavery and imperfections of phase two. The Bible describes phase three in these words: And He shall wipe
away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there
shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain: the first things have
passed away. (Rev 21:4) Relatively few descriptions of heaven exist in
the Bible. However, from those
which do exist we know His plan for our eternal future is far beyond our
wildest expectations! Our heavenly dwelling
places are described as “mansions.”
In (Joh 14:2) The New Jerusalem, which comes down “out of heaven,” (Rev 21:2) is described as a city of pure gold with
streets of gold, walls of every kind of precious stones, and gates of pearls. (Rev 21:16-27)
Furthermore, every Church Age believer will be evaluated at the Judgment Seat
of Christ, so they may be rewarded according to their “deeds.” (2Co 5:10)
For no man can lay a foundation other than
the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the
foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, [Divine Thoughts]
wood, hay, straw [Human thoughts] each man’s work will
become evident; for the day [Judgment Seat of Christ] will show it, because it
is to be revealed with fire; [Human thinking will be consumed,
Divine Thinking remains] and
the fire, (Joh 12:48) itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (1Co 3:12-14)
The
Judgment Seat of Christ takes place in heaven. The evaluation is made on the
basis of each believer’s execution of phase two of God’s plan or his failure to
do so. Sins are not judged since
all sins were judged on the cross. (1Jn 2:2) Instead, believers are judged / rewarded by
their production 30/60/100. (Mat 13:8) Rewards are called “crowns.” (1Co 9:24-27; 2Ti 4:7-8; Jas 1:12; 1Pe 5:4; Rev 2:10; Rev 2:28; Rev 22:16-17) These crowns are
spectacular and eternal reminders of our phase two Spiritual growth and
faithfulness in executing the plan of God.
AFTER SALVATION, WHAT?
What
is God’s plan for you following your personal faith in Christ? To realize the peace, happiness, and
contentment that glorifies God from learning the Word of Truth and advancing to
Spiritual maturity! Truth communicates God’s
Word to you so absolute Truth becomes the measure of your conscience, Thinking
and the source of your mental attitude. When you learn Who and what Christ IS;
you can begin to share His Thinking. (1Co 2:16) God Commands you to Think
with Divine Viewpoint, not human reality so
His gracious purpose can be fulfilled in your life! (Rom 12:2) You continue to live
after Salvation to fulfill your personal destiny — to become a mature
believer as an expression of God’s glory in both time and eternity. Only as a
mature believer can you consistently glorify God by receiving the highest and
best that He has prepared for you! (Eph 1:3-6) The quality and impact of your life on earth and your rewards in
heaven depend on your execution of phase two! You advance Spiritually by consistently learning, Thinking, and
applying Truth! Your persistent Spiritual growth from Truth
resident in your soul expands your capacity for life, for love, for service,
for blessings, for happiness!
For I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I
also know how to live in prosperity; in
any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going
hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
(Php 4:11-13)
Appendix
FORTY THINGS GOD PROVIDES EVERY BELIEVER AT THE
MOMENT OF SALVATION (THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION) Compiled by Lewis Sperry Chafer
Revised by R. B. Thieme, Jr.
1. The believer resides in the eternal plan of
God. (He shares the destiny of Christ) We are:
a. Foreknown: (Act 2:23; Rom 8:29; 1Pe 1:2)
b. Elected: (Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; 1Th 1:4; Tit 1:1)
c. Predestined: (Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:5; Eph 1:11; 1Pe 1:2)
d. Chosen: (Mat 22:14;
1Pe 2:4)
e. Called: (1Th 5:24)
2. The believer is reconciled (Removal of the barrier
between man and God)
a. By God: (2Co 5:18-19;
Col 1:20)
b. To God: (Rom 5:10; 2Co 5:20; Eph 2:14-17)
3. The believer is redeemed (Purchased from the
slave market of sin): (Rom
3:24; Col 1:14; 1Pe 1:18)
4. The believer’s condemnation, (Eternal judgment
in the Lake of fire) is removed: (Joh 3:18; Joh 5:24; Rom 8:1)
5. All sins are judged by the substitutionary
Spiritual death of Christ on the cross: (Rom 4:25; Eph 1:7; 1Pe 2:24)
6. Every believer receives propitiation for sins
(God satisfied with the work of His Son): (Rom 3:25-26;
1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:10)
7. The believer is dead to the old life, (The
old sin nature) but alive to God (Retroactive positional Truth)
a. He is Crucified with Christ: (Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20)
b. Dead with Christ: (Rom 6:8; Col 3:3; 1Pe 2:24)
c. Buried with Christ: (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12)
d. Raised with Christ: (Rom 6:4; Col 3:1)
8. The believer is free from the Mosaic Law. He
is
a. Dead: (Rom 7:4)
b. Delivered: (Rom 6:14; Rom 7:6; 2Co 3:6-11; Gal 3:25)
9. The believer is regenerated: (Joh 13:10; 1Co 6:11; Tit 3:5)
a. He is born again: (Joh 3:7; 1Pe 1:23)
b. A child of God: (Gal 3:26)
c. A son of God: (Joh 1:12; 2Co 6:18; 1Jn 3:2)
d. A new creation: (2Co 5:17;Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10)
10. The believer is adopted by God (Placed as
adult sons because of positional Truth): (Rom 8:15; Rom 8:23; (Future) Eph
1:5)
11. The believer is made acceptable to God: (Eph 1:6; 1Pe 2:5)
a. He is made righteous: (Imputation) (Rom 3:22; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Php 3:9)
b. Sanctified positionally: (1Co 1:30; 1Co 6:11)
c. Perfected forever: (Heb 10:14)
d. Qualified for inheritance: (Col 1:12)
12. The believer is justified (Declared
righteous): (Rom 3:24; Rom 5:1; Rom 5:9; Rom 8:30; 1Co 6:11; Tit 3:7)
13. The believer receives the unique availability
of Divine power: (2Pe 1:3)
14. The believer is guaranteed a heavenly
citizenship based on reconciliation: (Luk 10:20;
Eph 2:13; Eph 2:19; Php 3:20)
15. The believer is delivered from the kingdom
of Satan: (Col 1:13; Col 2:15)
16. The believer is transferred into God’s
kingdom: (Col 1:13)
17. The believer is now on a secure foundation:
(1Co 3:11; 1Co 10:4; Eph 2:20)
18. Every believer is a gift from God the Father
to Christ: (Joh 10:29; Joh 17:2; Joh 17:6; Joh 17:9; Joh 17:11-12;
Joh 17:24)
19. The believer is delivered from the power of
the sin nature: (Rom 2:29; Php 3:3; Col 2:11)
20. Every believer is appointed a priest unto
God. We are:
a. A holy priesthood: (1Pe 2:5)
b. A royal priesthood: (1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6)
21. The believer receives eternal security: (Rom 8:32; Rom 8:38-39; Gal 3:26; 2Ti 2:13)
22. The believer is given access to God: (Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; Heb 4:14; Heb 4:16; Heb 10:19-20)
23. Every believer is within the “much more”
grace care of God: (Rom 5:9-10)
a. We are: Objects of His love: Eph 2:4; Eph 5:2;
b. Objects of His grace (1) For salvation: Eph 2:8-9; (2) For keeping: (Rom 5:2; 1Pe 1:5) (3) For service: (Joh 17:18;
Eph 4:7) (4) For instruction: (Tit 2:12)
c. Objects of His power: (Eph 1:19; Php 2:13)
d. Objects of His faithfulness: (Php 1:6; Heb 13:5)
e. Objects of His peace: (Joh 14:27)
f. Objects of His consolation: (2Th 2:16)
g. Objects of His intercession: (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24)
24. The believer is beneficiary of an
inheritance as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ: (Rom 8:17; Eph 1:14; Eph 1:18; Col 3:24; Heb 9:15; 1Pe 1:4)
25. Every believer has a new position in Christ:
(Eph 2:6)
a. We are partners with Christ in life: (Col 3:4)
b. Partners with Christ in service: (1Co 1:9) (1) Workers together with God: (1Co 3:9; 2Co 6:1) (2) Ministers of the New Covenant: (2Co 3:6) (3) Ambassadors: (2Co 5:20) (4) Living epistles: (2Co 3:3) (5) Ministers of God: (2Co 6:4)
26. Believers are recipients of eternal life: (Joh 3:15; Joh 10:28; Joh 20:31;
1Jn 5:11-12)
27. The believer is created a new Spiritual
species: (2Co 5:17)
28. The believer is a light in the Lord (Part of
the angelic conflict): (Eph
5:8; 1Th 5:4)
29. The believer is united with the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. We are:
a. In God: (1Th 1:1; cf., “God in you,” Eph 4:6)
b. In Christ: (Joh 14:20;
cf., “Christ in you,” Col 1:27) (1) A member in His Body: (1Co 12:13) (2) A branch in the Vine: (Joh 15:5) (3) A stone in the
Building: (Eph 2:21-22; 1Pe 2:5) (4) A sheep in the
Flock: (Joh 10:27-29) (5) A portion of His Bride: (Eph 5:25-27; Rev 19:6-8)
(6) A priest of the kingdom of priests: (1Pe 2:9) (7) A saint of the “new species:” (2Co 5:17) In the Holy Spirit: (Rom 8:9) “the Spirit in you.”
30. Every believer is the recipient of the ministries
of the Holy Spirit. He is
a. Born of the Spirit: (Joh 3:36)
b. Baptized with the Spirit: (Act 1:5; 1Co 12:13)
c. Indwelt by the Spirit: (Joh 7:39; Rom 5:5; Rom 8:9; 1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19; Gal 4:6; 1Jn 3:24)
d. Sealed by the Spirit: (2Co 1:22; Eph 4:30)
e. Given Spiritual gifts: (1Co 12:11; 1Co 12:27-31; 1Co 13:1-2)
31. The believer is glorified: (Rom 8:30)
32. The believer is complete in Christ: (Col 2:10)
33. The believer is possessor of every Spiritual
blessing granted in eternity past: (Eph 1:3)
34. The believer receives a human spirit (The
basis for Operation Z, along with the Holy Spirit): (Rom 8:16; 1Co 2:12; 2Co 7:13; 1Th 5:23)
35. The believer has scar tissue removed from
the soul: (Isa 43:25; Isa 44:22)
36. The believer is the recipient of efficacious
grace: (Eph 1:13)
37. The believer is guaranteed a resurrection
body forever: (Joh 11:25)
38. The believer is the beneficiary of unlimited
atonement: (2Co 5:14-15; 2Co 5:19; 1Ti 2:6; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2Pe 2:1; 1Jn 2:2)
39. The believer has equal privilege and equal
opportunity under election and predestination.
40. The ten problem-solving devices are
available to every believer. They are
a. Rebound: (1Jn 1:9)
b. Filling of the Holy Spirit: (Eph 5:18)
c. Faith-rest drill: (Heb 4:1; Heb 4:10-11)
d. Grace orientation: (Jas 4:6)
e. Doctrinal orientation: (Rom 12:2)
f. Personal sense of destiny: (Php 1:21)
g. Personal love for God: (Deut 6:5; 1Pe 1:8)
h. Impersonal love for all mankind: (Jas 2:8)
1. Sharing the happiness of God, +H: (Joh 15:11)
j. Occupation with Christ: (Eph 3:19)
END
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