"Faith’s Final Frontier" January 2013. Part 9
 

In part eight of this series we emphasized the importance of seeking immortality and eternal life; assuming that this effort would bring us into a place of completeness and fulfillment of God’s promise to us. My early years of preaching began seriously in 1957 after I left bible school and began preaching as an evangelist around my island home of Jamaica. But I was raised in a Baptist home and taught that particular brand of doctrine.

When I accepted Christ as Savior in what is known in Jamaica as the "New Testament Church of God" with head Quarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, the doctrine was not much different from that of the Baptist. The only thing that differed much was the fact that we brought in music, shouting, and basking in the movements of the Holy Spirit. Up until 1968 I was ministering on the basic concepts of salvation that is the bedrock of the Pentecostal movement everywhere. The emphasis was on winning souls for Christ, and when they join the local church we teach them the different stages of spiritual growth and working in God’s vineyard.

They are taught to serve and be faithful unto death, after which they would receive their reward in heaven. At the end of every sermon we called sinners to repentance, warning them that perhaps there will be no tomorrow, and it was appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. When I crossed over the threshold into the message of Sonship and the Kingdom, the ministry dwelt mainly on the "manifestation of the sons of God." But even up to this point of revealed "end-time truths" ministers taught the word, operated the gifts, and died like anybody else.

No one came forward with a strong word that we should seek immortality and eternal life as Paul exhorted the Romans to do. As if without thinking or paying much attention to it, we simply accept the fact that the wages of sin is death. But instead of working for it as a wage or a salary, everlasting is seen as a "gift of God." Basically, we were never taught by our leaders to genuinely seek after immortality while living in our mortal bodies.

It is on that basis that many Christians today are begging God for promised realities that we are already walking in and are appropriating to ourselves. Many, like this woman are pointing back to ancient times and ancient prophecies; then they pray incessantly for God to keep them true until those promises are fulfilled somewhere in the future. Consider the case of Martha for a moment! She believed that her brother would live again, in the resurrection at the last day. But at that very moment she was face to face with resurrection, and in her case, there was no need to ponder and consult with a rabbi on the next Sabbath day. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection."

But who among us can speak disparagingly of Martha? Who can point a finger and say, "shame on you?" Haven’t the church for centuries been believing and embracing the same concept as Martha did? Christians the world over have been taught by well trained, well educated ministers of the gospel to look forward to the final day when resurrection will take place for those who died in Christ, and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, those who are alive shall all be changed; and of course, they offer supporting scriptures.

In some of my writings on this subject, I have said that during my many years of church life and being around church people, I have heard some say, "I know Jesus as my doctor and my healer." They go on to offer a short history of their illnesses and their wonderful healing.

Another will say, "I know Jesus as my provider" and another, "I know Jesus as my husband," and the list goes on. But I have never heard a single person say publicly in divine worship or in bible studies that "I know Jesus as my resurrection." Have you ever heard that declaration from any Christian friend that you know? We have not heard that because we were not taught to believe in a "present—current—on going resurrection."

This declaration was enough to blow Martha’s mind! But all she was asked to do was to believe, much like the case of Nicodemus. We are not being asked to understand all that God does, because his ways are past finding out. We are asked simply to believe. And again we quote the Lord’s question to Sarah: "Is there anything too hard for the Lord?" What do you think?

We quickly shoot down the argument of every god and demigod who would dare to introduce any other truth but that of Jesus Christ himself. When it comes to Jesus being the life, we haven’t said a whole lot.

So here is the question! What kind of life was Jesus alluding to in his declaration? Can we use a carving knife and be like butchers down at the slaughterhouse, as we divide one part of "life" from another part of the same word? Does life stand on its own turf and carries the same impact and realism as the single word connotes? Are we to believe that life means one thing here; and means something else across the page?

We can ask a simple question: "What part of the word life don’t we understand?" With what can we equate life? Is there anything else that can stand beside life as an equal partner or counter-part? Can life be segmented and we appropriate it in increments or like buying milk in sizes such as a pint, or a quart, or a gallon? Does one true believer in Christ posses more life than another who lives on a lower plain?

Have we been given, [for the time being] an inferior kind of life in Christ, to be exchanged for a superior one later on? Was Christ trying to confuse us when he said that we are passed from death unto life? Of course when we continue to look at the cemeteries as we drive by, and as long as we equate our photos of 50, 60 years ago with what we now see when we look in the mirror, the truth of passing from death unto life becomes a challenge to some and a phantom or passing shadows to others.

Everything about Jesus Christ is life and resurrection, and as a child of God there is no need to seek life or to look for resurrection outside of him. Listen to this biblical account that we seldom analyze or delve into the true meanings of what is written.

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1: 4.

Let us remember that Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead, and except ye eat the flesh of the Son of God ye have no life in you." So even the life that was given to us at birth has to be fused with the life of Christ, and that is why we are told "he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

Unfortunately, because of teaching to the contrary, the greater percentage of Christians the world over, are waiting for Christ to come upon a silvery cloud and change their bodies from without. Let us remind ourselves how powerful what we possess within really is. We have to keep referring to these important aspects of our study, so as to keep the focus on certain truths.

Notice that there is no limit to what God can do and will do according to the power that already indwells us. As we contemplate the physical change that every Christian yearns for, let us revisit Paul in his letter to the Romans. What we are about to read has to do with our mortal bodies, and not simply the spirit within man.

Some of us have preached many sermons from this passage with the theme being centered upon how we should present our bodies as a holy sacrifice before God. This passage has top priority among groups such as those of the "Pentecostal Holiness" persuasion.

The highlight of each sermon is that our bodies should be kept clean and holy, away from fornication, adultery, whore mongering, lying, stealing, smoking and drinking liquor to a point of drunkenness. But we will focus on another aspect of Paul’s letter in the context of experiencing our physical change.

The word "conform" can be viewed twice and in Romans 12 we are admonished not to be conformed to this world. It means not to be in partnership with the world, or to be made into its image as an ally. But in Romans 8: 29 we are told that it is God’s ultimate intention for us to be conformed to the image of his Son. We are also told in Romans 12 that we should be transformed, meaning a total metamorphosis, as from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

It is of paramount importance to note that all of these changes relate to our bodies, and they are to be accomplished by what is already in us. Death lies in the carnal mind, but life comes by the Spirit. Let us put our personal salvation in its proper perspective.

The major task for multitudes of us is to create a renewed mind that will accommodate the workings of the Holy Spirit within. As far as we have seen and learned, all of the changes that the Church seemingly is waiting for, will be accomplished by Christ upon his return to earth. But Paul made it quite clear that if the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us, he that raised Christ from the dead will quicken our mortal bodies by his spirit that dwells in us. Romans 8: 11.

Notice very carefully that the changing of our bodies is not scheduled to be done by an outward force, sent down from heaven by God to do just that bit of work. The changing of our bodies is accomplished by the Spirit of him that raised Christ from the dead, that right now, at this very moment dwells within us.

But we should always be cognizant of the fact the our change will be accomplished by the renewing of our mind; not by an extra dose of faith, or another pouring out of his Spirit in what some call the first blessing, and the second blessing, and even the third blessing. Fasting and praying and spending hours around the altar praying that God would kill the old man, will not do it. None of those elements are counted with any worth in the process.

We were given the Holy Spirit that God has already placed within us, as the "earnest" or down payment on the redemption of the purchased possession—meaning the whole man—spirit, soul, and body. Change your thought pattern and trigger those changes of which we speak.