Bible is Our Standard and Guide

It may seem obvious to many, but the truth is a growing number of those professing Christ, don't consider the Bible the standard they are to live by, or if they do, they interpret it through modern eyes to the point of eliminating much of what it says, in order to prop up a false and deadly world view, or to undermine the authority of the Holy Scriptures in order to live life how they want.

Amazingly, there are those that say the Holy Spirit has given them unique insight into the Scriptures, even when it contradicts the context within which the words are spoken. What is really happening there is it isn't the Holy Spirit, but rather their own soul or desires which are masquerading as the Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures. He would never contradict their obvious meaning.

As I remember someone telling me long ago when talking about this: "I pick and choose what I want out of the Bible, like everyone else does." In other words, ignoring large portions so they don't have to discover what God has to say about His expectations in life. When I've heard people say this in the past, almost always I've found out later they were living a lifestyle of sin. No wonder they don't want to read what is said. It would interfere with their sin.

Whatever the reason given, we must repent from anything the undermines the final authority of the Scriptures. Paul even wrote this:

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5)

We are to adjust every thought we have to what the Bible says. It can't get any clearer than that. When we do so, we are to also obey what the Scriptures say, no matter what we may initially think or want.

The Bible is the revelation of truth concerning Jesus Christ. It's the standard we are to live by; there is no other.

The New Creation and Creating Our Own World

I've been thinking on the new creation for the last several years, and the more I think about it, the more I realize and see that the idea over the last 50 to 60 years about changing the world are inaccurate; from the point of view of the Bible.

To this day all we here about it seems from many Christians is we must change the world in order to make it a better place. That's an idea that will never work.

The reason why is Jesus Christ never came to change the world, because the world had already forever been put under judgement, and is to this day.

When Jesus died for our sins, He didn't do it for the purpose of having us continue to be part of the dead, old creation, He did it because He was doing a totally, completely new thing, which is identified as the new creation.

Even the word translated in the Holy Scriptures as church needs to be thought of differently, because it basically means being called out, which points to leaving the old creation for the new.

Jesus said in John 15:19, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

What Jesus has amazingly done and which few understand, is He isn't trying to save the world, in the sense of working on it to make it better, it can't be done. It's cursed and dead. Instead He has birthed an entire new creation in the midst of the fallen and cursed world, which is so different than the old creation that it stands as a light calling those still in the old dark creation out of it to the new.

This amazing new creation is the very life of Christ Himself. Now many at this time will probably question the creation part because Jesus Christ has no beginning and no end, and has always been. So from that point of view He could never be created. And you're right ... if you're thinking in terms of the old, physical creation.

But the new creation isn't a created creation, but it is a birthed creation. The new creation is one that has been given birth by the very life of Jesus Christ Himself within a people. It is Christ in you.

So back to the idea of improving the world. I hope you see it's impossible and not part of the plan of God at all. His plan is for an entirely different life to be released in the earth through a people He has called out of it.

Now that will definitely make the earth a better place, but it has nothing to do with adding something onto the world in a way that can make it better. This is why the Scriptures teach if you love the world you're an enemy of God.

James 4:4 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

This is one reason why those who pursue and seek for God with a pure heart never feel part of this world and its evil.

John added, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John 2:15

The reason for all of this is God has an entirely new creation He as birthed, and it is in His Son. All who have truly been born again from above have had this new creation come down out of heaven in the person of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, and are no longer of this world. The two are entirely opposite of one another, and are in fact enemies of one another. There is absolutely no connecting point between them.

So what God has done is completely gotten rid of the old creation and replaced it with the new creation of His son. Old things have passed away, all things have now become new.

What that means for the followers of Jesus Christ is we have not only been born of God and are now His children, but an entire new creation is dwelling in us, and as we learn its principles, we don't attempt to add something on top of a world that is no longer considered even alive by God, but instead create our own world, or more properly, recreate under the leading of guiding of the Holy Spirit, from the many-sided wisdom of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

This is some of what was meant when Jesus Christ said as part of His response to His disciples when they asked Him how to pray, that we should ask that His kingdom should come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We want that heavenly kingdom to come to earth and permeate it with the fullness of Jesus Christ. That can only be done in a people that have a new creation in them, and who learn how to express that kingdom into the physical universe. It begins with changing within, but then working its way out for all to see.

Those who see this will encounter a major paradigm shift, as they realize this world can't be improved and is dead in the eyes of God. What He has done is far greater than that. He has brought about an entire new creation by birthing His Son in those who put their faith in Him.

Now this will result in salt and light existing in the physical creation and world system, but it will be something totally other than it, as Jesus Christ is completely and totally opposite of what this world is and represents.

Jesus' New World Order

We hear a lot about the new world order attempted to be implemented by some people holding positions of
power or with a lot of money, and it's true that there are those trying to order world events according to their will, quietly influencing and manipulating the unsuspecting through media, education, and faux news stories; spun to coincide with their world view.

What we don't hear anything about is about Jesus Christ and His new world order, which quietly and invisibly appeared after He ascended to heaven. By quietly, I don't mean there wasn't some noise on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to dwell within those who believe in Jesus Christ, rather I mean that other than that relatively small and obscure group of people, it was not known what had happened and its powerful meaning.

Jesus Christ has come back to the earth in the person of the Holy Spirit, and put into action His plan from before the foundation of the world: that He would dwell not only with man, but in man. That was one of the great mysteries hidden from the foundation of the world.

Even though we see and understand some of what these people of money and power are doing to shape the world they want to see emerge, there is always a powerful move of the Spirit happening within people that allow them to not only resist this movement, but overcome it through Christ.

Most Christians don't understand that the coming of the Holy Spirit was the introduction of Christ's new world order, identified in the Bible as the new creation. What was different about the physical and initial creation is the new creation was birthed directly from God, and if fact, was God within us through Christ. That's what truly being born again signifies. It's an entire new world introduced that Satan and his earthly followers have attempted to hide, obscure and overwhelm through the loudness of various media outlets and education in order to keep people from quieting down and seeing the beauty of this new creation that broke into this world over 2,000 years ago.

The significance is Jesus Christ isn't sitting idly by in heaven doing nothing, but rather throughout the entire world has counterattacked and is slowly teaching His people how to combat the evil that has invaded God's earth, and repel it and eventually make it weak in the face of the person of Jesus Christ in His people.

Jesus' new creation has already overcome the attempt to destroy His earth, and as we move into His victory, will find ourselves not only rejecting despair, but growing in love, wisdom, and authority, which will ultimately lead to the amazing end result of God being all in all.

We will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, and that won't stay only within, but will flow out like a river of water to touch all the earth. That's our calling and destiny in this life, and I'm one that is going to take it as far as I can while I live.

.... See my new blog called Jesus' New World Order

Christ and Emptying Self

One thing that those who mean business with God will experience, is the work of the Holy Spirit in helping us to empty ourselves in order that Christ may be enlarged in us.

This will be His continual focus, as the Holy Spirit, as far as He relates to believers, lives to remove and weaken our self life in order that Christ may be formed in us. That is the end result of all that God has for us, and it's an enormous undertaking; one that will continue on into eternity.

What we must understand to cooperate with the Holy Spirit is there is nothing in us that He can work with. Nothing good dwells in the flesh, and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we and God can get on with His purpose for us.

No matter how good we may seem when compared to other human beings, no matter what we may consider as good intentions or clean living, all of it is unclean before the Lord, who is the only true light.

In other words, from our fallen nature we have absolutely nothing to offer God but our hearts. That's it. Even there our hearts can be deceptive, and we can't trust anything about ourselves as it relates to God.

If we will embrace the work of the cross within us, we will find that God will have a place to do the work of conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ. If not, He will continue to work and wait until we're ready to surrender all to Him. Saying we are ready to surrender, or singing we're ready to surrender all, doesn't mean we are in fact surrendering all.

The Holy Spirit is perfect in being able to reveal that by putting us through difficulties. It is in the hard times of life that we find out where we are really at. There is where God can do some work if we're willing to abide in Him while we go through our struggles.

Many Christians unnecessarily harden their hearts or are clueless as to the ways of God as they relate to finding a place to build Christ within the believer. If we are willing to see, we will discover and understand that it is in the struggles of life that the Holy Spirit finds a place in us to do His work.

Embracing that reality won't make it any easier, but it will work out the peaceable fruit of righteousness, where we can graciously be quiet and restful within even if our outer world seems to be falling apart.

All of it is for the glory of God in that we continually grow more and more like Jesus. The key is self-emptying, and the Holy Spirit is able to help you in that if you open your heart to Him.