snithers

CHRIST-IA-NI-TY

[Living the CHRIST life]

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.

1 John 2:4-6

The search for Christ Jesus led to the invention of a new name for the Disciples of Jesus the Messiah, which were then called APOSTLES [This is originally a Greek word (apostolos: αποςτολος) meaning “Messenger”. Although the oxford Adv. Learners Dic. Defined this word as; anyone of the twelve men that Jesus Christ, chose to tell people about Him and His teaching or an enthusiastic supporter of an idea or a cause] although they have been trained to fish for men for God.

These individuals went about their business they were assigned to do with their Master Jesus: in preaching, teaching, healing and baptizing sinners to return to God in their original state as His image and likeness. In this deportment, their actions and words in the Master’s absence showed the picture of what Jesus the Messiah preached and did before the people of His time while on earth. The truth is, the onlookers could no longer hide or remain silent about their feelings at what they see; they coined out the best description from their heart saying, “little Christ” Christians or Christ-likeness. The scripture said, thus;

For a whole year, they met together with Messiah’s community (the church) and taught a large number. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christianoi.”[i] 

“For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”[ii] 

This name is beyond religion, for religion’s motive or undertone was to search for God. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ has debunked the word “religion”  and proved Himself to be God when He said, "If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him (God) and have seen Him."[iii]  Although he did not end there, while praying for His disciples He said, “May they all be one, as You, Father (God), are in Me and I am in You (God). May they also be one in Us (the Messiah + God), so the world may believe You (God) sent Me (Messiah).”[iv]

This evidently proves that no Christian is a religious person, because you seek not to finding or searching for God anymore, but to living in the way of God and His Spirit will be teaching you to living it. Jesus said;   

“But, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth (what other truth if not about God). He will not speak on His own; but whatever He hears (from whom? God of cause), He will tell you. And He will declare to you the things that are to come (from who, if not of God?).”[v] 

This means the Christian life is God’s kingdom life, brought to humanity by Jesus the Messiah and leaving the face of the earth after His resurrection from dead, He sent the Holy Spirit from God to dwell with the Church.

Now Paul found this life of Jesus the Messiah very captivating (by the way, Paul was once a persecutor of the followers of the Messiah. He may not have written such letter to the Corinthian church if this life of Christ has not sorted him out from the low-empty life he was living.)  it inspired him to write to the Corinthian church on his second letter, which has got to us today’s Christian, that;

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.[vi]

Now we look inside and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah got a fresh start, is created new. The old is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it.[vii]

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here! [viii]

These are different versions of the Bible, all saying the same thing, but grammatically they sound differently. It is done this way for easy comprehension; I hope it will not spoil its purpose.

Now let’s simplify, I mean dig deeper into the understanding of this very verse, by using the second translation (The Message).

Now we look inside:

My quest here is simple, who were we (Gen. 1:26)? What have we been doing (prov. 21:2)? Do we truly exist for ourselves? Why we are here, are we truly responding to the fact that absolutely everything begun with God and it is in Him? Lets look inside each of us; what do we see?

UNITED with the Messiah:

Uniting with the Messiah is living the life of the Messiah. (can agree with me, no man can influence Christ, Christ influence anyone, anytime when you are truly in Him) Which is also living the life of God “I and my Father one”,[ix] and no one can divorce Christ from God, because He told His disciples, “From now on you do know Him and have seen Him…”  and had asked subsequently, “don’t you believe?[x]

Therefore, to be united with Him is to live a perfect life of sinlessness. The truth is, the Messiah I am talking about knew us and came to be with us as humans, He underwent our common challenges and this is the point where the scripture said, thus:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

Although many of us will still say, it is a hard thing to be perfect and sincerely I concur with you, but it will be even more difficult when our priorities are fixed at what we can only gain here on earth.

It is also apologetic to say we cannot worship God with imperfection; the only truth is we cannot continue or remain imperfect as we keep following the Messiah. 

A fresh start:

what kind of fresh start could this be if not being united with the Messiah, now taking from His words from John, “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[xi] This fresh start can only be traced back to the Garden of Eden, the presence of God; that very place where mankind lost his glory and authority. That zone he lost his dominion over things God created for him, his love for God, his love for his brothers and sisters.

That fresh start which has to eliminate every form of evil thinking injected into him (mankind) by the devil, unforgiveness and the act of dominating fellow human beings, but creating room for reconciling love and forgiveness for sinners.   

A fresh start that needs complete obedience and dependency on God for everything man does and tend to do, and being contented with that which God has supplied while you keep walking toward greater and better grounds in Him.  According to the scripture, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight”[xii] therefore, whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.

This means we will not just be comfortable with the “now” and the physical state alone, but will rely more on the eternity we hope to come as the Messiah promised to all the New Born (Christians) John 14:1-5.

CREATED NEW:

The Christ life lived by Christ, was never based on the worldly corrupted standard, although He was fully God and fully Human[xiii]. This is true because many other religious books, prophets, and teachers who referenced Jesus the Messiah sincerely about His person agreed to His sinlessnes.

The scripture yet attest to His sinless life on earth, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”[xiv] This effort was madei, so God will see every New Born clean and spotless before Him. We as humans knew and agree that, new born babies are without sin, because they know nothing.

And to stress further, Jesus the Messiah has stated it clear, “I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” However, children are known for their forgiving nature, love for their parents, they believe their parents are the strongest in the world and can protect and provide everything they will ever want for them. They are extremely excited each time they hear the voice of their parents, can we be excited too when we hear God’s word? Pause and ponder for a while…

 It is only love that can make this newness in an individual genuine, now hear Jesus saying,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. “The second is: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”[xv]

Our heart, soul, mind and strength is what daily the devil struggle to gain access to, he never loved the LORD and he will never want any human to love Him too. Should I remain in my old nature now that I have known the Messiah?

THE OLD IS GONE:

Old things are always associated with dirt, rust; stain and corrosion, its equivalence to the human nature are death, corruption, disobedience, hatred, wickedness, unforgiveness and fleshly sin. When Jesus said, we must be born anew, He requires us to die from the old nature, and now Paul is saying when you are in Christ old things are gone.

I believe he was referring to the crucified Christ on the cross saying, “it is finished”, and have being reconciled with the resurrected Christ (Rom. 5:18-19) this is to say a goodbye to what the devil did at Eden that is affecting us at the present.

Right at Eden, man died a death of the “childish” love for God. Now Jesus the Messiah’s love compels us (you and I), because of our conviction that one died for all, and therefore all died (like a father’s gen translating to his offspring). In addition, He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them, and was raised again.

Humanly we understand the nature of a dead thing or individual as it decomposes, also it cannot be active and move about except its odour. Scripture said, “Since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims.[xvi]So the old is no longer holding us to ransom, we are now in Christ Jesus alive and active to His kingdom life. We have ceased to be like every other person, the every other person is the old nature that needs to go away from you and I in our new statue. Jesus is calling us to come to Him and HE WILL GIVE US REST.

A NEW LIFE BURGEONS!

This sprouting life in Christ is a life that works simultaneously. It sometime seem tough for many who journey through it, it has to do with letting certain things go, forgive all offences, love without condition, hoping even when hope seem to be dash on the hard walls of circumstances.

This is a life that requires the individual not to live by bread alone but any word that proceed from the mouth of God, a life the that shows you who you truly are.  Hebrews 5:13-14 said,

“For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”   

This is not in any way to discredit the use of milk as adult, but metaphorically, as one is in Christ and grows daily some things have to go for the preparation of eternity. Some little things we take for granted might lead an individual off from eternity he/she has been aiming for.   

That the understanding of solid food will be an inspiration to grow in power of righteousness, and not only the elementary things about Jesus’ death and resurrection. But moving into maturity; a state where love is not just how you feel about an individual or things, even when your neighbour is you ach enemy pursuing to eliminate you, your love is still unconditional and you are praying for his/her well being. The scripture puts it this way,

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.[xvii]

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection][xviii].

Therefore, whoever has chooses the Christian life, has totally removed from the ways and life of the present world’s standard, but has brought the heavens concept of life, which Christ Jesus is actively involved in him/her.

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[i] Acts 11:26 (TLV)

[ii] Acts 11:26 (HCSB)

[iii] John 14:7 (HCSB)

[iv] John 17:21 (HCSB)

[v] John 16:13 (TLV)

[vi] 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

[vii] 2 Corinthians 5:17 (MSG)

[viii] 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

[ix] John 10:30

[x] John 14:10

[xi] John 3:3

[xii] 2 Corinthians 5:6-7

[xiii] Heb. 2:17-18

[xiv] 2 Corinthians 5:21

[xv] Mark 12:30-31

[xvi] Rom. 6:7

[xvii] 1 john 4:17-18 (MSG)

[xviii] 1 John 4:17-18 (AMP)