Seattle, May 11, 2005.
62. WHO WE ARE. Each and every member of the body of Christ is the workmanship of the Lord. Eph. 2:10 Submission to Him, allows Him to perfect His will in our lives. He has taken a personal interest in building and preparing His people for their ultimate, living, destiny. He is forming and shaping a people to the praise and glory of His name. If man in his wisdom and creative abilities can manufacture such wonders as we live with today, how much more is the Lord highly capable of creating in Christ Jesus a perfect set of people who are to be the Bride of Christ. A nation who are to be to the praise and glory of His name. Isa. 42:21
THE GOAL OF THE NEW MAN. In the original creation after viewing each and every item that He produced the Lord made the statement that IT WAS GOOD. That which He created before the introduction of sin into this world was in absolute perfection. Adam and Eve were beautiful, perfect creatures before the Lord. Unquestionably clothed with the very glory of the Lord Himself. When the first was of such a high standard most certainly the new creation will reach as high a calling, if not higher, for the new is eternal. The building that He is now about to complete is to be in His exact image and likeness. That will not only be in appearance but in every spiritual way. He will have a people like Himself. Col. 3:10 when Paul mentioned the passing of the old things, did he mean just a part or a portion of that past life before we came to Christ or are we really to be like Jesus? He said ALL THINGS are become new. With the Lord ALL THINGS He means just exactly that, ALL THIINGS. Either we are new, totally new or we are an admixture of flesh and Spirit, old and new. 2 Cor. 5:17
PRESERVED. It is not appropriate to put new wine into old bottles. The process of fermentation will cause the old skin to burst and both the bottle and especially the wine will be destroyed. The new goes into new, that both might be preserved. Such action is just good old fashioned horse sense. Mt. 9:17 We want the moving of the Spirit and a mighty display of the Power of the Holy Ghost but we are trying to put the new into the old. Before we can have a true revival there must be some changes, yes even some drastic changes in the people who would be in the Bride of Christ. The Revelation letter of the Lord to the Ephesian church came as a warning and an exhortation to renew their first works. Twice in the same verse He commanded them to repent. To remember the great measure of spirituality which had been theirs and to take note of how far they had fallen. The Lord does not mince words when He address His people. He never has, nor will He ever. We preach repentance to the unsaved but how about the saved? Do we need to repent? Failure to do so will cause the light of the truth, the candlestick to be remove from the midst of the church. That would result in just one thing and that is darkness. Serious, but necessary words. Rev. 2:5