More on our freedom in Christ

We have been looking at examples of how the struggles we experience after being born-again (saved, converted, etc…) start in our minds, which is a part of our souls. The Greek word for “soul” is psuché (ψυχή - Phonetic Spelling is psoo-khay')

By the way, the Bible does clearly identify the 3 unique parts of every human being as a trinitarian creature made in the image of our trinitarian God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

•  The Greek word for spirit is “pneuma”.
•  The Greek word for soul is “psuche”.
•  The Greek word for body is “soma”.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 confirms this in saying, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Satan or demonic spirits cannot reach the salvation in our spirits. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:30 “to not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom we were sealed for the day of redemption. We can grieve the Holy Spirit when we don’t learn to quickly evaluate every thought or idea, to discern through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside our spirits, if a projection coming into our consciousness is from the Spirit & Mind of Christ inside of us or is a demonic idea or suggestion (or just an old thought pattern needing to be re- programmed/transformed).

The experience we had with Christ on the cross (our co-crucifixion, co-burial, co-resurrection, & co-ascension – seen in Romans 6) is so clearly confirmed in Colossians 3:1-4.

Colossians 3:1-4: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

This one paragraph identifies the most dynamic and supernatural experiences in the Christian life. Let me put them in a list format for you in kind of a chronological order. (the perfect 7 point message)

1.  For - you died.
2.  For - you have been co-raised with Christ.
3.  For - your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4.  So – set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
5.  So – set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
6.  So – Christ’s life is now your life.
7.  When – He appears you will also appear with Him in glory.

I cannot resist including Galatians 2:20 along with the Colossians 3:1-4 passage above.

Galatians 2:20: I have been co-crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Paul means here that he lives by faith in the life of Jesus Christ that is now living in him.)

This is why we do have the ability to quickly evaluate every thought or idea coming into our mental or emotional consciousness and discern through the Spirit & Mind of Christ living in our spirits…if any concept is coming from the Spirit & Mind of Christ or is a demonic idea or suggestion (or again - just an old thought pattern needing to be re- programmed/transformed). As the drawing below illustrates, you have been set free from your old sinful nature. Your old man has been buried forever. Your new man has literally walked off with the Lord Jesus Christ in His freedom to begin growing the fruit of the Spirit in your soul….”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

A yoke of slavery can refer to the Pharisees (Jewish Leaders) idea that they could go to heaven if they kept all the commandments…which is impossible! That is why Christ kept and fulfilled all of the commandments and law for us (and we kept them in and through Him). And then He let God the Father punish Him fully on the cross for our sinfulness. A yoke of slavery can also refer to you falling back into that bondage of you again thinking that you still have the old sinful nature…because you don’t.

Cornelius Smith was part of a gypsy clan in England during the 1800’s. Cornelius was in and out of jail for various offences, but during one jail visit, he heard the gospel from a prison chaplain. Later, he and his brothers were converted at a mission meeting. From 1873 on, "The Converted Gypsies" were continually involved in numerous and various kinds of evangelistic efforts to make Christ known to others.

Cornelius and his wife had four children (four girls & two boys). One boy was Gypsy Smith and he grew up to be a famous international preacher and evangelist. At age 16, Gypsy got to see how real the salvation in his father was. He also got to hear Ira Sankey sing. And he got to visit the home of John Bunyan in Bedford. He began “practice preaching” to cabbages growing in the countryside and he began singing hymns to people he met. He became known as the singing gypsy boy. Then at a Christian Mission convention (later to become the “Salvation Army”), William Booth (the founder) saw the ministerial potential in young Gypsy and asked him to become an evangelist for the Mission, which he did for 6 years, before God began taking him all over Great Britain and eventually the world.

With that history in mind, Gypsy’s dad Cornelius, continued ministering effectively until his death. Cornelius had discovered the richness of his oneness with Christ and the concepts addressed above and he wanted to share them with everyone. BUT – he told his wife he was having a hard time getting other Christians to understand this oneness with Christ and he was frustrated.

Then one day he and his wife were walking along one of the beaches in Great Britain and discussing his frustrations. As they walked, he stumbled on something, and he stopped to look back. It was a bottle with the cork still in it. Suddenly he got a vision and told his wife to watch what he was about to do. He picked up the bottle, filled it completely with seawater, pushed the cork back in, and threw it as far out into the ocean, as he could. Then - he said to his wife:

“Now - the sea is in the bottle and the bottle is in the sea. Christ is in us and we are in Christ”.

Until next week.

Yours in Christ,
Gene

PS: For much more on these topics, please see my first book called “How To Experience Your Oneness With Christ” found at https://genegobble.com. The whole book is devoted to these concepts and full of Scripture, stories and illustrations.