An Inward Working
Entering the Kingdom – No Flesh
“Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” Acts 14:22.
“That no flesh should glory in his presence” 1 Corinthians 1:29.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” 1 Peter 5:6-11.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.
We share in the desire to enter into the Kingdom of God, but fall short in the area of understanding what the Kingdom is and how to enter into it. For most people the Kingdom is synonymous with Heaven, a place that holds different meanings for different people. We are so locked into the concept that heaven is where we go when we die, that we never consider that to live in the heavenly realm is a spiritual state… and not a physical one. Who has considered that to live in the heavenly realm is entirely possible while we still inhabit these earthly bodies?
Our Lord gave us the prerequisites needful that we might enter into His Kingdom:
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” John 3:5-7.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” John 6:63.
Paul states in Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
To be born again, is to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and not the flesh, while still in these mortal bodies. There is a death requirement, but the death is that of our fleshly desires, our lusts and love for the things of this world. We may have strong beliefs, impeccable doctrinal stands, be doing great works and still fall short of entering into the Kingdom of God. Did Jesus not say to the multitude? “…Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” Matthew 7:21-23. It should be obvious to even the dullest among us, that what ‘we think’ and how ‘we see ourselves’ is far different than what God requires and how God sees us, or for that matter how those around us see us. Jesus plainly tells us “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
Our Spirit must be reborn, washed by the blood of the Lamb.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” Ephesians 5:25-27. You may wonder at this choice of scripture and how it pertains to being reborn. It is one of those statements Paul made that Peter referenced as being hard to understand…“As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” 2 Peter 3:16. The first thing our ‘carnal mind’ sees is ‘husbands love your wives’, and that alone is enough to set our minds running so that we fail to comprehend the meat of what Paul is telling us throughout the rest of the passage. Above Jesus stated that… "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Here Paul references that Christ gave His very life, (shed His Own blood) for His Called Out Ones. Who does the cleansing and sanctifying? Jesus does. How does He do this? By the baptism of water and by every word He spoke. Why does He do this? In order that He might present us to Himself, glorious, without stain, holy and unblameable.
Our minds must be renewed…
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5.
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” Romans 8:6.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” Proverbs 3:5.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” Proverbs 9:10.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” 1 John 2:15.
Our flesh must be crucified and put to death.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” Matthew 16:24.
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:27.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” John 12:24.
O, that we may genuinely gain entrance into the Kingdom of the Father. Our minds cannot comprehend that the Kingdom of God is not ‘out there’ somewhere, outside of ‘ourself’ and ‘this world’… even though Jesus clearly stated in Luke 17:21 “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
This is beyond the grasp of the carnal mind. For all of our intellectual achievements, we still cannot comprehend how it is possible that the Creator of all things, could dwell inside of these mortal bodies of clay. Even though it is written, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” John 14:23.
We are helpless to understand the spiritual depths of the scriptures from our own understanding. But Jesus never intended for us to lean on our own understanding… He said as much: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” John 14:26.
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” 1 Corinthians 2:10.
We must be born again. We must grow up in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we must be willing to live by the power of His Holy Spirit within us, no longer doing those things that seem right in our own eyes. It is not what we know about God and spiritual matters that will make us a child of the Kingdom of God. It is God living within us that makes us His Own. It is all about the transformed life.
To achieve this transformation requires that we mature. We can be a babe and still make heaven our home, but we are called to 'sonship,' not 'infantship'. The path to maturity is not fun and games. It is suffering and the loss of all things that we hold dear in this world. Paul was not speaking lightly when he admonished us that we must… “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” Php 2:12. Peter also warns us in 1 Peter 4:18-19 “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
May we all be willing to… “… press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Php 3:14.
With the full assurance…“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” Ephesians 3:16.
Amen & Amen
Cathy Morris
3/21/2010
