Jesus' Creative Destruction

There is what some would call the downside to the working of the cross of Christ in a person, but if you can understand the revelation and outworking of the cross in your life, it would be embraced enthusiastically, albeit at times painfully, by all true believers in Christ.

So you understand what I mean when talking of the cross, I refer to the principle of the cross being destructive to the natural man, the old man, or what some may refer to as the "flesh" in the Holy Scriptures.

The point of that being wrought in a believer is that the old man is weakened and broken, so the life of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, can be worked into a believer. What eventually should emerge over time is the conforming to the image of Christ in a believer.

Since there is so much lingering of the old man in our flesh, Jesus must employ the tool of creative destruction - the cross - so He can manifest Himself in and through us.

Look at the first scriptures in the Bible to see how this works. Jesus working with basically a blank slate, starts to create the heavens and the earth. Because He has that clean canvas, He is able to do all sorts of interesting things to outwardly reflect eternal and invisible values.

This is what the purpose of the in working of the Cross is, to provide a canvas for Christ to paint His person on. For those willing to endure the working of the Cross, ultimately it will result in Jesus Christ Himself revealing who He is in you.

We don't have to comprehend or understand the process as we're going through it, but like Job, should have the attitude of "though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." Believe me, many times you'll choke on those words if you really mean business with God; as He's more than willing to accept your invitation to creatively and practically work out the destruction associated with the purpose of the cross.

Understand that you won't know till much later, if at all, what it means, but in an unseen way, God will get what He wants in us. And in the end, that is the bottom line of the purpose for our existence.

This is what the new creation is all about: the death and destruction of the old in order to make room for the new. It happens in Christ, but is worked out practically in our lives. We must embrace the creative destruction of Christ in order to let Him perfect His work in us.

What Jesus Requires of all Christians

Over 30 years ago I remember a man outside of the religious "Christians/Church" system saying a profound and enlightening statement that is true to this day, and of which those who profess to know and follow Christ, need to know and understand. That is that the term church, and by extension, Christian, no longer really have any meaning.

What he meant by that is people had created their own image of Christ and His church that is was so full of unbiblical practices and unbelievers, that it was close to impossible to even interact with someone in trying to show them what the Bible says about Christ and the practices of the Church, that we couldn't even start there as the beginning of our conversation, but had to blow up all sorts of misconceptions, lies, and fabrications just to be able to interact in a meaningful and productive manner.

Usually we couldn't even get past some of the most rudimentary aspects of tearing down the false foundations before we lost them. The listeners had had the modern-day practice of Christianity so ingrained in them that even when what was in the Bible was revealed to them, they couldn't and wouldn't believe it meant what it said.

Tradition had and has become so strong, that to contradict it, even when revealing it in the Holy Scriptures, is considered evil and a lie and attack from the Devil, even in light of the evidence that has been presented.

I'll give you an obvious and quick example which most of you reading this will resist and continue to resist. It it is, "God does not dwell in temple's made with hands." It's said several times in the Bible, the most well-known being just before Stephen was stoned to death over it.

The majority of Christians, to this day, will use all sorts of mental gymnastics and explanations in an attempt to make this mean something that it doesn't. Why so much resistance? It's because the person understands deep down what the cost of that acceptance would be. Their entire world would be placed in an upheaval if they were to embrace and obey this revelation from God Himself.

Although not even the focus and topic of this article, "God does not dwell in temple's made with hands" is the beginning of where the study of and understanding of what God has meant for His people as the corporate expression of Himself called the church.

All that was said to lead to the requirement of Jesus Christ for His people. Let's look at Matthew 16:24–26 to see what that is.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Let's take note of a key statement by Jesus here. He said the words “If anyone would come after Me....” The word "anyone" means that there is no one exempt from the statement and requirement He revealed.

So if we say we believe in Jesus Christ, here is what He said He demands of us and how we'll live.

First He says we must deny ourselves. That is the individual and consequently, corporate foundation that flows forth from people that assert they know Jesus Christ. It's a total abandonment of living for oneself and turning around and living unto Christ. Pleasing Christ is the motivation of those entering into true fellowship with Him.

Next He says to take up our cross and follow Me. This goes beyond the first statement to a reality of the fact it could cost us everything if we follow Jesus Christ, and we need to count that cost as we make a decision for Christ. It will cost us everything in the end. That may not be practically true, but for those taking up our cross, it will mean to us it won't matter one way or the other. Nothing has our hearts and minds except the person of Jesus Christ. From there a people grow into a holy temple expressing the person of Christ towards one another while revealing Him visibly to the world.

Finally Jesus says if we are to come after Him, it means we are to follow Him, which isn't a reference to running around the world (although for a few it could mean that), but rather it points to the fact that we are to live and walk as Jesus Himself did. John says that in his first letter, that we'll know those who truly know Christ because they'll walk as He did.

Yes there is grace there in that we aren't expected to start a journey in a perfected practical outworking of believing in Christ, but we are expected to and required to have a perfect heart.

After all, the standard of Jesus Christ has never been lowered. That's why we are told to be perfect because He is perfect. That exhortation remains, and while we don't start there, it remains the goal that we be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

That which was mentioned in Matthew should be the very minimal requirements of those who claim they are Christ's. It's the starting place. It's the baby stage. It's the birthing stage. It's expected of all of those that call upon the name of the Lord.

The World is Ready for the Real Church

Possibly never since the time that Christ came into the world have people been ready for a move of God that reveals to them who Christ really is. That can only come about from the people that truly believe in Jesus Christ.

Now when I say the world is ready for the real church, I'm not talking about denominations or certain types of outward manifestations of religiousness which has little inward life to it. The people of God are completely wrapped up and identified with Christ if they are real about their faith, and the two can't be separated.

So when the idea of the real church is suggested, it's not primarily referring to any type of outward way of doing things or an intellectually-based belief system. Rather it's a people that are in living union and obedience with and to Christ, and who are part of those called out of the world and themselves to serve the living and only God.

It's also not talking about an institution, a building, or a organization that is based upon anything in this world. We're talking about a people that have taken on the characteristics of Christ Himself, who is not of this world or influenced by its purpose or priorities. The world after all is under the power and dominion of Satan.

Don't be discouraged by that last statement though, as the world is completely different than the earth from a Biblical point of view, as the "earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." The world is basically Satan and his imprint living in and through unredeemed man. It's personified by government force and control, which is Satan's biggest means of attempting to control and dominate man; including those bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Having started off with the idea of the world being ready for the real church, it must be understood that first Jesus Christ must reach out and gather to Himself those you proclaim Him but are deceived as to their salvation or are perpetual babes who only have their fire insurance. Once that is completed, from there He will strategically bring those together around the world into localities where He will begin to reveal and express Himself to the world, causing great numbers to respond.

This won't have anything to do with big shows, meetings and personalities, but rather a local push where a large impact will be made, but in a way that is largely under the national radar of a specific nation. Collectively it'll be huge, but locally it'll be less noticeable.

That will eventually grow as the followers of Jesus Christ find one another on a larger basis, which will allow for more significant impact around the world. None of this will result in a new denomination or any other such sin, but will be based upon fellowship that produces even more of Christ in the participants.

Ultimately, in that fellowship based solely upon the person of Jesus Christ, we'll see an alternative world appear in this one. A world with increasing righteousness and holiness; one that impacts all areas of life, starting with individuals, moving into the family, and then into neighborhoods, cities, states, and everywhere around the world.

This unstoppable life with also have an impact on all other areas of life, including business, government, media, and all other legitimate areas that must be redeemed for the Master's glory and use.

It will require death to the self, commitment to Jesus Christ and one another, and the supernatural love of Christ Himself shaping and forming a people to reveal Him to the world and invisible principalities and powers.

The failure of governments, corruption of crony capitalism, and the growth of false leaders who proclaim to be Christians but are really wolves in sheep's clothing, has brought people to a place of despair, which has opened doors to their hearts for those willing to embrace and take on Jesus Christ and His purpose.

Already there have been rumblings of this happening around the world; all of which is completely outside of denominations and institutional churches of all types, and also is not happening within buildings falsely called churches. All of this comes from people getting a scent of Christ, and understanding that He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. Period!

More than that though, the people of God are understanding they must be completely out of the influence of the world if they and their children will have a chance to grow in the grace and commands of God almighty.

That means finding new ways of educating their children; sharing the life of Christ together; a completely different world view; and seeing Christ as a living being that dwells within them, shaping and conforming them to His image, and then ready to express that very image into a hungry and thirsty world looking for answers. It can only be found in a people 100 percent committed to Jesus Christ. That is something He will commit to and back up.

The question now is are believers ready for what Jesus Christ has always wanted to be and do in them. Are there those out there that even care about the fact that the fields are white to harvest, and have been since Jesus declared it about 2,000 years ago. Are there believers committed completely to Christ in a way that they will be willing to do whatever He wills to accomplish what He desires? Are you one of them?

Since the world is ready for the real church, which is another way of saying it is ready for Christ to manifest Himself in a people, than we all must answer the question of if we are ready to heed that call for such a time as this.

If we are, then there is absolutely nothing that should or will be able to stand in the way of being and doing whatever it takes to bring about and meet His purpose and satisfaction.

For those wanting to answer the call of the Spirit of the Living God, it will require going outside the religious camp and bearing His shame, as He did when He was crucified.

There can be nothing unreal or false in us who are called to walk as He did. Only that type of believer can ever work with Christ to bring about all that He has looked for from before the foundation of the world.

He yearns and cries out for those who will completely lay down their lives to attain His goal; not people talking about it and getting excited, but a people that will do it. The world is ready for that. Are you?

Christ in the Beginning: Genesis 1:2

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.



We've been talking about the immense importance of the first day of creation, where fanciful and imaginary inferences have been made by many who claim strange things like there had to be a pre-Adamic race (Adam wasn't the first man, and Adam and Eve were the first people made by God).

This all comes from the false assumption that God couldn't have created the earth "without form and void," and also because the earth lay in darkness. Since God is light and no darkness dwells within Him, it would be impossible for the darkness of Genesis 2 to be from Him, according to this idea.

All of this nonsense is easy to disprove Biblically, and we'll get into that in a moment.

First, it must be understood that this isn't just some teaching to titillate our curiosity and interest. If we don't correctly understand what happened in the beginning, the rest that follows will be distorted as well. And it has been.

Because the creation of the earth at the beginning was a representation of who Christ is, it is vital that we understand what it was He was trying to teach us by revealing Himself in that manner.

In the previous two articles we got into that, but I'll repeat it again. As far as the phrase "without form and void" as to the condition of the earth, all that had to do with was the fact that this was the first step by God in creation. He wasn't through yet.

Some people make up entire scenarios from this condition of the earth, saying it was impossible for God to create something like this. Not only is it possible - He did it!

The assumption that He wouldn't do it is based upon human reasoning, not fact. To say something had to have happened for it to be "without form and void" means an entire scenario has to be created in regard to this as well to support that fallacy.

Those that assert this say Satan probably rebelled in the heavenly realms and brought the battle down to earth, and thus the devastation.

The problem with that made up story is we have no proof that Satan was even created at this moment. It must be assumed to support the proposed narrative. But even if he was created, there are many more problems that must be dealt with to force this tale to work.

One of those is the fact that there was nothing but the heavens and the earth present at this moment in time. That means if there was actually another race of men that inhabited the earth before this time, that Satan and his minions would have had to have deconstructed the entire universe God created in order to bring it down to only the earth and the heavens being all that was left. That's a stretch to be sure.

When talking about this, the earth is what is usually focused on, making the rest of what had to have happened to have them alone in the physically created world ignored. It strains credibility to believe there have been entire systems of stars, planets and galaxies that had been destroyed completely by Satan. Poor God. He lost everything and had to start all over.

At least that's what those making up these fanciful stories want us to believe.

Why is this so important to understand? It's because there was something of Jesus Christ revealed in the actual events that occurred, which we miss if we believe there was this rebellion and destruction which resulted in the universe and alleged previous creation to be completed disintegrated. There is no proof that Satan even has that type of power to do that.

This doesn't even deal with other facts. Such as the fact that the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that Adam was the first mankind, while Jesus was the last one. Period. You can't escape that fact and truth.

So if there was another race of men before Adam, it would contradict that Biblical record. That alone confirms and proves there was no such thing as a race of men before Adam was created. And if some want to get cute and say there were some type of life forms created which weren't men, but a race that predated men, then there is no real hope for those believing that fantasy. As they'll keep on rewriting the entire story until if fits their wild imaginations in order that they may be respected by those opposing the Biblical account.

When reading the phrase "without form" in Genesis 2, it must be understood that they are only one Hebrew word. Here are the meanings associated with that word in the Scriptures.

(without form) =

formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness, formlessness, nothingness, empty space,
that which is empty or unreal (of idols) (fig), wasteland, wilderness (of solitary places),
and place of chaos.


In the King James version "without form" is written using these words in the Old Testament text:

Without form, empty place, wilderness, vain, vanity, confusion, nought, nothing and waste.

The term void simply means "empty."


As for the word "darkness" following those words and meanings, it can mean, among other things - ignorance, death, dark place and secret place.

So when people say things like there is no way there could be darkness because God is light, and so darkness couldn't have been created by Him, they're limiting the meaning of the word, and are unfamiliar with Biblical text which contradict those assumptions.

For example, Isaiah 45:7 says this, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."

In Psalm 18:11 this is declared, "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."

Both of these words used for darkness are the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2.

Not only can God create darkness, He did create darkness. The problem people have is they always tend to associate darkness with sin or evil, and miss out on the other meanings the word have, as well as the usage they convey.

There is no doubt that Jesus Christ created the earth in the beginning to reveal something of Himself. The first thing He revealed is alluded to in Job. It says:

Job (NAS) 12:22, “He reveals mysteries from the darkness. And brings the deep darkness into light.

What this tells us is that God does include darkness as part of Himself and creation in order from that darkness to being things to light. Creation was, is and remains a mystery, and as Christ continues to give us understanding of it, the mystery is lessened, as is the darkness surrounding and shrouding it.

Why did Jesus Christ create the darkness? In order to bring the mystery of Himself out into the light. It was for the sake of man these things are written. It is from the darkness that mysteries are revealed. If they weren't, they wouldn't be considered mysteries. This is part

of the secret of the darkness that existed at the beginning of creation. It covered up an extraordinary mystery that had been hidden in God and Christ from before creation.

This is why it says of the Spirit that it hovered or brooded over the waters. He was poised to begin the revelation of the mystery hidden in Christ, even though the existence of the water-covered earth already revealed one of the most important revelations of Jesus Christ there ever has been or will be.

That revelation was that the waters covering the earth pointed to the reality that Jesus Christ completely was dead to Himself as creation began. Waters refer to the cross or baptism, which both signify death. This earth was created dead, or if you will: crucified.

But not only that. The waters covered the entirety of the heavens as well, which is why they had to be separated as creation continued to be developed by the Lord Jesus Christ. So even the heavens speak of the total disregard of the self of Jesus Christ as the work started and continued on. The cross and baptism speak to that completely. In other words, the cross was part of the very nature of Jesus Christ and the Godhead before sin ever entered the world.

It was simply manifested in time when Jesus came into space and time and died for the sins of the world. But that death or inherent characteristic of the cross had always been part of Him, and always will be. This is how the world began, and why it probably cost Him much more

than we know to bring it into being for Himself, and on our behalf (everything was created for Him).

When the Scriptures say He was crucified from the foundation of the world, it's probably related to what we're talking about here. There's more to that, but in order to not get too far off of what we're talking about, we'll leave it there.

Let's look at another confirmation of what darkness in this instance meant.


Deut: 5:22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness (6205), with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

5:23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness (2822) (obscurity, darkness, secret place - from The Hebrew lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon), (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

5:24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.


I included the numbering of the words darkness here from Strong's Concordance in order to let you know that they were two different words. The word darkness used in Genesis 1:2 was the one numbered '2822' in Deuteronomy 5:23.

First of all it reveals that there were two ways of viewing darkness. The first (6205) is a reference to it simply being literally a "thick darkness." The second use of the word darkness in the phrase "midst of the darkness," speaks of a mystery, or secret place, an obscure place. This is what the darkness in Genesis 1:2 undoubtedly refers to.

Listen again to how it is said, " ...when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness." If that isn't a way God moves and acts, then we have to pretend it doesn't exist. God speaks out of darkness, or from an obscure, secret place we aren't aware of in order to bring light and understanding to a situation. After all, He is light, and when He speaks and moves, those mysteries, for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, are made known.

In the case of creation, the mystery was there from the beginning, and from the earth covered and hidden in the waters of baptism, or the place of the cross, the Spirit of God stood ready to respond to the command of "let there be light." This is a reference to speaking forth in order to reveal a mystery hidden within the Godhead when nothing but they existed.

This is all extremely important because it reveals where it is that God works from for our benefit.

Only those that learn to die in Christ truly live. There is no resurrection without death. Resurrection can only come if we die. This is where the creation story begins. It doesn't end there, and it would truly be desolate if all there was was the cross and baptism.

But we must begin there. Only the dead rise, and that death must be embraced by all believers to fully reach all that God has for us in Christ.

If we don't realize and see this is how everything began outside of and from God, we'll remain in confusion as to what it is Christ did and who He is.

Let's look at a portion of Scripture to get more understanding of this.

Jeremiah 4:18-28 (KJV)
 

18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. 19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace , because thou hast heard , O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are my tents spoiled , and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding : they are wise to do evil , but to do good they have no knowledge . 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled , and all the hills moved lightly . 25 I beheld , and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled . 26 I beheld , and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said , The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn , and the heavens above be black : because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent , neither will I turn back from it.


What Jeremiah sees, as culminating in verse 23 where he says, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light," is this. He is making the point that because of wickedness, when God gets through with judgement, it'll be as if there had been no creation; it'll be as if there was only the cross without resurrection. It'll be as if there were no hope, as resurrection is our blessed hope. That's what God was revealing through Jeremiah in this instance.

My reason for bringing this up is from what was mentioned above before listing the verses from Jeremiah, and also at the beginning of the article. First, God wasn't through when things were without form and void, he was just beginning. The condition of the earth is one that awaited His life to be revealed. That's a reference to life, and by extension, to resurrection. After all, His life is the light of men.

In Jeremiah here, he says it's because of the fierce anger of God that He was basically going to de-create His creation. He views creation has having never went beyond being without form and void. God views it as if there never was a creation, as if there never was anything besides the death of the cross or rising up after entering the waters of baptism.

Again, it's where everything within God and Jesus Christ begins, but it's far from being the place where He wants to end.

The mystery of the early part of creation is that Jesus Christ was revealing to us that everything begins at the cross, everything must and has been crucified ... even creation from the beginning.

Being without form and void means that this is far from where God wants things to end. But to go on, we must be covered in the waters of baptismal death in the reality of what that represents, in order to be brought forth out of the waters by first seeing that we need light to comprehend this extraordinary mystery of the person of Jesus Christ and the Godhead.

The condition of creation wasn't from some cataclysmic event coming about from the rebellion of Satan, rather a glimpse into the nature of Jesus Christ, showing us where everything must begin and why we must walk in the light and resurrection life in order to escape being and remaining without form and void. Instead, we must conform to the image of Jesus Christ, as the earth and heavens did by type through the creation account.

Even so, there is no escaping the cross and its work in our lives. If there is no death to self and a dying to ourselves daily, there will never be resurrection life working in us either. The more we die to ourselves, the more of Jesus Christ will be revealed and seen within us. That's the mystery unveiled in the very beginning of the Creation account.

To relegate it to some old wives fable about fantasy races and fallen angels destroying some previous universe causes us to miss all that it is Christ has for us in this world, and the world to come.

Understanding Creation Day 1 as it Relates to the Person of Christ

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And

the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the

morning were the first day.

KJV




With the battles between evolutionists and creationist having escalated, it has largely taken away from the real importance of the first several verses of the Holy Scriptures, which we'll get into in a moment.

That's not to say it's not important to challenge and deal with the numerous lies and unproven falsehoods associated with the evolutionary theory, just that it has absolutely nothing to do with why the creation account was revealed by God.

Even the unfolding of the actions taken by Jesus Christ in the Bible concerning creation aren't readily understood as to their meaning, as it was in fact something that came from what was the nature of the Godhead expressed in visible form. In other words, they were glimpses into the nature of God; so much so that it was said later on that no man will ever have an excuse when standing before the judgement seat of Christ, as the creation declares Him continuously.

So while it's interesting and generally important to read about the physical creation, it's far more important to get a revelation of, and respond to the invisible characteristics and nature of Jesus Christ which the creation was based upon. To that end we'll now look at some aspects of Christ on the first day of creation.

We're not going to touch on the enormous amount of revelation in the first few verses of the Bible and creation, as it could take books to do so. Rather, we'll look at what are the most important parts of the revelation instead of going off into numerous secondary directions which would take us down too many rabbit holes and get off the most important characteristics of Christ as revealed to His people.

Where I want to begin is with the place where it says "... darkness was upon the face of the deep."

Without getting too deeply into the erroneous teaching on the idea there was a pre-Adamic race, I do want to comment on it briefly to eliminate that as even being a remotely relevant or accurate depiction of what was happening during this early stages of the creation.

The reasoning behind alleged pre-Adamic race is the assumption God doesn't create anything that could be called "... without form, and void." But the truth is, and the Scriptures declare that in fact God did create it that way.

Now there's no doubt this is all shrouded in mystery, which is mostly what the meaning behind the darkness laying on the face of the deep meant.

Another reason for the error is based upon the faulty use of the word "replenish" the earth when God ordered Adam to do so. The idea is the word replenish has to mean there had been a time when the earth was populated before. But the word just as easily could have been translated as "filled," which in fact it is in other translations of the Bible.

But the definitive understanding concerning this issue is Adam Himself. In 1st Corinthians 15:45 it says this, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."

The first man Adam refers to his being the representative of the first mankind, while the last Adam, who was of course Jesus Christ, was the representative of another mankind; one of a completely different makeup than former Adam, or the first mankind.

This clearly and efficiently slashed the feet from under the false teaching of a pre-Adamic race. Adam was the first of the natural mankind - there was no other before him. Period. It doesn't get any clearer than that. How can the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures reveal that Adam was the representative of the first mankind be contradicted by those who make up an entire scenario based upon nothing but human assumption and reasoning? There was no mankind or other race before Adam. He was the first of all flesh.

I mention all of this because many have been made to believe in this nonsense, and so get totally distracted from the weightier matters of creation, and really the only ones that really are important to those who believe.

The scriptures reveal over and over again that God and Jesus Christ, working with the Holy Spirit, created the earth and the universe. There's no reason for any true believer to doubt that, so most should simply stop listening to any of the numerous lies out there that attempt to contradict that face. Jesus is the creator. That's really all we need to know and believe concerning that issue.

For those who battle these lies in a public forum, of course it's important to pursue and expose many of these matter so the unbelievers can see that there is a God behind the creation we all walk in and interact with. Those claiming to know Christ and whom give credence to these liars need to re-examine themselves as to their faith. There is no evolution, and there is no "mechanism" following initial creation that would include
evolution in any way. The creation account is enough. All of us should be settled and unmoved by any other falsehood and assertions made by men; whether non-Christian or allegedly Christian.

Those catering to the lies do so in order to be found palatable and respectable among men. We should all know that Jesus Christ reproves strongly any that attempt to please men and love the world and its praise.

Let's get back to the Scriptures. So "darkness was upon the face of the deep." This is one of the first revelations of an amazing Characteristic of Jesus Christ and the Godhead. As a matter of fact, it's totally central to their person hood, and all of life flows out from it as far as the Godhead goes, and by extension, those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

The reason why we talked a little on the pre-Adamic race is found in this verse. If that is the focus of believers, they'll miss the true meaning of what was being unveiled by Christ of Himself when He created.

What was it? Two things. The first is that darkness was not a part of sin. It had nothing to do with it whatsoever, as sin hadn't entered the world yet because man hadn't even been created or tempted. That means whatever darkness refers to, it has nothing to do with sin.

It's already proven from the Scriptures that Adam was the first mankind. So there wasn't sin from some type of prior mankind that God was dealing with in His creation.

So the first thing to learn is God hides and shrouds things in mystery. That's what this darkness is referring to. As a matter of fact, God actually names this darkness "night." He didn't name some non-existent sinful aspect of a prior creation, but something He created that we are told nothing about.

I'm referring to the fact that the earth, the water, and the darkness existed without us being told how it came into being. The first revelation of an actual step taken in creation was when God said, "Let there be light." Before that we simply have this earth without having and form and being void and covered with water and darkness. That's it. We know nothing else about how it came into being. The book of Job deals with some of the planning aspects of the creation, but we still aren't told exactly what God did to bring it into being. We're simply presented with the fact that it was there.

And even if later in the Biblical account it had been revealed, it wouldn't have been known until later by those it would have been unfolded to, meaning the way it was unveiled retains the purpose as to how it was created, explained and described.

All of that means that the earth and how it was at the time of the initial creation was done so intentionally by God in that condition and order, and consequently something exists in Jesus Christ that is explained in that reflection of reality.

The question is this: what was it that was explained about Christ that the waters covering the earth reveal? We know that the darkness reveals that there is a mystery that is hidden that is about to be revealed. That mystery was named by God as night, suggesting throughout this dispensation more and more of the mystery hidden in Christ will be revealed and understood by those that are His and hungry to know Him fully. Not simply for the purpose of knowing about Him, but through revelation and experience, knowing Him as to who He is.

That's what this darkness is referring to, and why the Holy Spirit was agitated upon the waters in anticipation of and ready to work with what was about to happen next in the creation order, and as to how God works with His people.

What was this mystery hidden within the waters and covered by darkness? Of course it's the entirety of who Christ is. But the real question is what do the waters themselves represent. To go on with knowing, experiencing and understanding Jesus Christ, we must understand the waters themselves before we can begin to comprehend what was hidden in them.

At this point it isn't too difficult to understand the waters, as in the context it is in, and as it is throughout the Holy Scriptures, the water represents death, or baptism. Not death in the sense of that which came about as the result of sin, but death in the sense of the total denying of oneself.

Since man wasn't created yet, this is an obvious reference to Christ. This is why it says this in Revelation 13.8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (Beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. How could that be when we know He came to the earth a little over 2,000 years ago and died? Some sloppy translations of the Hebrew attempt to make it look like the foundation of the world reference is in regard to those written in the book of life. While that's true, it's not here that it talks about that. Here it's talking about the fact that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world.

That means that when we come upon the first verses of the creation account, that was when the actual slaying happened. I don't want to get sidetracked by getting too much into this, as it's the slaying that matters, not how it happened seemingly at two different times in history. As a matter of fact it didn't. They aren't two separate events, but one in the same. One explains it as it happened in eternity, the other explains it as it happened in time and space on the earth.

Again, it's what it represents that is important, not delving into how eternal events are migrated into the physical creation from outside of time.

What we have here is the essence of who Christ is. Jesus Christ didn't die for our sins on the cross out of nothing at all, and the sacrifice and denial of Himself for our sake didn't happen only because of sin. It was and is something inherent in the Godhead, and from within His total love and denial of self He first created the earth, and that brought about the crucifixion of Christ in the eternals.

But the point is it cost Jesus Christ everything when He created the heavens and the earth, and it was expressed in time when He died on Calvary.

What that implies and confirms is an extraordinary thing was driving Jesus Christ when He created when He was known as the word, and that passion, which is identified in the

Scriptures as His eternal purpose, continues to be the driving force behind everything He does.

The bottom line is Jesus Christ gave everything He had, and that was expressed at the beginning by the waters covering the earth, because it revealed that within Christ there is this immense willingness and characteristic of His nature of being dead to Himself. Waters point to being willing to die unto oneself in order to have the life of God live through us. Christ is the example of that in these beginning verses of the Bible, and is why it is said He was crucified from that very moment the creation came into being.

And just like the darkness filled the land when Jesus died on the cross on Calvary, so the darkness covered the waters in response to the crucifixion of Jesus from the foundation of the world.

Death of Himself wasn't a response to sin by man alone, it was something that is part of His very nature and makeup. It of course brought about His physical death on the earth, but it was motivated by something that He was and is. Man was the recipient and beneficiary of the magnificent offering of Himself for our sins, but it was based upon the fact that He begins in death and always moves from there to life. One can't truly live unless they really die.

Christ shows us that it is something experiential at the very core of His being, not only something He demands of man alone.

In other words, Jesus Christ was the lamb of God within and in eternity before He ever came into the world as a man. This wasn't just figuratively, but it literally happened at the time of creation.

Why all of this is important to see isn't so we can have some interesting things to talk about. May that never be. The reason I'm sharing it is because this very thing that Christ is and lives by, is what He also requires of us, or rather, is how He will live in us when walking in us throughout our earthly journey.

So whenever any of us are looking for understanding and guidance, understand that creation teaches us that first we must be covered with the waters, dying to ourselves, before the life of Christ will spring forth from within to answer the situation and circumstances we face, or to fulfill a specific calling He has given us.

Nothing can come forth into live unless it dies. If there is no death it is impossible for there to be a resurrection. And resurrection is life. Life that overcomes death. But death can only be overcome when you go through it.

Those that are willing to experience that over and over again throughout their lives, will find life and times of refreshing just as many times.

One thing I've learned experientially in all of this is we must not get too bogged down in the cross and crucifixion side of it, without understanding that that isn't the final place God has for us at any time we're going through it.

The whole issue is that His life can be manifest as we continue to die daily. That's what the meaning of the earth being shrouded in mystery with the waters covering all that was about to be brought to life by and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is at that moment the words come forth, "Let there be light." That's the beginning of His life manifesting itself in us.

But to have light manifested, just like to have resurrection in regard to life, we must go through dark times if light is to come in the morning. That light is His life, and those who are willing to have Him draw and guide through darkness, won't be staying in it indefinitely. Darkness and the cross are went through so that light and life can be revealed. That's where the beginning of all things coming from Christ into this world through our being temples of the Holy Spirit launch.

It's there that out of our innermost being comes rivers of living water. Only broken vessels are able to release the treasure of Christ dwelling within them.

What if Adam and Eve Hadn't Eaten of Wrong Tree? Part 4

Zombie Christians! Zombie Churches!


I want to mention briefly what happens when Christ within us isn't the focus of our lives.

What one of the great tragedies of Christian history has been, is the creating of structures to endure, regardless of whether the life of Christ is active within His people. This is the purpose of these structures: to endure no matter what happens.

An amazing part of this tragedy is the effect it produces. Now you have something claiming to represent Christ which is in fact dead. The horror is that even though it has no life, it walks and talks as if it does. That's what I call zombie churches and Christians.

A number of people even think this is a good development; existing and going on whether the life of Christ is there or not. This is the evil of organization and institutionalism as it relates to the people of God.

To this day the confusion and effect springing out of this zombie existence is a heavy taint on the person of Christ.

This is why whenever we look to see Christ glorified on the earth, it never lasts and eventually people turn it into an organization or stop pursuing Him altogether.

To be "organic" as the people of God, is not a testimony to a certain methodology, but to the fact that there is a current and ongoing, intimate fellowship with Christ within in a corporate manner. Anything else will simply be a horrid zombie; either individually or corporately, that names the name of Christ, but has long been out of intimate fellowship with Him.

By this I'm not saying that any type of denominational or setting in a building is good if the life of Christ is there, what I'm saying is we can throw all that away and still not have anything. We can meet in homes, live in neighborhoods together and enjoy a lot of freedom. But if that isn't coming forth from Christ within, it has no meaning other than changing a physical location or hanging out together.

Being truly organic means nothing less than sharing the fellowship of the Godhead together: both individually and corporately. Anything less is simply doing things as the "walking dead."

In the end, everything in Christ must be experiential. Anything less than that is going through motions that are completely devoid of life, and living off of something that you once or never had.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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The Fruit of Righteousness: Quietness and Assurance Forever

The work (fruit) of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, . My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32: 17-18).



The work or fruit of righteousness is peace. That peace is a work within us, as our soul lines up with our spirit which is in fellowship directly with Christ.

This is part of what is meant when Jesus told us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. When we throw all of who we are onto Christ, who dwells within us, we are working toward a place of quietness of the soul, and a resting place where we cease from our own labors.

That's the end of the pursuit of the righteousness of Christ. We rest in Him and His work, and labor only as we see Him labor, and speak only what we hear Him speak.

Jesus lived this way throughout His life on earth, submitting His purpose and soul unto the Father.

Our major job in this life is to learn to rest in Christ within, allowing the cross to destroy our self-centered lives so we may live our lives unto Him; or rather, allow His life to live in us. We are to live by His life after all.

While this is simple to understand, it takes a lifetime of pursuit to accomplish. Our souls have become so over-stimulated and strong that we need to ask the Lord to weaken it through the work of the cross in us so we even have the desire to pursue this way of life.

Jesus did this His entire life on earth, not only when He was in public ministry. This is why the Father was "well pleased" with Him when He was identified by John the Baptist and emerged out of the water of baptism, before He did anything related to what we consider ministry.

The Father was pleased with Him before He did anything publicly, because Jesus simply lived out His life in union with the Father in His spirit within Him.

They didn't suddenly become closer because Jesus went public, they were close during His entire life on earth. He quietly spent His life fellowshipping with the Father, and kept doing it even when He became busy.

Dwelling in union with Christ in us is the peaceful habitation and quiet resting place referred to by Isaiah. While we need to learn to do this individually, it's primarily related to the church, which will become a peaceful resting place when we learn to deny ourselves and think of each other more important than ourselves.

The reason there is so much turmoil in the church is because people don't embrace the cross and allow it to demolish their old man and self so that the life of Christ may be formed within them, and ultimately flow out to others as the river of life.

First we must individually embrace the cross, and then connect to others looking to travel the same journey. If we don't embrace the cross, all the talk of the organic church or non-institutional church will be meaningless, as the self-life will always end up destroying the work of God He attempts to give birth to.

Only a people who are willing to have their self-life weakened and destroyed will be able to enter into peaceful habitations; within themselves or with their brothers and sisters.

Fellowship with the Lord is Enough, and it will change You

Last post we talked a little about the reason why Christ dwells within us. I did want to follow it up to clarify that while there is definitely a transformation that happens when we pursue union with Christ, at the same time, it's not a negative thing to simply enjoy the general presence of God as well.

In reality, what I termed the general presence of Christ within us was for the sake of understanding, in practice we really can't separate them, as if we enter into union with Christ , we can't escape the change that will come.

How much we change depends on the type of ground the seed falls into, as Christ Himself is the perfect seed without blemish, and He will transform us practically into His image as much as we allow the cross to work itself within us; removing the love of self so the love of Christ, and Christ alone becomes our focus, while we become like Him as we fellowship with Him.

I mention this because it could have been misunderstood that simply enjoying being with the Lord isn't the greatest end in itself. It's just that when we are with Him (which can be always), it will end up with us changing - it's impossible that we don't if we open our hearts to Him and focus on Him on a consistent basis.

What it Means to Walk in the Presence of Christ

A number of people I've communicated with through the years have misunderstood what it means to walk in the presence of the Lord. I thought I'd take a moment and help give some understanding and insight into this so we can know better what it is this means.

First of all, let's talk about the presence of the Lord from a couple different areas. You have the general presence of the Lord, which fills the universe, and which the created universe can't hold; even the heavens of heavens. That talks about a general presence where God is everywhere because nothing created can hold Him.

Second, there's the much more important specific presence of God, which dwells within those who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior. That presence dwells within us with a very stated purpose: filling us with Christ. But it isn't a general filling, where God is there because of his endless, eternal makeup, rather He's there so His life can inhabit us in a complete way.

Taking up residence within our spirit, God then begins to work His presence within us through the cross so that He doesn't simply inhabit us, but changes us into His very image.

Eventually, His eternal purpose of filling everything with Himself will be fulfilled, as His people embrace union with Him and change from glory to glory through the many trials and struggles of life.

So while the presence of Christ within us definitely is a tremendous blessing and closeness, at the same time His dwelling within us is so He can have pre-eminence and the two will become one. Essentially that's what it means for the church to exist, to be a visible testimony of the invisible Lord.

For that to happen we must open our hearts to Him in faith so He can rule the kingdom of our hearts.

All of us who truly believe have the life of Christ within us, but very few are willing to walk the difficult path that will destroy our self life in order for the life of Christ to be manifest. The work of the cross is the tool used by God to bring this about, but most aren't able or willing to embrace that effective, destructive tool in order that the perfume of Christ can be released from these human vessels.

This is why God continually calls a people to walk in this way, as there aren't many able to walk this walk individually. It's also his ultimate will and purpose that a people exist that show forth who Christ is; not simply an individual.

While we all need to embrace this way as individuals, it's to be expressed and displayed in a corporate people. In the end, that's the reason God created and the purpose for being called out of all the nations to Christ. That's what the church is, a people called out of this world into a higher life and world, which, corporately, is to be brought from a higher realm to this one.

It all happens in the hearts of a people sincere and serious about walking in union with Christ.

One of Many Lessons from Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 7

The recent death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn on August 3, made a lot of people who lived through the times when he wrote his powerful books that changed an empire - reflective.

There's one thing I want to mention, because it has to do with our recent theme of Jesus as the tree of life.

I want to focus on what he talked about in reference to good and evil some time ago. Here's what one writer says about it:

"For Solzhenitsyn, right and wrong, good and evil, undoubtedly do exist. However, as he first expressed it in a poem written in his head in the camps nearly 60 years ago, the dividing line between good and evil passes not between warring parties, ideologies, armies, but runs through the heart of each individual and flickers ceaselessly to and fro."

This is an extraordinary understanding of the source of what becomes outward actions and deeds: it comes from the heart.

Eating of the tree of life was meant to take in the life of Christ interally, and willingly allow Him to live out that live in creation. That's the very purpose of creation, that it would bear the testimony of the invisible Christ. It's still the ultimate end of the eternal purpose of God. This is the purpose of the church, to be a letter written from God within, that then expresses itself outwardly.

Solzhenitsyn understood that everything was connected to the heart, and if that changed, the rest would follow.

That's why the scriptures teach that Christ has written His laws in our hearts. He is the king and ruler, and His kingdom is an inner one. Once we learn to eat of the tree of life, the outer starts to take care of itself as the living Christ expands who he is within us. Eventually the two will become one, as heaven and earth become a visible testimony to who Christ is.

This is why we are to embrace the kingdom coming and the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven, because the two are one in Christ. Now He is looking for people who are willing to endure the cross so that can become a reality. The ultimate work of the cross is to eliminate who we are so He can live fully within us.

The secret is we retain our soul while He becomes everything. He never forces us, but woos us to Himself within. That puts the responsibility upon us to keep our hearts open and pliable to Him while we go through the myriad tough times those embracing the cross will always go through.

It all has to do with internalizing and eating of the tree of life.

By the way, if you want to understand a portion of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Solzhenitsyn expresses the fruit of it accurately, it "runs through the heart of each individual and flickers ceaselessly to and fro."

The tree of life on the other hand, does the opposite.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

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What is Jesus Really After?

To answer that question we must go to the end. And what is the end. The final step and result of everything in connection to His purpose in creating man is that He may be all in all.

There is no other vision greater than this for Him, that's the end.

Of course the question then arises: How do we get there?

The answer is through a lifetime of God bringing us through circumstances that deal with our selfishness. I could call it the old man, the flesh ... but in the end, it's just another way of saying self, selfishness, self-centeredness and caring only about yourself.

Those looking for something far better than the man-created religious systems of our day, will never be able to bring forth something better, if the self isn't dealt with. The only way self is dealt with is by embracing willingly the inner work of the cross of Jesus Christ.

This is one of the reason so many things, even in the over 30 years I've been outside the religious system, and fellowshipping with those on a similar journey, who are looking - like Abraham, for a city whose builder and maker is God, have fallen by the wayside.

It doesn't take long amongst a group of people who have to face the reality of living close together, to find out they aren't very lovable. God doesn't love us because we're lovable, but because He's love.

One of the reasons so many people resist moving into what they instinctually know is the way of God, is because they understand there will be a great cost if they do.

The reason those who do go out and make the attempt fail, is because of their self life.

Self is so strong, it takes the extraordinary weakening through the work of the cross to become a human being of the type the Lord is looking for, not through our work of effort, but from taking everything that comes our way as from the hand of God Himself.

The Lion from the tribe of Judah overcame not because he was a lion, but because He was the lamb of God. It's the lamb that overcomes. It's the work of the cross within us that will eventually bring forth the life and image of Christ.

We must ask Him to help us hold to Him and keep our hearts open before Him as He does His work within us. We aren't even able to do that. We are totally and completely dependent on Jesus and we need to ask Him for his grace and mercy in order to walk on the path He has set before us.

The weaker we become in our self life, the stronger he'll become within us, and the more we'll be able to walk in the fellowship and extraordinary life He as also planned for us in Him. When we are weakest, He is the strongest. We need Him to be strong, not ourselves.

All that He wants for Himself in us will never happen if these things aren't part of our lives.

Job: Embracing the Cross

 
The purpose of this article is to stimulate you to willfully take hold of the Cross of Jesus Christ and let it work within you deeply.
 
While there is a lot to learn of the cross in Job, I want to center in on how he sat there under its bloody application to his life, and let it do its work.  

It has become somewhat fashionable in some Christian circles to blast at anything that would oppose what some would call prosperity and wealth. Yet at God’s instigation and permission, He allowed Job to be devastated in every area of His life.  What I want us to look at is how Job responded to what came upon him. The person closest to him counseled him to curse God and die. In other words, she was encouraging him to commit spiritual suicide that would result in his physical death. In this view at least, his suffering and torment would be over.  

Of course all of us who have read Job know of how his friends came and gave their opinion as to why all of these things had happened.  

What was Job’s response? He simply sat under what happened until what was meant to be accomplished was accomplished. In other words; he embraced the cross!  Embracing the cross refers to the fact that he didn’t try to get out from under what it was that God was doing until the time that he was allowed to be.  

In high school I was on the wrestling team. Our coach one time was showing us the move that it took to escape somebody that was using a certain hold upon us. In doing this, he chose one of the students to use for an example. When the student came to him and grabbed hold of the coach in the way that he was instructed, the coach then proceeded to show us how to escape the hold of the student. A surprising thing happened: The coach couldn’t get the student to let go of the hold that he had upon the coach.  If you can picture yourself going through the painful cross of Jesus Christ, this is about the only response that you can have that will profit you spiritually. Like the student above, all you can do is hang onto the Lord with all your strength while He allows what is happening to you to go on. Any other response will take away the desired purpose that God has for you.  

One of the practical steps in hanging on while your world is turned upside down, is to not try to figure out and analyze what is going on while you are going through it. Both Job and his friends attempted to do this and failed completely. While we are told that Job spoke more accurately about the Lord, yet he was also rebuked for assuming to know what was going on.  

The end is this: we must allow the hand of God to work not only in good times, but especially in the tough times. It is the tough times that will determine who you will be as a Christian and as the church of Jesus Christ. He is quite able to hold you up and to cause you to endure. The way to do this is the same way that Christ did it. You can have your anguishing moment of Gethsemane , but once this is over, you must, like Jesus, submit in peace to the will of the father. Do this and the resultant resurrection life of Jesus Christ will be able to work within you. If there is no cross, after all, how can there be a resurrection?

The Purpose of the Cross of Christ

In talking about the purpose of the cross I want to begin by mentioning that it is the end result that we are talking about here, not the way that the cross works.  
Once we see the end result, than we will know the way that we will have to go to get there.  

The end result of the cross isn’t hard to see. We are told very specifically what it is.  There are two aspects I want to reveal here, one is that we are no longer to live for ourselves but for Him. This is a process that works within us over a lifetime. There are no shortcuts or easy way to get there. Still this is one of the things that Christ showed us that we must do.

Just as He lived for the Father, so are we to live for the Lord also. We are to live for Him and Him alone.  

We must remember how we are told that all things are from Christ, for Christ, in Christ, through Christ, and go back to Him.

The second part of the purpose of the cross goes even one step further. Not only do we live solitarily for Him here, but now it is no longer we who live but Christ that lives in us. What a purpose to look for ... or rather die for! 

Most of us don’t even seem aware or believe that such a thing can happen. And yet Paul tells us that he reached this pinnacle. This wasn’t just for Paul; it was for those who would follow after him.  

This is why Paul tells us that Christ chose to reveal Himself in him, so that we may know what Christ expects to do within us.  

While these two concepts are very simple to understand, very, very few ever even take this as a way of life to pursue. The reason most don’t is because to go after this means that you must go through tremendous workings of the cross that most simply aren’t willing to commit and yield to.  

Yet I hope that you will respond to the Lord in this. Both individually and corporately, we must submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Mankind awaits a people that will deny themselves and not only live for Christ, but come to the place where it is no longer even them who are living but rather Christ that is living in and through them.  

Lose your life in this and the Lord promises us that we will find it. We must be willing to take the risk and to step through.  

Do you want to experience this life? Then you must be willing to die to everything. What are you waiting for? Christ is at the door knocking!