A New And Living Way of Life

This is the final post from Chapter 4 of Friends With God: Living The Life Of Jesus In Us. Throughout this chapter and the previous chapter we have been exploring the doctrine of the “Penalty For Sin”, which was developed by Anselm of Canterbury in the 11th Century A.D.

As stated in the previous post, in order to follow Christ, we also must become living sacrifices “doing the will of God”. And we do this by having God’s law of love in our minds and hearts:

• I delight to do your will, O my God: yes, your law is within my heart. (Psa 40:8)

Consequently, if we do the will of God,

• We therefore have complete remission of sins and no need for (sacrificial animal) offering for sins. (Heb 10:18)  

The New And Living Way of Life

By following Christ’s way of life, we have no need for sacrificial animal offerings for sin- for, as the next verse tells us, we have the offering of the sacrificial blood of Christ to enable our entry to God the Father:

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest (the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where God the Father is) by the blood of Jesus, (we present the covenant, symbolized by the blood of Jesus, to God the Father) By a new and living way, (imitating his life) which he has consecrated for us (he has provided for us this path of life), through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Heb 10:18-20)

It is through imitating Jesus’ life in the flesh (that is a new and living way of life symbolized by the veil that we pass through) that we can actually enter into the very presence of God the Father!

The blood of Christ is the New Covenant, by which we have agreed to do The Will of God, as demonstrated by Jesus’ life. (Matt 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1Cor 11:25)

It’s not just Christ who enters into the once highly restricted Holy Place. Christ set us the example of how to live, and in doing so he opened the veil of the temple so that we (if we follow how he lived) are able to also go through the veil to God the Father!

As stated above, this veil represents the body of Christ, which we go through in order to enter the Holy of Holies. This veil into the Holy of Holies was torn in two at the very moment of Christ’s death, clearly signifying the opening of this once highly restricted area, and showing his death was what opened the veil. (Matt 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45)

This access to God the Father for all believers, is different to the Old Covenant, where the access to the Holy of Holies was restricted to just once a year, and that only by the High Priest. (Heb 9:1-7) The High Priest was playing out a role which Christ later fulfilled in his life by presenting his blood to God the Father. (Heb 9:11-12)

While Jesus has set us a great example, we also have a very active part to play in our own salvation. It's our choice to do the will of God and present our bodies as a living sacrifice, which is the will of God. (Rom 12:1-2)

It is the will of God that is set as the benchmark, or cornerstone, which we must align ourselves to:

• We must choose to follow the example of Jesus.

• We must choose not to conform to this world.

• We must yield unto God.

• We must allow our minds to be transformed.

• In doing all this we demonstrate to God, and to other people, what is the good and acceptable and perfect life to live.

Our example will then be the same as the example of Jesus- as such we will then be one with him, and fill up the sufferings of Christ, and be a light to the world as he was the light of the world (Col 1:23-25, John 9:5, Math 5:14)  

The Example Of Christ

Christ has opened the door to righteousness by setting the perfect example of doing the will of God. He set the standard as the chief corner stone of the Spiritual Temple of God, as discussed in this previous post. We then, by following his example in doing the will of God in our lives, are then able to enter into the Holy Place, and directly communicate with God the Father.

When we live as if Christ’s blood is in us, we too are acceptable to God the Father, in the same way that Christ himself was acceptable. We can then be set in the building of God, in perfect alignment with Christ.

Doing the Will of God = living as Christ lived = having the blood of Christ in us = being aligned with the corner stone in the building of God. All these analogies, and many others, express subtle and different facets of the life we are to live. While they are supposed to make it clearer, they can also be very confusing, particularly if we take scriptures out of the context in which they are presented. We can also get very confused if we view the law from a legalistic paradigm, such as believing that Jesus needed to pay a penalty for our sin for us.

The Need For The Holy Spirit Of God

God loves us now in the same way that he loved Jesus. However, our relationship with God the Father goes way beyond any physical comparison that can be made:

And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me. (John 17:22-23)

In order for us to be one with God the Father, the covenant with him must be written in our hearts and minds. (Heb 10:16) In order for this to occur we must have the Spirit of God:

• Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Rom 8:9)

When we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit then we become the very sons of God the Father and brothers of Jesus:

• For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the (Holy) Spirit of adoption (sonship), whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Rom 8:15-17)

The Holy Spirit enables us to have a deep Abba relationship of sonship with God the Father, and at the same time have a relationship with Christ as his brothers and sisters. 

However, Jesus told us something very simple about being one with God:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

If we are to become the very sons of God, we must be born of spirit, as God is spirit.

We not only need the Holy Spirit to become Sons of God now, but in the future we are to be changed from mortal human beings to become eternal spirit beings, like God- spiritual sons in the Family of God the Father!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Php 3:20-21)

So, when Hebrews 9:12 tells us that by his own blood, Christ entered into the Most Holy Place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption, it means that by offering this sacrifice to God the Father, Jesus was providing the terms of the New Covenant, written in his blood, for us to live by.

His blood is representative of the New Covenant, which is what we drink of, and in drinking of it we are saying we will do the will of God in our lives. This New Covenant is the agreement we have with God. We are saying that we agree to change from living the way of sin to doing the will of God, through following the example of Christ’s life on Earth and by yielding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing mystical about the sacrifice of Christ, it’s very logical. Humanity not only needed an example of how to live, as given by the physical Jesus, but also an example of how very wrong people can be, as shown by his senseless murder.

Having these examples, we then comprehend that we need to change so that we love God’s way of life, as exemplified by Jesus’ patience in suffering unjustly- and by his willingness to go through this he was actually demonstrating His obedience to the  will of God.

If we follow him, we too will be redeemed from our sins, because God is willing to forgive us if we are following in the footsteps of the Messiah. The Father will then love us in the same way that he loves Jesus. We, however, must also be willing to suffer unjustly- if that is the Will of God for us.

When we are given the Holy Spirit by God the Father, it enables us to have the power to change our minds so that we can conform to his mind, to be able to do his will in doing good works. Then we fit into the building of God, as we are aligned with the Chief Corner Stone, and are doing God’s will, in the same way that Jesus set us the example to follow.

Conclusion and Summary of Friends With God, Chapter 4: Being A Living Sacrifice.

Each one of these analogies (of being a part of a living building, drinking the blood, being sons, fellow citizens, going behind the veil etc.) are all important and meaningful metaphors saying the same thing- we are to follow Christ’s example.

While the statement “drinking the blood and eating the flesh of Christ” seems very graphic in today’s parlance, it simply means we are as motivated in our lives as if the very blood of Christ flowed in us, and as if we are living in his flesh.

It also means that we truly love living our lives like Christ, as if we are enjoying a great and sumptuous feast of good food and drink! This analogy is the epitome of “love the lord your God with all your heart, your mind and your soul”.

Once we accept the blood and flesh of Christ as being the only true food of life, then we will be accepting (inculcating) the sacrifice of Christ (which is his life on earth) within us. Then his mind will become part of us, and we will become one with God, and subsequently a member of the family of God:

That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us. (John 17:21)

God wants us to become living sacrifices, following the example of Jesus’ life, then he will give us the gift of eternal life, so that we, as his friends, can live with him forever.

It was this hope of living with his friends forever that Jesus had, which was the joy that was set before him, that enabled him to endure the cross despising the shame, and (was) set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)

God has great pity for sin-filled man because, through sin, man is deceived into desiring to live a life which leads to death. As we are mortal, death is sin’s logical result of not being given the gift of eternal life. The “Penalty For Sin” doctrine is therefore irrational as to impose an eternal death penalty on a mortal person is meaningless, as they are going to die eternally anyway, unless given the gift of eternal life.

The plan of God, to redeem man from this deception in which he desires to sin, does not require a ‘sacrifice to pay a penalty for sin’. Even in the Old Testament God did not want sacrifices to pay for sin, for the blood of goats and bulls can never take away sin. (Heb 10:4)

Sin Is Our Responsibility

The concept of having someone else ‘paying a sacrifice for sin’ means they are taking on responsibility for our actions. Christ has not taken on the responsibility for our sins. He has, however, provided us with the ability to overcome sin, if we are willing to change our way of life and ‘eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man’. Or, in less graphic terms, when given the chance by God, we must be willing to change and emulate the way Jesus Christ lived. This is possible only through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and guiding us, as it dwelt in and guided Jesus.

If we partake of the blood and body of Christ, we will be a light to the world of the resurrection of Christ, and also of our future resurrection to eternal life. It’s the hope of our joy in living an eternal life with God, as Sons of God and Friends with God, that enables us to endure the trials that living in this world brings. It’s by this joy that we, too, can overcome this world, and our own sin, and grow in understanding of God.

In this joy we rejoice before God, knowing that our lives are a necessary living sacrifice, which is the only price to be paid for the joy that is set before us. Yet to give up everything for Christ is but a small thing, for what we have is of no value in comparison to eternal life:

… I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from (keeping only) the (letter of the) law, but (rather keeping) that which comes through faith in Christ, (the spirit of the law, which is) the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Christ set us the example of being a living sacrifice that we should follow, but he did not pay any penalty for our sin. The only “cost” he paid was to be a living sacrifice, and that is what the Passover pointed to. This is the same ‘cost’ that we also ‘pay’, as we are to also be living sacrifices.

Christ’s Physical Life

The sacrifice of Christ was his life on earth as a human. He divested himself of his position at the throne of God, and lived a full human life to demonstrate to us how we should live. This sacrifice made possible the New Covenant in his blood.

God has only ever desired a change of heart in the individual, as the only sacrifice that he would accept:

For You do not desire (animal) sacrifice; or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17)

This change can only happen by accepting responsibility for our sins, and asking forgiveness from God, who then will give us his Spirit to overcome sin in our lives.

Once in covenant with God, we need to be guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit to enable us to overcome our habitual state of mind, which initiates these sinful actions. (John 14:26, 16:13-15, 1Cor 2:10-13, 1Thes 5:19, 2Tim 1:6)

The Simplicity Of The Forgiveness Of Sin

The formula to gain eternal life is clear;

• ‘Repent (turn from sin, because those who sin actually desire eternal death, therefore sin must be turned away from in order to receive eternal life),

• and let everyone of you be baptised (symbolic of the death of our old way of life and of washing sin from our lives)

• in the name of Jesus Christ (showing that it’s by his example that we will now live)

• for the forgiveness of sins (which God is willing to do if we accept the example of Christ as the way we are to follow);

• and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (which imparts eternal life and enables us to understand sin and change the habits in our lives)’. (Acts 2:38)

John also provides a neat summary:

• If we say that we have fellowship (partnership, friendship) with him (we say we are the friends and followers of Jesus), and walk in darkness, (live a sin-filled life) we lie (about being his friend and follower), and do not (live) the truth:

• But if we walk in the light (live a life of righteousness), as he is in the light, (if we follow his example) we have fellowship (friendship) one with another,

• and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. (our covenant with him, in his blood, changes us to become righteous and forgiven of sin)

• If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (even after conversion we will still sin)

• If we confess our sins, (admit them and repent of them) he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:6-10)

Having been cleansed, God will grant us eternal life, because we are in friendship with him, and he desires to live eternally with his friends. The only way we can do this is if he changes us from mortal physical beings into immortal spiritual beings, as his sons and daughters.

Nothing Else Is Necessary

No penalty, no physical ancestors, no sacrifice is able to motivate God to give us eternal life.

God will grant us eternal life for one simple reason- that we are his friends whom he desires to live with forever, because we, like Jesus, love righteousness and hate iniquity. (Heb 1:9)

We demonstrate this friendship with him by walking as he walked:

• He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked. (1John 2:6)

However, if we don’t follow Christ’s example, then the result is death:

• The man that wanders out of the way of understanding, shall rest in the congregation of the dead. (Prov 21:16)

What Is The Church?

So far in Friends With God, we have discussed the personal relationship we have with God, which is demonstrated in how we love other people:

If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1John 4:20-21)

Yet, how should we individually relate to the group of believers known as the “Church”, and equally, how should we relate to the group of unbelievers, known as the “World”?

What structure is the Church supposed to be in, and how do we, as individual members, fit into this structure?

How, also, do we, as individuals, and as a Church, live in the world as a light, yet not become entangled in the world?

In the next post we will start Chapter 5 of Friends With God: God’s Called Out Ones. This chapter will explore the Biblical directives that enable us, as Christians, to work together, and to also live in the world at the same time.