POSITION -
The new birth provides the believer with a new Position,
a new Standing in God the Father. When one is born again, he is born
into Christ, Who is his Life; he is brought all the way from death, to life
eternal. "And you hath He quickened (enliven), who were dead in
trespasses and sins...even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph.
2:1,5,6).
It is primarily
because of our new Position in the Lord Jesus that our heavenly Father is free
to accept and love us, just as we are. His basic consideration of us is
founded upon our Position in His beloved Son. "Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us
accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:3-6). (See chapter on Acceptance,
in The Green Letters.)
As to our Position in
Christ Jesus, our judicial Standing with God our Father, we are made one with
Him by nature (2 Pet. 1:3, 4); justified and sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11); forever
indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; Rom. 8:9); baptized by the Holy Spirit
into His Body, The Church (1 Cor. 12:13); the indwelling Spirit the Seal of
His eternal ownership (Eph. 1:13, 14); and, we are complete in Him
(Col. 2:10). This is but to touch he vast and wonderful subject!
CONDITION -
All that is included in our Position and Standing in
Christ is not received by experience; it is all included in our new
birth. But when we move into the realm of Condition, State, then we have
to do with experience. Christian growth consists of our Positional
treasures in the Lord Jesus progressively becoming an integral part of our
daily Condition, experientially through the process ministry or the
indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit-fostered hunger
within the heart of the growing believer is that his State, his
Condition, become more and more comparable to his Standing and Position.
Through prayerful study of the Word, the believer comes to know what is his in
Christ, and confidently trusts the Holy Spirit to make it all ever more fully
experienced in his daily walk - his Condition. "For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them. For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13).
EXAMPLE -
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things
have passed away; behold, all things are
become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Here is Positional truth: one is
born into Christ Jesus, partaker of the divine nature, and thereby made a new
creation in Christ. He has been taken out of sinful Adam, and engrafted
into the Lord Jesus Christ: "For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). Therefore, positionally,
old things (Adamic old nature) have passed away, and all thing are become
new.
Sooner or later the believer should
come to realize that this is not Conditional truth, since one's life and walk
does not measure up -- all the old has not passed away, and everything
within is not new. But the Condition should be progressively improving,
as one slowly, through the years, approaches one's Position in Christ
experientially. (See chapter on Time,
in The Green Letters.)
The all-too-prevalent error with
which we are seeking to deal, springs from mixing Position and
Condition. This is often termed "holiness error." Many
believe and forcibly teach that in order to be saved, and stay that way, one
must maintain in Condition that which is Positional. It is also asserted
by well-meaning holiness folk that these and other conditions are necessary
for acceptance with God, and effectiveness in His service.
But Position is the foundational
source and regulation of Condition. Condition is fostered by
Position. Sanctification, for instance: "The Greek word for
'sanctify' means to separate unto God's exclusive use. It also means to
cleanse what is separated and to impart the character of God. A study of
all the Bible passages where the words 'sanctify,' 'holy,' and
'sanctification' are found shows that all believers are sanctified
positionally in Christ, are being sanctified progressively by Christ via the
Holy Spirit, and will in the last day be sanctified perfectly with Christ (1
Cor. 1:1,2; Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 5:23)." --J.B.
We have sought to share the
following material with as little comment as possible. Our intention has
been to utilize direct statements from the more conservative leaders who have
contributed quite thoroughly to specific holiness error. We trust the
facts will speak for themselves. And now we must begin at the beginning
of the error--the false step of endeavoring to "receive" the Holy
Spirit subsequent to the new birth; and this concerning the very Person Who
non-experientially enters the spirit to dwell eternally at the moment of
regeneration. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Cor. 3:16)?
Next
--> "Receive" the Holy Spirit
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