Dear-friend in Christ Jesus
- In order to achieve our present purpose, we would like to personalize the
remainder of this writing. If you find that you are not ready for what
is shared, or if you are beyond it and have no need of it, you may know of
someone for whom it may be beneficial.
But if you do
"qualify," you will be relieved and edified to know that your
heavenly Father is the Cause of the pause, which, coupled with the present
pressing problems, are meant to precipitate an all important turning point in
your Christian life.
SIN
PERSONIFIED - In order to best explain this good news, we go back a
step or two. During the early days of your Christian life there was a
lot of baby-like self-centeredness, which your Father understandingly
tolerated and ultimately utilized. Naturally your attitude was: Christ
died for my sins, God has saved me, the Cross was for my
sake--therefore it was my joy and my relief with which I was
occupied.
Consequently there was a good
deal of immature selfishness that extended into your early years as a
believer. You prayed for and expected the Father's blessings, love,
fellowship and comfort, as well as His guidance, protection and help along
your path. You looked for relief and freedom from the guilt and
inconvenience of sin, and desired from Him the peace, joy, and benefits of
your life in Christ.
THE
WAY UP IS DOWN - In His own time, and well within the scope of
Romans 8:28, your Father applied that very self-centeredness to discover the
sinful power of your old man to you. Down you went into the extended
defeat of Romans Seven, and found yourself to be none other than the "Oh,
wretched man that I am!" (Rom 7:24).
THE
PRACTICE OF RECKONING - It was by means of the futile struggle
against the overwhelming strength of sin that God brought you to the foremost
spiritual advance of your Christian life. It was through the careful
sharing of a friend, a conference message,
a book, tract, or tape, that you were introduced to the liberating
identification truths of the "not I, but Christ" life.
After guiding you in a good
deal of concentrated study, the Spirit of Truth revealed your identification
with the Lord Jesus in His death unto sin and resurrection unto newness of
life (Rom. 6:3-5). It was then that you exercised faith in that finished
work, reckoning yourself to be dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God in
Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:1 1). As a result you began to enjoy a growing
freedom from the reign of sin, with your daily life reflecting less of the
works of the flesh and more of the fruit of the Spirit.
PURPOSE
BEHIND THE PURPOSE - But even while growing in the "deeper
truths," you have been more aware of the benefactee than the
Benefactor. You have been more occupied with the liberating and growth
truths and their results than with the One who is not only the Truth, but your
very Christian Life. For you it has been, "that I may know
liberty," and "that I may know growth," rather than "that
I may know Him" (Phil. 3:10).
It is as you are learning to
reckon, and as you are beginning to experience something of the Father's
purpose of conforming you to the image of His Son, that the Spirit reveals the
purpose behind the purpose. Being conformed to the image of the Son is
foundational for the Father's primary purpose of having personal fellowship
with you, both now and throughout eternity.
IMPERATIVE
PERSONAL FELLOWSHIP - Your growth in the image of the Lord Jesus is
to foster fellowship with the Father. "He imparts to us of
Himself in order to qualify us for Himself." The thing for
you to realize is that your salvation is not only of God and from God, but it
is for God. "All things are of God, who hath reconciled
us to Himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 5:18).
It is true that the Lord Jesus
went to the Cross for your sake--in order to redeem you--but it was primarily
on behalf of His Father. "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God"
"He died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again" (Heb.
10:9, 2 Cor 5:15).
"THAT
I MAY KNOW HIM" - The reason the Father saved you is that you
might come to know Him, and that requires intimate, personal fellowship with
Him via the Word of God. "And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent"
(John 17.-3). And it is by knowing the Lord Jesus that you come to
know the Father. "If ye had known me ye should have known my
Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him" (John
14:7).
To teach you how all-essential
that fellowship is, He allows you to progress to the point of saying,
"I am growing but I miss God's presence; I am growing but I am lonely and
depressed; I am growing but I am frightened; I am growing but I am no longer
able to cope with the problems within and without that would seem at times to
overwhelm me."
"It is one thing to know
that we have life in the Lord Jesus, and it is quite another to be in
consistent communion with Him. Very many profess to have found pardon
and peace in the Lord Jesus, who, in reality, are feeding upon a variety of
things which have no connection with Him."