Seek and Destroy.

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. – 1 John 3:7-8 NET

Sin is an ever-present reality for every human being – including Christians. Ever since Adam and Eve listened to the lies of Satan in the garden, and put their own self-interests ahead of God's will, mankind has been enslaved to the enemy's wishes, acting according to his rebellious, anti-God agenda. And yet, John would have us remember that the reason Jesus came into the world, lived a sinless life, died on the cross in man's place, and rose again from the grave, was to put an end to Satan's rebellion and sin's dominion in our lives once and for all. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 ESV). Then why do we still struggle with sin? Why do we, as believers, still have to put up with our old sin nature that makes life so difficult and living righteously so seemingly impossible? The answer lies in the now-not-yet nature of our current status. John makes it clear that we are “called children of God, and so we are” (1 John 3:1 ESV). Just in case we didn't get his point, he repeats it. “Beloved, we are God's children now” (1 John 3:2 ESV). We have been born of God and have His seed abiding in us (1 John 3:9 ESV). According to John, this is a present reality. We are God's children right here, right now. It is not something that is reserved for us at some future date. But there is a “not yet” nature to our status as God's children. We are citizens of heaven living in a strange place. We are not where we belong. We are strangers and aliens living in a place that is foreign and hostile to us. John even tells us, “The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1 John 3:1 ESV). Not only does the world not know us, it hates us. Because it is under the dominion and control of Satan, the world despises anything and anyone who represents God's Kingdom. So he has us in his sights and constantly seeks to attack us and defeat us. And to make matters worse, we still have our old natures, what Paul refers to as the flesh, living within us and causing us all kinds of problems. We have our new righteous nature, provided for us by Christ. And we have our old sinful nature, inherited from Adam. But John wants us to remember that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 ESV). Part of the process in which we find ourselves is the ongoing mortification or putting to death of our old nature. This will continue until the Lord returns and we receive our glorified, sinless bodies. “But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV). There is a day coming when we shall be completely sinless just as He is sinless. But in the meantime, we must do battle with our old natures. and “put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13 ESV). God has given us His Spirit to make it all possible. We have the strength to resist the enemy, and do what is right and righteous.

What we need to constantly realize is that Jesus, through the Spirit of God, is constantly seeking out those areas of our lives that remain in rebellion against the Kingdom of God. He is out to seek and destroy the vestiges of our rebellions sin nature and put them to death. Through exposure to the Word of God and with the help of the Spirit of God, we can have the remaining darkness in our lives exposed by the light. We can have the falsehood and lies that still linger in our hearts destroyed by the truth of God's Word. The presence of sin should not surprise us. But John would warn us that a Christian who sins is still living in subjection to the enemy. He has been set free, but is willingly allowing himself to be enslaved again. As Christians, when we sin, we are not living in the reality of who we are. We are hiding our true nature. “A sinning Christian conceals his true character when he sins and reveals it only through holiness. On the other hand, a child of Satan reveals his true character by sin” (Zane C. Hodges, The Epistles of John). Christians can and do sin. But it is NOT our nature. It is not who we are. Our capacity to live righteously is what shows that we are His children. Claiming to be a child of God, but living like a slave of Satan, hides our true character. But because we know who we are and what we will one day be, we purity ourselves as He is pure. We seek to be like Him who died so that we might live. John knows we will sin. Which is why he reminded us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). Sin is inevitable, but it is not irresistible. We can say no to sin. We can live righteously, even in this life. And when we do, it proves the reality of who we are. It gives evidence to the world that we are children of God and that Jesus Christ is still actively destroying the works of the devil, in our lives and in this world.

 

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What's In A Name?

1 Chronicles 1-2, Ephesians 4

…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV

For nearly nine whole chapters, the chronicler provides list after list of virtually unrecognizable and unpronounceable names. These genealogies tend to make no sense to us as modern readers. They seem to serve no purpose. But to the chronicler's audience they provided a lifeline back to their heritage as God's chosen people. They had returned to the land of promise after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah they had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and the temple itself. But they were a ragtag remnant living in a city that still showed the signs of the Babylonian destruction and years of neglect as the people languished in captivity. They were worshiping in a temple that was a mere shadow of its former glory. So the chronicler takes nine chapters to remind them of who they were. He takes them all the way back to Adam. They were descendants of the first man, who had been created by God Himself. But more than that, they shared a heritage with David, the great king of Israel, to whom God had promised to give a long-lasting dynasty. One of David's descendants was to sit on the throne of Israel again. But at the time of the writing of 1 Chronicles, the people of God were living in Jerusalem and worshiping at the temple, but they had no king. They were weak, defenseless, and surrounded by enemies who were less-than-ecstatic that they had returned to the land. The chronicler wanted to remind his readers of their heritage. He wanted them to understand their unique status as God's chosen people. Much of what he wrote in this book was designed to show God's people who they were, how they got to be in the state they were in, and what they were going to need to do to see their circumstances change. Their current circumstances were the direct result of their own unfaithfulness and disobedience. They were reaping the results of their failure to seek God. So the chronicler wants them to understand that, as God's people, they must return to Him, and live as the true heirs of Israel.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God's hand had been on Israel from the very beginning. The lists of genealogies start with Adam and clearly reveals God's sovereign choice of Abraham and His divine selection of David. He had been active all the along the way, orchestrating events in such a way so that the nation of Israel would be His chosen people. And in spite of what would be a lengthy track record of disobedience and rebellion against His will and authority, God would eventually restore His disobedient children to the land He had promised to give them as their inheritance. While they had failed to live up to His expectations and commands, He had kept His promises to them. He had miraculously provided the means by which the temple could be rebuilt and the sacrificial system restored. He used a pagan king to make possible the return of His people to the land and the funding of the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the temple itself. The temple was a symbol of God's divine presence. It was a reminder of God's willingness to provide forgiveness for sin and restoration to a right relationship to Him through the sacrificial system. But as the people of God, they would have to live in obedience to His commands, faithfully seeking His face and worshiping according to His standards, not their own.

What does this passage reveal about man?

After 70 years in exile, it would have been easy for the people of God to forget who they were. Most of those who returned to the land of Israel had probably been born in Babylon, and were seeing the land of promise for the first time. They had no real recollection of how things used to be. They had no concept of the former glory of Jerusalem or the magnificence of the original temple. They had long forgotten their unique status as the children of God. Theirs had been a life of slavery, servitude, and suffering. Even though they were now living back in the land, they were doing so as a weakened, impoverished, powerless people who had no king, no army, and no apparent hope for the future. But the chronicler takes time to remind them of their heritage. He wants them to understand the significance of who they are and the reality of their relationship as God's chosen people. Paul does a similar thing when writing to the believers in Ephesus. He reminds them, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV). And then we read those powerful two words, “But God…” In the midst of our former position as sin-ravaged, spiritually lifeless, flesh-driven dead men, God showered us with His mercy and grace, providing us with salvation through Christ “even when we were dead in our trespasses” (Ephesians 2:4 ESV). He gave us new life. He provided us with new hope. As a result, Paul exhorts his readers to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He challenges them to live up to their new status as God's chosen people. Their lives are to be marked by humility, gentleness, patience, forebearance, love, unity, and a mutual commitment to spiritual growth and maturity. Their conduct and speech were to be different. Their lifestyle was to emulate that of Christ. They bore the name of Christ and shared His status as a child of God. So they were to live accordingly, putting off their old nature and putting on the new self, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

As a child of God, I am to live differently. I must recognize my position as His son and walk in a manner worthy of my calling as His adopted child. My unique status should be apparent in my behavior. Paul told his readers to put away falsehood, speak the truth, not to let their anger turn to sin, to resist Satan, stop stealing, work honestly, talk righteously, extend grace, and stop grieving the Holy Spirit. He was very specific and it was likely because his readers had been used to living in such a way that their lives had been marked by behavior that was un-Christlike and unflattering to their role as God's chosen people. As God's sons and daughters, our behavior must reflect our beliefs. Our comportment must match our confession. We must live or walk in a manner worthy of our calling and in honor of the name of Christ.

Father, I want to live differently. I want my speech and conduct to honor Your Son's name. I confess that too often, my claim to be a Christian is not matched by my behavior, thought life and the words that come out of my mouth. Help me understand that my life must reflect my status as Your child. My conduct must bring glory and honor to Your name. Amen

Life Through the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-17

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. – Romans 8:5 NLT

Paul had a sin nature. You have a sin nature. I have a sin nature. Every person who has ever lived or is alive now has a sin nature. Even those of who are in Christ. But Paul has made it clear that, because of Christ's death on the cross, we have been set free from having to live like a slave to sin, constantly giving in to the sinful disposition of our sin natures. While at one time we were totally enslaved and incapable of resisting our own sinful nature, we now have a choice. We have been given the Spirit of God, who resides within us, equipping and empowering us to live lives that are pleasing to Him. He can and will produce a host of good deeds through us and godly fruit within us. But we have to choose to live under his control, rather than willingly giving in to our own selfish sin nature.

Over and over again in this passage, Paul reminds us that we have the "power of the life-giving Spirit" within us. He has freed us from the power of sin that leads to death. He empowers us to no longer follow our sinful nature. But there is a choice that has to be made. We have to want to allow the Holy Spirit to control our minds and our lives. When He is in control, we will tend to think about the things that please Him. When our flesh is in control and our sinful nature raises its ugly head, we will find ourselves thinking about sinful things, inappropriate things, that don't honor God or reflect our relationship as His sons and daughters. Paul emphasizes that the Spirit that lives within us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. If that power can restore a dead man to life, it can restore us from spiritual death to new life. That incredible power can be tapped into in order to put to death the deeds of our sinful nature. It can allow us to live new lives – NOW – not just in eternity. We are God's adopted children right here and now, not just some time in the future. We are heirs to His promises now, not just when Christ returns or He calls us home to heaven. We are beneficiaries of His life-transforming power now, not just at the rapture or when we experience our future glorification.

But Paul makes it clear that, while we will some day enjoy a future glorification and ultimate transformation into Christ-likeness, we are going to go through a period of suffering here and now. We will do daily battle with our sin nature, experiencing the same conflict and struggle that Paul expressed a few verses earlier. "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't. Instead, I do what I hate" (Romans 7:15 NLT). Christ suffered in His life on this planet. He had to do battle with sin and death, and so do we. We must constantly wage war with our sin nature and the enemy who seeks to kill and destroy us. We must wrestle with our inner desire to live for Christ, and the constant call of our sin nature to live for self. We are in a spiritual war zone as long as we live on this earth. But we have a power inside us that can equip us to live differently right here, right now. It will be difficult at times. It will be painful. But it will always result in our ongoing sanctification and ultimate glorification. We must rely on the Spirit of God to provide us with the power from God so that we can live lives that bring honor to God. This life-giving Spirit has not only freed us from sin and death, but empowers us to continue to live in freedom all the days of our lives – as long as we remain under His control and committed to living according to His power and not our own.

Father, thank You for providing Your Holy Spirit and placing Him inside me. I confess that I don't always acknowledge His presence or tap into His power. I try far too often to live in my own strength and not in His. I do things my way, then wonder why things don't turn out quite like I had hoped. Continue to show me how I might have victory over sin, not because I work hard at it, but because I have learned to rest in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.