This letter is to bring believers into an understanding of their inner workings. I write it because I too suffer from an inability to maintain holiness. And when I stumble, I look directly at myself to blame, like I have failed my master. So what am I doing wrong?
Our reality is, this is exactly what the enemy expects, but what is not commonly known, this is also exactly what the Almighty God intended.
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Romans 7:21-25
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So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
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For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
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but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
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What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
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Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
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To be born again. This is what occurs when a soul is shown that it is attached to a vessel that binds it. And specifically, that vessel is literally renewing itself from the point of conception, because it is under the dominion of death. Our vessel, this flesh, develops requirements which turn into desires as it matures. And those desires are based on what our minds know, and what our heart feels. We exist to react. Our first birth is being born into death, Christ Jesus said that we must be born again, in order to enter the Kingdom. That second birth is a spiritual birth, being born into life.
This is where the spiritual comes in. The soul, that is truly life, is not born because of the flesh. The soul is a spiritual slice of a larger sum. That sum has its own image which we were created from. That image is conceived, and the flesh reacts to it. The world, being bound by time, reacts to life by attempting to destroy it. It is this process of renewal that is the law of division and emulation that brings our cells into form and function. The natural world is also under this law, and we are bound by it.
The flesh, this vessel, is enslaved by its development. What that means, is that every individual is bound by desires that are natural to their flesh, and essentially, a result of their bloodlines. This is not saying that we are guiltless, but it is to say that not every desire is the product of our own doing. God, knowing the function of the vessel worked in opposition to the light, created commandments that contradicted our nature. It started with Adam, his disobedience sent us on a journey to overcome this flesh, and conquer death on its terms.
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1 Corinthians 15:21-26
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For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
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For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
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But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
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Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
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For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
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The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
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Back to us. Jesus died for the sins of mankind. He was sent to be the first to overcome what could only be overcome by maintaining the Father's will into death itself. By doing so, the natural law of creation was overcome. And the new world was created. Yes, the new world has come. There is a path set out before us that did not exist for us before the ascension of Christ.
This path has a gate, and that gate is Jesus. What that means is, we can leave behind our reliance on this vessel and its desires, and set our heart and mind and soul on what is the light of God. We can deny ourselves in the confidence of the unseen qualities of God, and because of grace, we are able to be forgiven our transgressions as we move forward in a maturity. Without faith in what Jesus has done, there is no real understanding of what our purpose is. Our purpose discover and observe the qualities of holiness through the strength our Shepherd showed.
The end result of faith in Christ is the destruction of death. At that point, everything that has been created to sustain death, will also be destroyed. Heaven and Earth will no longer exist, and will be replaced by a Heaven and Earth that are eternal.
The Kingdom will also be subject to change, as what is holy will no longer be challenged, or in opposition to natural law. The Kingdom will be handed back over to the Father, which means the holy conscience of God will be of His Oneness. The reason is, at this point, what is holy will already be the foundation of this new creation. What then? I have no idea, and honestly, I will just be thankful to be whole in spirit and mind.
Our inner workings run in opposition. As believers we are in constant contradiction with our nature. The term 'longsuffering' is a term well suited for our day to day. The term 'persevere' is also a term well suited for our day to day.
I will personally try and remember this the next time I start blaming myself for faltering. We are not perfect yet, no. But the more we do focus on what is perfect, the stronger our body and desires reflect this. We are on the winning side, as our faith can move mountains, and all our enemy can do is call us out by our sin. Forgive yourself and be forgiven. Keep getting up.
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