Our True Identity in Christ

 

Our True Identity in Christ

 

In this pivotal session, we will see that through Christ, we are not only forgiven but also have a new identity and a new life, as His nature becomes our nature and His life becomes our life.

 

I.              Choose a Number Between 1 and 10 that represents how much you accept yourself, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.  Write that number down so that you can refer back to it at the end of the session.

 

II.            2 Corinthians 5:16,17: Bill identifies key truths in these verses:  “Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”    

 

A.  Your identity is not in your flesh.

B.  The old has passed away; you are a new “spirit critter.”

C.  Get into God’s Word and see how He accomplished this.

 

III.        The Time Dinension:

A.  God created all things for His purpose -including time.

B.  Faith requires the time dimension.  When faith is no longer 

           needed, time will cease to be.

C.    God is not controlled by His creation; He is not time-

      dimensional.

D.    You are a time-dimensional being.  Bill describes your “timeline”

       (see Diagram 3:1)

  

 

Diagram 3:1

 

 B     H         S          T     D

 

Birth            Haircut                     Salvation                         Today             Death

 

           

E.   God is like a man in a helicopter viewing everything (including 

            your life) as present tense.  God knows everything and sees

            forever into both the past and the present (see Diagram 3.2)

 

F.   Christ’s life is eternal, extending forever into what you call the future, and 

forever into what you call the past (see Diagram 3.2)

 

G.  In some way Christ’s work on  the cross (God’s solution to man's problem) 

      occurred outside the time dimension.  Revelation 13:8 in the KJV refers to 

      Christ as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (see Diagram 3.2)

 

E.   God is like a man in a helicopter viewing everything (including 

            your life) as present tense.  God knows everything and sees

            forever into both the past and the present (see Diagram 3.2)

 

F.   Christ’s life is eternal, extending forever into what you call the future, and 

forever into what you call the past (see Diagram 3.2)

 

G.  In some way Christ’s work on  the cross (God’s solution to man's problem) 

      occurred outside the time dimension.  Revelation 13:8 in the KJV refers to 

      Christ as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (see Diagram 3.2)

 

H.  Key Concept: -

             God never allows a problem to come into your life for which He does not already have a solution.  

A.    Adam was the first “lord of the ring.” Spiritual death was the result of 

            B.    As a descendant of Adam, you have inherited his spiritual 

                characteristics, and “Spiritual Characteristics in the 

            First Adam,”).  You are born with a dead spirit.  This is why you need to 

            be born again (reference the story of Nicodemus, Jn. 3:1-15, 

 

C.   Key Concept - Birth always determines identity.  All you have to do to go 

                  to hell is show up on the planet as a descendant of Adam.

 

D.   Salvation is a change in your nature and your identity from the inside out.        

 

1)    When you enter into Christ’s lifeline, you receive His nature (His 

            spiritual characteristics) and His life. You receive a new present, a new 

            future, and a new past

 

2)    Your heritage from Adam is history.  God had to do away with your 

            old identity to give you a new identity.  The old you was 

            crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:6, Gal.2:20), and you became a new 

           creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

 

E.    Key Concept – God has no plan to make something beautiful of your life 

(in Adam).   The plan is to kill it and start over again

Miserable Comforters

  

 

 

Job 16:1-5

 

March 8, 2020

 

 

“Then Job answered: I have heard many things like these. You are all miserable comforters.  Is there no end to your empty words?  What provokes you that you testifying?  If you were in my place I could also talk like you.  I could string words together against you and shake my head at you.  Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.” 

 

My pastor often tells the staff that the most important part of the ministry is just showing up, if you are to speak the Lord will tell you what to say.  I’ve witnessed people saying some of the dumbest things to a family that has suffered loss or in great sorrow.  These three did so well that they showed up, and for seven days they were quiet, great job, but after Job spoke all this changed.  I agree with Job they are miserable comforters.  

 

Job asked a question that should be asked of all of us: “Is there no end  to your empty words?”  I am guilty of not giving thought to my words, and in Proverbs 10:19, we are told the following; “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”   I’m asking the Lord to change me into a wise man who does not try to entertain or even speak without giving thought to my words.  To be careful and discreet with the words that come from my mouth.  I do not ask you to pray for me often, but I do hope you will remember me in this area of my life.

 

Job’s so-called friends were mocking and showing contempt for a man they once were honored to say they were his friends by the shaking of the head.  Friends do not do that, and a follower of Christ being led by the Spirit of God will never do so.   We see that in Galatians 5:22,23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

 

Job states that it takes no wisdom to do what you are doing, but if I were in your place and you were in mine, I would do this: “Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.”  That’s what love does, and God is Love.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice.  Is there no end to your empty words?  What provokes you that you testifying?  If you were in my place I could also talk like you.  I could string words together against you and shake my head at you.  Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.” 

 

My pastor often tells the staff that the most important part of the ministry is just showing up, if you are to speak the Lord will tell you what to say.  I’ve witnessed people saying some of the dumbest things to a family that has suffered loss or in great sorrow.  These three did so well that they showed up, and for seven days they were quiet, great job, but after Job spoke all this changed.  I agree with Job they are miserable comforters.  

 

Job asked a question that should be asked of all of us: “Is there no end  to your empty words?”  I am guilty of not giving thought to my words, and in Proverbs 10:19, we are told the following; “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”   I’m asking the Lord to change me into a wise man who does not try to entertain or even speak without giving thought to my words.  To be careful and discreet with the words that come from my mouth.  I do not ask you to pray for me often, but I do hope you will remember me in this area of my life.

 

Job’s so-called friends were mocking and showing contempt for a man they once were honored to say they were his friends by the shaking of the head.  Friends do not do that, and a follower of Christ being led by the Spirit of God will never do so.   We see that in Galatians 5:22,23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

 

Job states that it takes no wisdom to do what you are doing, but if I were in your place and you were in mine, I would do this: “Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.”  That’s what love does, and God is Love.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Watch out for the person with all the Answer

                                                                      Job 15:17-35

 March 7, 2020

 

 

 

Today, as I read this Scripture many thoughts fill my very small thinker, first and foremost be very careful of the person who has all the answers.  Often they are full of themselves or very insecure.  We can bet the farm on this absolute that God’s ways are not ours and His thoughts are not ours.  It matters not how gifted or intelligent a person is, how much book learning, no one that is created thinks at the level of God, He has made that clear that His ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher than ours.  With that stated, let’s examine some parts of Eliphaz's long-winded proclamation to Job.

 

“I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare (what wise men have told, without hiding it from their fathers, to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them). The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.  Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity, the destroyer will come upon him.” (Job 15:17-21)

 

First, it seems to me that’s not the way to address a man, woman, or child.  I’ve been guilty of doing so to my daughter when she was not paying attention to my desires for her when she was young.  Often Eliphaz comes across as one arrogant all-knowing man who seems to be acting as a spokesman for God.  It is stated in my study Bible that he is relying on traditional wisdom and experience.  I do believe Eliphaz had a box he designed to keep God in, and it is based on traditional wisdom, what he learned in his experience, and from those he looked up to.  It seems at one time Job was one that he admired, and you and I must be careful of doing so to the point of seeing them as infallible.  Often we are not kind to our fallen heroes, those who disappoint us!

 

The English Standard Study Bible titles this chapter in this way, “Eliphaz accuses: Job does not fear God” and by stating such he is declaring Job a fool, who has no understanding of the ways of God.  He put Job in the mix of the wicked and stated Job had no right to what God had blessed him with, that his home was excessive, and not only that he was wicked, but God was bringing judgment on him.  That’s a Bob interpretation, not anything I read, so be very careful using it as a teaching.  It seems to me that Eliphaz was jealous of Job’s wealth, in the good times he had enjoyed telling people that he and Job were tight, but now all that has changed.  

 

One would be wise to take heart to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-3, “Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure, you use it will be measured to you.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” 

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Then Eliphaz the Temanite

 

 

 

 

Job 15:1-6

 

March 6, 2020

 

 

 “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:  “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?  Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?  But you are doing away with the fear of God^[ and hindering meditation before God.  For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.  Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.”

 

When someone asks a rhetorical question, they are not looking for a reply, and in this case, Eliphaz questions were asked in order to create a dramatic effect and to make a point rather than to get an answer.  Eliphaz is implying that Job is full of hot wind and that his defense is empty and self-serving.  He is suggesting that Job does not fear God and such a person cannot have wisdom.

 

This so-called friend has been insulted that Job did not take the counsel of his three friends, and his only conclusion is that Job is guilty of many sins and is doing his best to cover up his misdeeds.

 

Job 15:7-16

 

“Are you the first man who was born?  Or were you brought forth before the hills?
Have you listened in the council of God?  And do you limit wisdom to yourself?  What do you know that we do not know?  What do you understand that is not clear to us?
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father. Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?  Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth? What is man, that he can be pure?  Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?  Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!”

 

It may be that Eliphaz is being sarcastic, once more asking questions that he does not expect to be answered.  What I believe is Eliphaz is very prideful and arrogant and came with no knowledge or understanding but may have already made a judgment before he even saw Job sitting in the ashes.  He is implying that if Job’s father was there, he would also condemn his actions.

 

He has claimed that Job's own words have shown his anger against God and then Eliphaz tells Job if angels are not trustworthy how much less a man.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Job is asking for forgiveness and grace

 

 

 

Job 14:16-22

 

March 5, 2019

 

 

 

“For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin;  my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.”

 

“But the mountain falls and crumbles away,  and the rock is removed from its place; the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so, you destroy the hope of man.  You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance and send him away.  His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.  He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself.”

 

 

In verses 16 and 17, let us sum up what Job is asking of God, forgiveness, and grace; this side of the Cross is something a follower of Christ often takes for granted.  Job was a very wise man regarding his observation of nature in verses 18-19, but very ignorant regarding God’s love.  When a man like Job walks in integrity before God and man as God has so stated, they are pleasing to God.  Job had no understanding of the affairs taking place in heaven!  You may be thinking, it did not work for Job, but it did, you just have not finished the story of Job.  Now at that moment, it looks as if this statement in verse 19 is true in Job’s life; “you destroy the hope of man.” 

 

 It is important to state that anytime you or I as followers of Christ ignore our Father's commandments.  He will not allow us to do so long term, and if you do not experience discipline then Scripture states you are not a member of His family.  Look at Hebrews 12:4-6,  ^“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son?  It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and everyone he accepts as his son.”

 

In my short life on planet Earth, I’ve discovered there is more I’m ignorant about than I know and understand.  I’m learning to not judge the thoughts and words coming from a person in pain and depression.  In Job’s state of depression, he saw God as oppressive, not as merciful and good.  He had lost all hope of any good that might come to him and only looked to a painful future.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Questions

 

Job 14:7-17

 

March 4, 2020

 

 

“For there is hope for a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.  But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?  As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.
Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!  If a man dies, shall he live again?  All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.  You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.  For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin;  my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.”

 

We need to be aware of whom Job is addressing, his Creator, and his God, and with that reminder shall we explore these eleven verses.  Being a person who likes to grow plants and trees, Job’s analogy of the tree being cut down and its stump dies and begins to deteriorate, and yet though the stump is almost gone if it gets the water its roots bring twigs like a sapling.  Job wants his Creator to know that he has an understanding of mankind and that their time on earth is like a mist, here one day and gone the next. They are not coming back for a second chance.  It seems as if Job has no hope of eternal life, but in the next verse, he has a hope that death may not end for mankind.  

 

In verses 14 through 17, Job begins with this question to God; “If a man dies, shall he live again?”  Job wonders could I rise from the grave, could I have fellowship with God?  We must recall that Job is on the other side of the cross and is looking forward to a Messiah who would take his case before a Holy God.  In that, you and I are on this side of the cross and have had Jesus take our place we find rest in these words of Jesus. In John 14:1-3, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

My True Identity In Christ

 

My True Identity In Christ

 

Romans 3:24   “And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

The willingness of God to send His Son to redeem me by taking my punishment by dying on the cross, His blood has cleansed me in God's sight

as if I had never sinned.

 

Romans 6:7, “For one who has died has been set free from sin.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Because the blood of Jesus is covering my sins, I now have to choose to let sin have any power in my life.  I am free to choose!

 

Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

What does that verse mean to me?

 

No matter how badly I mess up, God will not reject me because Jesus paid for my mistakes on the cross. He has also given me a desire not to disgrace His name.

 

Romans 15:7, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Being accepted and acceptable by Christ, I also should have that same attitude.

 

 

1 Cor. 1:30, “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

 My source of life is in Christ Jesus; He alone is my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He is life!

 

 1 Cor. 2:16, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

God has placed the mind of Christ in everyone who has entered into a personal relationship with Jesus.  Similar to our brain we have it but often do not use but a small part of its capacity.

 

1 Cor. 6:11, “And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our Lord.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

 It matters not what I was before entering into Christ, because His Spirit has washed, sanctified, and justified me by our Lord's blood.

 

1 Cor. 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My spirit shares a kinship with the Holy Spirit.

 

1 Cor. 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My spirit was dead because of Adam, but now that I’ve entered into Christ, I have a live spirit, and it communicates with the Holy Spirit.

 

2 Cor. 2:14, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

When Christ is leading me it is always in triumph but often it may not appear so to others or me.  Anytime He leads we are light to those around us.

 

 2 Cor. 3:3, “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

His word is written on our hearts.  All wisdom is centered in the written word.

 

 

2 Cor. 3:14, “But their minds were hardened.  For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Jesus Christ has removed my inability to understand and have fellowship with the Father; you might say I’ve had a mind transplant.

 

2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Because of Christ, I am not under punishment, I am now eternal and blameless in the sight of God, and adopted into His family.

 

2 Cor. 5:21      “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Jesus took my punishment, and by the faith and grace Jesus extended to me I have become righteous.  No matter what – I cannot get more righteous.

 

Gal. 2:4, “Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in – who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we might bring us into slavery.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My freedom is found in obeying Christ, it is not a feeling; it is knowledge, of the Truth.

 

Gal. 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

The ground at the cross is the same for all.  No one is inferior.

 

Gal. 4:7, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

                        WOW! I’m family

 

Eph. 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My bank of blessings is full of every spiritual blessing.

 

Eph. 1:4          “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Chosen, holy, blameless before God, because of the blood of Jesus that covers my sin.

 

Eph. 1:7, “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Made in right standing with God – totally forgiven

 

Eph. 1:10-11, “As a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My inheritance is in heaven.

 

Eph. 1:13, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

My past is history, and my future is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is my God, Father, Redeemer, and Friend, my provider & the Protector of my eternal life in Christ.

 

Eph. 2:6, “And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

Right now, I am seated with Christ in heaven.  Because I am in Christ, it is not some position truth – I am seated in heaven (now) Not my earth suit but the real me.

 

Eph. 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

 

What does that verse mean to me?

 

God's plan from before time was to create me for good works.  Works that He would do through me.

My prayer is that this will bless you as it has me, my friend Bill Gillham who is now enjoying heaven, taught Jan and me much of this.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice