We are as prodigal sons and daughters who are realizing that we have squandered all that we received from God on our own pleasure.
He gave us wisdom we used to study the rhythm and pattern of nature for gaining honor from man and increasing knowledge.
He gave us skills and unique talents we used for gaining honor from man.
He spoke to us through His servants Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.
He spoke in confirmation of those He had sent through His prophets.
All these spoke of Christ who was to come and bridge the breech caused by molding confidence with a lie.
He sent Christ in the form of flesh called Jesus to take us beyond the barrier Moses could pass through. He demonstrated His record for our faith to show us His ways of covenant, stewardship, priesthood, and His prophetic path by which He remained holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and higher than the heavens even yet while in the form of flesh which had no bearing on the record He set for us to follow after.
He opened the understanding of His apostles by revelation after His death, resurrection, and ascension. Even though they had walked with him while He was in the form of flesh and had witnessed and performed many miracles, they had not yet fully understood the concealed sign set within this pattern manifested by Him.
This is the true record and pattern made living by His Spirit. To worship Him we must walk by faith in Spirit and in Truth for these three function as one and hold no independent value. Even as Jesus said, why do you call me good? He said this because the person was resisting grace and isolating Jesus from the Godhead.
Now upon our awakening to the fact that we are as prodigal sons and daughters, many are tempted to think the remedy is to now use the wisdom, skills, and unique talents for the honor of God and that this must logically be what it means to turn from self to God... but this is a lie.
We came forth from God but are less than God. We cannot please Him from this form of inequity. As God showed under the Law of Moses, the lower form must be put to death. He demonstrated this also by taking a form of no reputation and allowing Himself to smitten and hung up on a cross to die. So must we die to ourselves, not seek to honor Him with ourselves.
But our death is of no value to Himself or to us. What then is of any value? Faith in Christ. God sent Christ in the form of flesh to manifest a pattern in the form of flesh to us to follow after even while in the form of flesh. So then, the flesh does not defile faith in God through Christ when the flesh is denied expression of self and we follow after His record by working with His Spirit instead.
To walk with God, who is Spirit, we must receive of His Spirit. To walk with God in Spirit, we must receive of His Truth. His Spirit and Truth came by Jesus Christ and it is by faith in Christ Jesus that we honor God. God gave us the pattern and power for the priesthood in the person of Jesus Christ. Grace + Suffering = Glory and Honor. There can be no progression or increase of faith within restricting the flesh from having any bearing on faith in Christ.
Therefore let us set our focus on God through Christ who provides for the correcting of our vision through sending forth preachers of truth walking in the power of His Spirit. We shall know them by His grace.
Free online courses making clear the way of righteousness: http://www.s8wministries.org/courses.php
Free online courses making clear the way of righteousness: http://www.s8wministries.org/courses.php