notme
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by notme on Oct 13, 2021 19:33:06 GMT -5
Philippians 3:12b (NKJV) ………………………………….but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
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What was it that Christ had laid hold of Paul for?
That being, the restoration of the image of God… This truth is put forth in scripture as one being conformed to the image of Christ… The evidence of this being conformed is the expression of the good, the proper and the right, this was that that Paul was laying hold of…
For the image of God is presented before one every time a choice between good and evil is presented, the good being the image of God, the evil being the image of sin..
This, that Christ laid hold of Paul for, is the same that Christ has laid hold of all believer’s for… Though their work of service differs, as well as their gifts, but Christ has laid hold of His, so that that which was lost in the fall might be restored…
This being restored to the image of God is what Paul was actively laying hold of… When the choice was put before Paul, he would hold unto the good, this, the good, the proper and the right, being the manifestation of the image of God…
For laying hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of one, costs one all things, it costs one their very own will…. If one is not willing to die to all the things of this world, one will find this truth to be most perplexing… But to the heart that is willing to give up all of their own will as a living sacrifice to God, this truth is the most freeing and glorious truth.. For the heart sees it is the conscious willingness that is required so the image of God can be restored….
This is the struggle in the human heart, being brought to the place where one would willingly give up their life rather then manifest the evil image of sin…. For this is what Paul chose to lay hold of, the image for which Christ died…
Be blessed in laying hold of the restoration of the image of God….
A fellow believer, Not me
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Post by watchful on Oct 15, 2021 5:55:44 GMT -5
Amen....the image of God/Christ speaks of sonship, and this is an upward call to keep growing in the Lord. Paul didn't consider that he had attained, and though he wasn't conscious of anything against him, yet he didn't consider that he was by any means acquitted. There always seems to be this tension between what we have attained and what we are still reaching to attain, as the Lord keeps calling us further upward.
2Co 3:14-18 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
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Post by John on Oct 15, 2021 21:54:47 GMT -5
The new birth is about dying to the old man and coming alive in Christ Jesus. We are told not to love the world or the things of the world. If we love the world, the love of God is not in us. We are also told that those who are willing to die will gain their life, and those who hold onto their life will lose their life. These are things few are teaching today, but they are absolutely necessary to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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Post by watchful on Oct 16, 2021 7:14:06 GMT -5
The new birth is about dying to the old man and coming alive in Christ Jesus. We are told not to love the world or the things of the world. If we love the world, the love of God is not in us. We are also told that those who are willing to die will gain their life, and those who hold onto their life will lose their life. These are things few are teaching today, but they are absolutely necessary to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Amen. And doesn't this seem to be how the Lord leads us...as we follow Him where/how He leads, we find we are losing our lives in this world and overcoming the image of the beast/dragon that he left in us, as we love not our lives unto the death. And the whole saga of the children of Israel trekking through the wilderness is a picture of our pilgrimmage...lots of lessons there.
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Post by John on Oct 16, 2021 18:22:23 GMT -5
The new birth is about dying to the old man and coming alive in Christ Jesus. We are told not to love the world or the things of the world. If we love the world, the love of God is not in us. We are also told that those who are willing to die will gain their life, and those who hold onto their life will lose their life. These are things few are teaching today, but they are absolutely necessary to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Amen. And doesn't this seem to be how the Lord leads us...as we follow Him where/how He leads, we find we are losing our lives in this world and overcoming the image of the beast/dragon that he left in us, as we love not our lives unto the death. And the whole saga of the children of Israel trekking through the wilderness is a picture of our pilgrimmage...lots of lessons there. I have found that there is little value in the things of this world. Things I used to love, I care nothing about anymore. Something I have noticed is how Christians put such value in things that will pass away. They are more concerned with what they can get by with and stay saved than they are dying to self. For most, it is not about how close they can follow Jesus, but how far away they can be from Him while still making it to heaven. If we want to be Jesus' disciple, it must all be about Him.
As far as the beast and the dragon goes, there is a spiritual side to everything, but there is also a literal beast system coming. It will come whether we believe it or not.
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Post by watchful on Oct 17, 2021 7:34:45 GMT -5
Amen. And doesn't this seem to be how the Lord leads us...as we follow Him where/how He leads, we find we are losing our lives in this world and overcoming the image of the beast/dragon that he left in us, as we love not our lives unto the death. And the whole saga of the children of Israel trekking through the wilderness is a picture of our pilgrimmage...lots of lessons there. I have found that there is little value in the things of this world. Things I used to love, I care nothing about anymore. Something I have noticed is how Christians put such value in things that will pass away. They are more concerned with what they can get by with and stay saved than they are dying to self. For most, it is not about how close they can follow Jesus, but how far away they can be from Him while still making it to heaven. If we want to be Jesus' disciple, it must all be about Him.
As far as the beast and the dragon goes, there is a spiritual side to everything, but there is also a literal beast system coming. It will come whether we believe it or not.
Praise the Lord that He is so faithful. As we keep seeking His righteousness He is faithful to put his finger on the root of whatever area of difficulty a soul is battling with, and to help us in the battle. We find that some things may slough off us quite easily without even our awareness until one day we realize, wow, hey, I've changed, thanks be to God....but other areas that the Lord is gracious to bring to light we find we need to deliberately seek Him for His help and engage in the fight against obstacles that are impossible to surmount without God. He is ever pruning even the fruitful branches in His vineyard, to bring Him more glory. The Lord keeps calling us ever upward as long as we have breath in this life. Well, whatever happens we need to keep our eyes above on Jesus, following Him, and He will faithfully navigate us through whatever circumstances in this world we happen to be journeying through in our lifetime. And He will keep him in perfect peace whose minds are stayed above on Him. It's the spiritual things that edify and light our way and are unchanging at any time in history.
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Post by frienduff on Oct 17, 2021 20:20:42 GMT -5
Ye who are the vessels of the Lord . Christ has cleansed up and we are new vessels . Holy vessels unto the Lord . Let no man put the holy with the unholy . The vessels of the Lord are not made to be of service to sin but unto righteousness and holiness in the Lord . Let us Heed the LORD for we have been purchased and bought with a price . Let us drink and eat of the food and drink of the Lord . And let all that has breath praise and thank the glorious Lord .
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Post by watchful on Oct 18, 2021 6:44:04 GMT -5
Amen, we are every whit clean through the word, but Jesus also said on top of that, that if we don't let Him wash our feet we have no part with Him. And to the saved/clean the scripture also says to let the lame be healed lest they be turned out of the way. There is still work to be done within the believer, after salvation. In His wisdom we are taking back the land for the Lord (of our lives/hearts) little by little, lest the wild beasts take over....if God fixed everything all at once before we were ready we might be taken over by such things of the flesh (beast nature) as pride and forgetting Him, etc.
In the meantime we are carrying our crosses and bearing the chastisements of the Lord for our good, suffering with Him to the death of those things that reside in our flesh nature. Suffering and temptation is necessary so that we also may, like Jesus, learn obedience, and also be touched with the feeling of our infirmities so that we can succour others with similar difficulties. Salvation is not just a one and done thing, we are also walking and ironing it out and working out our salvation as we go along...the perfecting of our faith, like Jesus the captain of our salvation who was made perfect through His sufferings.
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Post by watchful on Oct 19, 2021 6:32:07 GMT -5
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Post by John on Oct 31, 2021 20:20:22 GMT -5
I was able to see it okay. It was nice.
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Post by John on Oct 31, 2021 20:23:31 GMT -5
Amen, we are every whit clean through the word, but Jesus also said on top of that, that if we don't let Him wash our feet we have no part with Him. And to the saved/clean the scripture also says to let the lame be healed lest they be turned out of the way. There is still work to be done within the believer, after salvation. In His wisdom we are taking back the land for the Lord (of our lives/hearts) little by little, lest the wild beasts take over....if God fixed everything all at once before we were ready we might be taken over by such things of the flesh (beast nature) as pride and forgetting Him, etc. In the meantime we are carrying our crosses and bearing the chastisements of the Lord for our good, suffering with Him to the death of those things that reside in our flesh nature. Suffering and temptation is necessary so that we also may, like Jesus, learn obedience, and also be touched with the feeling of our infirmities so that we can succour others with similar difficulties. Salvation is not just a one and done thing, we are also walking and ironing it out and working out our salvation as we go along...the perfecting of our faith, like Jesus the captain of our salvation who was made perfect through His sufferings. I am not sure we have any disagreement here, but you know why Jesus said that about Peter letting the Lord wash his feet? He was teaching Peter a lesson about being a servant to others. It had nothing to do with Peter not being fully clean, but it was a lesson that was essential that Peter learn. If the Lord and Master would wash the disciple's feet, which was the role of a servant, how much more should we be willing to serve our brothers and sisters.
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Post by watchful on Nov 1, 2021 10:18:27 GMT -5
Amen, we are every whit clean through the word, but Jesus also said on top of that, that if we don't let Him wash our feet we have no part with Him. And to the saved/clean the scripture also says to let the lame be healed lest they be turned out of the way. There is still work to be done within the believer, after salvation. In His wisdom we are taking back the land for the Lord (of our lives/hearts) little by little, lest the wild beasts take over....if God fixed everything all at once before we were ready we might be taken over by such things of the flesh (beast nature) as pride and forgetting Him, etc. In the meantime we are carrying our crosses and bearing the chastisements of the Lord for our good, suffering with Him to the death of those things that reside in our flesh nature. Suffering and temptation is necessary so that we also may, like Jesus, learn obedience, and also be touched with the feeling of our infirmities so that we can succour others with similar difficulties. Salvation is not just a one and done thing, we are also walking and ironing it out and working out our salvation as we go along...the perfecting of our faith, like Jesus the captain of our salvation who was made perfect through His sufferings. I am not sure we have any disagreement here, but you know why Jesus said that about Peter letting the Lord wash his feet? He was teaching Peter a lesson about being a servant to others. It had nothing to do with Peter not being fully clean, but it was a lesson that was essential that Peter learn. If the Lord and Master would wash the disciple's feet, which was the role of a servant, how much more should we be willing to serve our brothers and sisters.
Hi brother. I don't think there is disagreement on this as far as I know. Just bringing out another layer of the truth I think. Amen to what you're saying, but also if Peter didn't let Jesus wash his feet he wouldn't be qualified to wash the feet of others either. Kind of like the sliver and plank analogy. Of all the disciples, Peter's mistakes and shortcomings were not hidden from us, at least not all of them. Even Paul had to later confront Peter publicly. It's no accident Peter was the one who was written about in the foot washing account. His examples were written for us to learn from. The Lord gave me the analogy of gardening.....the necessity of pulling weeds that spring up in the garden of our heart and life as we go along. Walking in the light, where we examine ourselves and allow the Lord to examine and wash us. We need His light, because we can be so unaware and in the dark concerning things in us that need His healing and cleansing, etc, except that He reveals to us.
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Post by watchful on Nov 1, 2021 10:23:57 GMT -5
I was able to see it okay. It was nice.
Amen....two crosses, our little cross and the cross of Jesus. How we are united with Him through our crosses. Fellowship of His sufferings. We can feel so alone sometimes in the wringer of life, but that picture reminded me of how near He is and how tightly He is holding onto and upholding us.
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