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Introduction
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On the surface, the question
in the heading seems very
straightforward. I live in
Canada, others live in
Ireland, France, India,
etc.
However, I am not asking
where an individual lives
geographically but, “where
do I live spiritually?” The
answer to that question is,
at this precise moment.
Everyone spiritually lives
in one of three,
environments: |
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a) |
Pre-Easter is to live
without a
sacrificed
Christ, that is, one is
unsaved. |
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b) |
To live between Easter and
Pentecost is to have eternal
life, but not abundant life. |
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c) |
Post Pentecost is to live in
the power of the risen
Christ, the
indwelling
Spirit of God, and in the
peace of the abundant life
the Lord promised. |
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It is my thoughts that
perhaps most saints are like
myself, living between
Easter and
Pentecost.
Life is lived on the right
side of justification but
has never fully developed
into the right side of
sanctification, on the right
side of being pardoned but
never entered into the
fullness of power. The
result is a daily wearisome
life of sinning, confessing
trying to be better;
sinning, confessing trying
to do better; and yet
resulting in constant
failure. |
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a) |
This was the experience of
Paul in Romans 7:7-23. With
all due determination he
argues, “If I had a law to
tell me what was right and
wrong, if I wrote for myself
a declaration of
determination of what I
would or would not do, then
I would be a more godly
believer”. Paul argues that
legislation will not work
for God gave a law and
commandment
which was “just,
and good” (Rom. 7:12).
Instead of helping man be
more righteous, it kept
convicting man of his
failures. |
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b) |
Man then seeks to do the
right by self determination
(Rom. 7:15, 19-23) and finds
that all the determination
he has does not stop him
from sinning. What is the
answer to this personal
persistent life, saved but
often helpless? Is this all
that life is? Where is the
abundant life the Lord spoke
of? |
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c) |
No wonder Paul wrote, “O
wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the
body of this
death” (Rom.
7:24). This life is making
me a spiritual carcass (Rom.
8:13), unable to fully
function for the greater
glory of God. |
The Answer
What wondrous relief when
we read the word of the
Spirit (Rom. 7:25-8:13). The way to
that abundant life is by the
resurrected Christ living in and
through the individual. It is
through Christ alone there is
victory and as the child of God
lives totally dependent on the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit,
they will enter abundant life. That
is, the saint will live the abundant
life resulting in a life being lived
solely for Christ the
Lord.
The Danger of The Between Stage
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When the Lord released the
children of Israel out of
Egypt and the Egyptians’
domination, He could have
brought the children of
Israel to Canaan in a matter
of days (Deut. 1:2) or, in
approximately a two year
period. During that two
year period the children of
Israel built the Tabernacle
and God gave them the
infinite blessing of
directing them through the
waste howling wilderness
(Deut. 32:10). In grace God
came to dwell with them
despite their persistent
idolatry (Ezek. 20:7-8,
13-16, 24, 31). For 40
years they trekked the
wilderness making some 40
encampments which God
graciously provided.
Despite their sin of
disobedience and idolatry He
led them to the promised
land, ever providing
for them and even
preserving their clothing
(Deut. 8:4). They had known
His power in deliverance but
failed to
enter
His power for possession of
the promised land. Unbelief
hindered their pathway. The
Psalmist recorded: |
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“We will not hide them from
their children, shewing to
the generation to come the
praises of the LORD, and his
strength, and his wonderful
works that he hath done. For
he established a testimony
in Jacob, and appointed a
law in Israel, which he
commanded our fathers, that
they should make them known
to their children: That the
generation to come might
know them, even the children
which should be born; who
should arise and declare
them to their children: That
they might set their hope in
God, and not forget the
works of God, but keep his
commandments: And might not
be as their fathers, a
stubborn and rebellious
generation; a generation
that set not their heart
aright, and whose spirit was
not stedfast with God. The
children of Ephraim, being
armed, and carrying bows,
turned back in the day of
battle. They kept not the
covenant of God, and refused
to walk in his law; And
forgat his works, and his
wonders that he had shewed
them. Marvellous things did
he in the sight of their
fathers, in the land of
Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
He divided the sea, and
caused them to pass through;
and he made the waters to
stand as an heap. In the
daytime also he led them
with a cloud, and all the
night with a light of
fire. He clave the rocks in
the wilderness, and gave
them drink as out of the
great depths. He brought
streams also out of the
rock, and caused waters to
run down like rivers. And
they sinned yet more against
him by provoking the most
High in the wilderness”
(Psa. 78:4 and continues
to verse 40).Then a
horrendously frightening
statement was made, “Yea,
they turned back and tempted
God, and limited the Holy
One of Israel” (Psa.
78:41). |
By being in the in-between
stage, the question arises,
“Can we hinder God’s
purposes for us,
hinder
the personal increasing of
His glory?” The sad answer
is “Yes”.
We can hinder God in us by
indifference to His
principles of life, by
disobeying them or failing
to live in the good of the
sacrifice of the Lord.
In tracing
Israel in the wilderness we
learn that just as they
hindered God we also can
hinder God through self
will, fear, unbelief,
failure, pride, and apathy.
The result is, we have
eternal life, but not the
abundant life. |
The Post Pentecost Life
What a change was made in the
disciples when they really believed
the Lord had risen and been
glorified and the Holy Spirit of
power had come. They were
spiritually energized and changed
from hiding in the house in fear.
They were out in public preaching
the risen Christ. Instead of going
fishing they were out proclaiming
the truth that Jesus was the
Christ. The post pentecost life is
a life lived in the reality of the
risen Christ and an ungrieved Holy
Spirit. That is the life Paul wrote
to Timothy, “God hath not given us
the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind” (2
Tim. 1:7).
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However, facing reality, I
must confess by my knowledge
of
ofttimes
failure I am not writing
what I have done but rather
what I have learnt in these
60 plus years. |
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a) |
How hard the first lesson
has been: “that in me (that
is, in my flesh,) dwelleth
no good thing” (Rom. 7:18).
Sin is as reinforced
wickedness deeply imbedded
in me. There is this
automatic response to sin as
a nail to a magnet and I
cannot break that power. I
know the scriptures informs
us, “Let not sin therefore
reign
in your mortal body” (Rom.
6:12), but it constantly
breaks out like a volcano
gushing out in thoughts,
language and actions. |
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b) |
I need to want, want is too
weak a word, I need to be so
totally devoted to getting
to know God and Christ (1
Pet. 3:18; Jn. 17:3) that
nothing else must interfere
with that knowledge. I must
want knowledge not for the
sake of knowing, but to be
more aware of the
presence
of God every moment of every
day, to be able to worship
Him more faithfully. |
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c) |
There must be the refusal to
that which Peter answered
the Lord saying, “Not so
Lord” (Acts 10:14; 11:8) and
to do whatever He asks us to
do or confess. |
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d) |
In my life of desiring
abundant life, I have slowly
begun to realize that I need
the Holy Spirit
indwelling
me as a conscious reality
before I can
even
begin the long journey. If
I live without the
consciousness of the risen
Christ and Holy Spirit, I
shall never enter the
abundant life which was
manifested in the Lord. |
Closing Consideration
The
question is: “Where do I live
spiritually?”
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