Chapter 3: The Resurrection Power over All Impurity

Chapter 3: The Resurrection Power over All Impurity

Regeneration

Paliggenesia, the Greek word for "regeneration" refers to a "complete change of mind and heart" or a "restoration to the original state".

Dead Bones

     Our birth into sin made our souls like dead bones buried in the deep recesses of the world. We could not hear His Words of salvation. We could not see His righteousness and glory. We could not taste to see that the Lord is good. We could not smell the fragrance of His presence. We could not feel love, joy, or peace. Our hearts were hardened as stone. There was no way we could respond to His Gospel, to His Word which gives life to the one who hears with faith. 

     Even though we did not have faith, we could not even hear, comprehend, consider, or understand this Gospel. We were altogether dead in our trespasses and sins. There was a thick dark shroud that enfolded our eyes. Deep darkness was over the surface of our deep dead souls. Even if the Word of Life was spoken to us, how could we hear it that we may be revived? How could we see Him that we may be drawn to Him as to the light shining in the dark place or run from Him and cry out for the rocks to cover us because we had seen the Holy One while living in our sin.? How could we understand or comprehend the essence of His death and resurrection, and His forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Surely His Gospel was a foolish mystery to us. How could a dead mind repent and leave behind the world to follow Christ? How could a dead heart want Him? How could a darkened soul choose Him? How could a dead soul make a decision to obey Him? 

     We were hopeless. We could not know Him. We could not hear His Gospel. WE COULD NOT CHOOSE OR LOVE HIM BECAUSE WE WERE DEAD. 

The Life Giver

² The earth was ^formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Gen 1

     Our souls were formless and empty. Darkness covered the surface of our deep wickedness. Yet the Spirit was hovering over the chosen ones. Indeed the Spirit hovers over the souls of all those who have been chosen and predestined for His glorious grace. God said to our dark souls, "Let there be Light". And indeed in Him we find the Light of Life. 

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), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Eph 2

     We truly were as the very dry bones that were piled in heaps in the valley that God showed to Ezekiel (ch. 37). God asks you and me today about the dead parts of our lives and the dead souls of those around us, "Can these bones live?"

LORD YOU ALONE KNOW!

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. ⁶ I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am theLord.’”⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ez 37

      This great and sovereign Lord has brought His people to life. Yes, He is bringing life to many now. There are many before us, fields white for harvest, the valley, filled with dry bones that God is bringing to life in Christ. These dead souls cannot choose Him on their own. God must first bring them to life that they may see and understand. The faith that saves them is a gift of the Father. He has given them everything they need to live in Him. He first brings them to life that they may respond to His Gospel. Then He gives them and obedient and enduring faith that they may be saved by the Gospel.

¹⁹ “I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
²⁰ That they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it. Is 41

The Spirit’s Quickening of our spirits

     After He brings us to life by enabling us to choose Him in faith, He grants us His Spirit to live inside of us. The Spirit's work is the regeneration and renewal of the man of God. In the verses below, we find one of the clearest descriptions of the effects of regeneration:

 ³⁷ Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. ³⁸ They shall be My people, and I will be their God;³⁹ and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. ⁴¹ I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. Jer 32

     Everything good and righteous that we desire to dwell in us comes completely from Him, from the One who gave life to our souls. He does not bring us to life and leave us on our own to live righteously. One of the works of the Spirit is to convict the world with regard to righteousness because Christ went to be at the right Hand of the Father in heaven. We could never have the righteousness of the Father without the Holy Spirit's bestowing of power and wisdom to our souls. We cannot contrive any goodness in our souls even after having been brought to life. The Spirit Himself brings singleness of heart and action to us. 

     This means that our Savior is going to do everything to save us. He who died and rose to life to save us from hell, will also perfect these souls of ours. He does not stop. He is always doing the work of His Father. The work of the Father is to purify for Himself a people who His very own and who are eager to do the will of God. God will remove our sin. He Himself will remove it. He causes His seed to remain in us. Do you writhe in the agony of the sin that you cannot remove? He surely will remove it from you if you are His child.

    Are you afraid that you cannot stop sinning? He surely will remove every sinful inclination of our hearts until the day see Jesus face to face. He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. The Shepherd will carry His Lambs forever. He is able to inspire us to fear Him. We cannot make ourselves fear Him. He must inspire us to revere His Name and to hold Him as holy in our hearts. He will never stop doing good to us. For us who have many areas of our hearts, minds, and souls yet to be perfected, the way He does good to us is to treat us as legitimate children and to discipline us. 

¹³ Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴ because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrew 10 (NIV)

     He is making us holy. Do not faint and lose heart at the fiery trials and at the perceived hardness of your heart. He surely is working zealously on behalf of His own Name to sanctify and purify you. If you are His child, you He surely is going to remove your strongholds. He will wash the evil from you as with a "launderer's soap" and it will be completely be His work. And yet, know this: there will be trials and testing of our faith which He will use to accomplish His purifying work. But nevertheless He has overcome your sin. 

     All of the sin in your life is going to be removed in the days to come. It will involve deep cleansing. It will involve painful circumcision of the heart. It will involve Godly sorrow. It will involve circumstances which will wrench your soul. It will involve times of comfort and peace from the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. It will involve trouble. But He surely will remove your sin, my dear family. This is His way of never stopping to do us good.

     Do we turn away from Him time and again? He promises to inspire us so that we will never turn away from Him. God is not powerlessly waiting for us to be wholeheartedly devoted to Him. He is powerful. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish the complete salvation of His chosen people. He is going to inspire us. He is going to inspire us!

     Does the knowledge of the complete authority of God over our heart, mind, and soul cause us to be lax and negligent in the trust that He has given us? It cannot. For surely a curse is on the one who is lax in doing the Lord's work and those who are lukewarm will be spewed out of His mouth (Jer 40:10, Rev 3:16). When the true sheep hear of this regenerating work of the Shepherd, they run into his Shepherd's arms with overwhelming gratefulness and thankfulness. For the goal of his faith was the salvation of his soul and for the glory of God. 

     He changes us that we may glory in Him and desire for His glory. Previously we had gloried in our fallen self, but He has changed us to the state that He has intended for the sons of men: to find their deep satisfaction in the glory of God. 

His Law Written on Our Hearts

     He changes us so that instead of being resistant to His laws in our flesh, on our new hearts are written the Laws of the Creator.

¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,

¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”

He then says,

¹⁷ “And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”

¹⁸ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Heb 10

     We will no longer struggle and falter to keep His laws. We will no longer stagger under the cup of God's wrath due to transgressors. Instead He will write His Law of love, truth, and justice on our hearts. We will act according to the righteousness of our new hearts: Christ's imputed righteousness. He is going to change the hearts and minds of His people that they may act, think, feel, and speak in the Righteous Way of the Spirit of God. They will no longer live in darkness but will live the Life worthy of the calling that they have received. 

Choose for Yourself this Day

      The work of our salvation and regeneration is completely His. He has done everything. He did not do 99% and we did 1%. He has done 100% of the work necessary for our complete salvation and perfection until the day of redemption .

²¹ And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Col 1

     Christ presents us holy in His sight and at the same time, He calls us to action. Regeneration is His complete work and yet He calls us to choose to serve Him this day. When we read of His regenerating work in His Word, are we not inspired to choose Him this day? Does not the knowledge of His Sovereign love and enabling of our souls to live and be righteous cause us to want to obey Him? His calls of action to the Sheep for whom He has done ALL the work to save:

1. deny self, take up the cross and follow

2.  repent and believe the Gospel

3. give up everything you have to be His disciple

4. pursue righteousness and peace

5. make every effort to be at peace with God and men

6. preach the Gospel to all people

7. watch and pray that we will not fall into temptation

8. love and obey Him

9. seek Him with all of our hearts that we may find Him and live

10. eagerly desire the greater Spiritual gifts

11. fan into flame the gift of God

12. put on the whole armor of God

13. stand firm and not be burdened with the yoke of slavery

14. run with perseverance the race set out before us

15. humble ourselves before Him that He may lift us 

16. be among God's people and a servant and a feeder of the Word of God

17. do not complain or argue

18. forgive and you will be forgiven

19. love your neighbor as yourself

20. be ready for the day of His return!

21. flee the evil desires of the heart

22. submit to God and resist the devil

23. put off what belongs to the sinful nature

24. put on the new self made to be like God in true righteousness and holiness

25. offer hospitality and generosity

26. do not store up for yourselves earthly treasures

.............

Personal Account of the Resurrection Power

     The extent to which we believe that Christ is raised from the dead is the extent to which we will be victorious over sin, in the conforming of ourselves to the image of Christ, and in the building of His kingdom. The cross indeed is a mysterious fountain and I am only starting to scratch the surface of what happened there.

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Eph 1:18-21

    Last year God taught me much about Christ’s work on the cross. I knew that God had taught me His Word, had brought me through trials and persecutions, won numerous battles of selfishness, pride, impurity, and fear in me, and deepened my soul and heart according to His Good will. But at the same time it had occurred to me that I had not been completely relieved of my fear of death: my fear of hell and separation from God. Whatever fear that remained was an indication that I did not understand the cross and redemption as I ought to. I have, like all of us, been in circumstances where I could have physically died. And in some of those instances, I did not have an instantaneous peace and overwhelming joy at the thought of seeing my Savior. Instead I found myself crying out to God, "Do I really believe? Do I really believe? Is my heart even devoted to You? Have mercy on me! I cannot love You on my own!". All of my sin and momentary distractions of heart and deceptions that have crept into my perceptions of people and circumstances seem to temporarily convey to me that I do not love God or that I am one who bears no fruit and will be cut down and thrown into the fires.

     God had brought me back to ground zero. I wanted to understand the cross and what He did there because I understand so little of it. I had been writing many letters to my Spiritual family though I confessed to myself that I did not understand the vast majority of the cross and I had been "working out my salvation with fear and trembling". During that time my prayers were filled with requests to make me understand, to help me love Him, to let me see His glory, to confirm His Presence with me. God had given me a mustard seed or more of faith. The times in my life when I have seen the Spirit's power in my heart and around me reveal to me that almost everything else around me is not the true righteousness of God. Life in the Spirit is far beyond words of wisdom. The life of the Spirit brings to us a kind of peace and joy that we should never have considering our circumstances. The Life of the Spirit is one that loves unconditionally and takes no offense from others. The Life of the Spirit is FREE FROM THE FEAR OF DEATH. Lord I do not want to end this life fighting for life with the fear of judgment. I want to die knowing that I am Yours, trusting in Your mercy and grace, longing to see Your face. Lord I have a mustard seed of faith...I really do! Have mercy and do whatever it takes but just have mercy on me and do not blot my name from your Book.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; Phil 2:12

     One way that God has shown some of the cross to me is to bring me to the cross in trials, temptations, and confusing times. There is a hymn with the words "I will cling to the old rugged cross" and God is causing me to do that at various times. Sometimes we are tempted to forget the cross and think that the cross does not apply to some aspect of our lives. The cross must be the fountain from which we live. Every thought, act, word, and deed must spring from what we have received at the cross. The death and resurrection of Christ are everything. Every trial and temptation is bringing us to the cross. EVERY TRIAL AND TEMPTATION IS BRINGING US TO THE CROSS THAT WE MAY UNDERSTAND IT AND BE SET FREE...be relieved from our fear of death. Everywhere I go, rarely do I hear anyone describe their fear of death, but I can see it in their faces and in the way they pour themselves out to establish kingdoms here on earth. Here are times when I have clung to the cross:

1. When I have sinned and done what is detestable in the sight of God. I lay down my guilt, my shame, my yoke of fear. I lay it on Jesus for it has already been laid on Him.

2. When I am incapable of doing the earthly tasks set before me and feel condemnation in my weakness and incompetency. He has even borne these things for us. He has borne our powerlessness and weakness.

3. When I dwell in the needs of my soul for love and fellowship, I remember that the cross was the act of His love for me while I was still a sinner. He forgave me even there as He said "Father, forgive Preethi for she knows not what she does".

4. When I fear death I see at the cross that He has died so that I may live.

5. When I am devoid of joy and peace I remember that on the cross, He endured for the joy set before Him and He committed His Spirit into the Father's hands. His Life is a fountain for us welling out of His great love.

6. When I fear men, I remember that the one who holds the souls of men died for each of them the same and these men whom I fear will only find life in the place where we ought to dwell: the fountain of Jesus.

    

     And when I acknowledge the worthlessness, selfishness, and helplessness of myself apart from Him through the temptations and trials that reveal the evil and blindness of my sinful heart apart from Him, I will declare "Blessed be the Name of the Lord". We are able to say this because we know that He has ordained these trials specifically that we may see our need and come to the cross and find LIFE.

 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Rom 11:32

If  the only thing that I want is to know Him and to glorify Him, and if the only way I will know Him is to come to the cross, and the only way for me to come to the cross is to see my need, then I must surely embrace Him as He reveals my apiritual, physical, emotional, and mental weaknesses to me. This is not simply "a way that God works". This is THE WAY THAT GOD WORKS.

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.. James 1

     He is faithful. Let us kiss the Son, lest we be cursed! I do not have any hope outside of His death and resurrection. Everything good which causes us to know and glorify God starts with the death and resurrection of Christ. So may we forsake everything carnal and pursue the Gospel of Christ.

Conquering Love

    There is a great hope that we have that stands as an anchor for our souls and which enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Here in the presence of God, the Son, Jesus Christ, makes intercession on our behalf. For there, He has made atonement for our sin with His own blood as He has borne on Himself the guilt of all of us. Thus, in Him the sting of death, sin, has been removed from us and we have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. 

    The love of God the Father for His own children has been lavished on us. He has not held back His own Son but has freely bestowed the life of His own Son and all of the blessings in the heavenly realms upon His people. The effect of this love is that we become over-conquerors in all of those present and future judgments of God against evildoers. We have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony. None of the present day judgments can separate us from the love of God. 

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; ³⁴ who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8

     As His glory is revealed, our knowledge of His great love increases. The revelation of the love of the heavenly Father will take away our guilt, remove our shame, and destroy all of our fears. Our blindness and hardening of heart with regard to other people and circumstances will be removed with greater understanding of His love. 

One precious effect of knowing the Father's love is a bestowed power to resist the condemnations that our hearts heap on us. Even when our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and He knows all things. 

¹⁶ We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him ²⁰ in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.I John 3

      As we abide in His love, we will love one another. Our love for one another is evidence to our soul that we are not condemned but have been brought from death to life. The love in our hearts will wash away our fears of the consequences of sin. This love will confirm the Presence of the Holy Spirit's indwelling in us. Indeed our source of power over sin, over fears of judgment, over the wrath of men, over the uncertain future, over our own condemning hearts comes from that very Agape that He has instilled in our own hearts.