1 Corinthians 15:22
22 For
as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Romans 5:19
19 For as through the
one man's disobedience (that’s Adam) the many were made sinners, even so
through the obedience of the One (that’s
Jesus Christ) the many will be made
righteous.
Every believer has to learn that he was born in Adam, spiritually dead. Once you learn about the natural, then you are ready to learn about the spiritual. We must first understand that we are all born spiritually dead, then we can understand that when we have faith in Jesus Christ, we are made alive!
Once you are spiritually alive, then you progress in your spiritual life. Progress in your spiritual life consists only of learning what we already possess at the beginning! Our part is not production, but reception of what God has already done for us.
1 Peter 1:23
23 for you have been
born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through
the living and enduring word of God.
The key to understanding what I’m talking about is to think about the seed. Inside the seed is the full reproduction of the life from which it came. For instance, an acorn will grow into a mighty oak tree. This seed has been planted within us, and therefore the Christian walk is one of growth and maturity, which will produce the fruit that abides within the seed.
1 John 3:9
9 No one who is born
of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God.
God’s seed abides in everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. This seed (also think the new spiritual species, the new creature, or the new nature) will live with God forever, and cannot sin.
The key to Christian growth is to realize these essentials: We must first see what is already ours in Jesus Christ, be aware of our need for it, and then seize for ourselves that which has already been given to us.
Paul’s letter to the church at
Eph 1:3
3 Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Eph 2:4-5
4 But
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace
you have been saved),
Eph 2:19
19 So then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are
of God's household,
Eph 3:11-12
11 This was in
accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our
Lord,
12 in
whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
After Paul completes this list, he prays for them to understand and grow in these blessings, and then he then asks them to do one thing:
Ephesians 4:1
1 Therefore I, the
prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called,
God has already planted in us this perfect seed, the likeness of Christ that we are to grow into. He has done all the work. Our responsibility is to realize and appropriate for ourselves everything God has done for us.
John 15:5
5 "I am the
vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I
in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
If you want to be removed from this list, just reply. If someone wants to be added, just forward a message to them, and have them email me the address to: mal@malatkinson.com
You can also view the archives at: www.biblestudy.malatkinson.com