Hidden with Christ in God

[Not me]

Colossians 3:3 (NASB)
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The security there is in these words. The permanency, the total unchangeableness, which is the permanency, the unchangeableness of a dead man. This is the strength of the believers rest that would be willing to believe these words of scripture. It is because of the unchangeableness of Christ having died on the cross, can the believer rest in these words of scripture. As unchangeable as Christ death is. And as all encompassing as the life that His death gives. Can the believers heart rest in these words. Knowing God’s promises in Christ are yea and amen to all that would with the faith of their heart be brave enough to forget about themselves and with all the strength of their heart grab onto these promises of a new life there is in Christ.

Romans 10:10 (NASB)
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

It is with the heart man believes resulting in righteousness. Our salvation is real and it is to save us from ourselves. For we need to be saved from no other evil than what is in us. For all outward stimulation towards sin has no effect on a deadman. This is the hope and security there is in that life that is hidden with Christ in God. For with the heart man believes. Let that man’s heart believe what Christ’s death and resurrection has brought to mankind. And that heart will have confidence before God that will cause the heart to rejoice and be at peace with God. Not for anything in itself but only because it has died and it’s life is hidden with Christ in God.

Oh how great is our salvation in Christ. Let us grab unto this salvation that we might prove these scriptures true in our lives.

For when Jesus died we died. Blessed be that truth.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[marks]

Hi Not me,

When we love others, we know that God is real inside us, and this gives us confidence before God.

Colossians 3, when I accepted it as true, totally changed my life, as you say, in coming to understand the permanence of what He has done.

I think about those who have not grasped that our salvation is forever safe in Christ, rather only if we do sufficient amounts of good works. I think about those who don't know whether they will "make the grade" or not.

I think of those who say cutting, spiteful, and untrue things, and surely they must realize the difference between walking in love, and walking that way, do they not?

And when they see these things in themselves, do they admit? Do they repent? Inside they know. And where then can their confidence be before God? If real love is what lets us know we are right with God, then what when we don't see that real love inside?

It's so sad! It's especially sad for those who buy into these ideas, while still being tender-hearted towards God. These even more sadly want Him, but can feel shut out by the legalistic message.

OK, I'm sure I've said too much!

Much love!

 

[Episkopos]

When Jesus walked the earth...nobody could tell who He was just by looking at Him. But to be able to see as Jesus saw and walk in the power He was walking in would have astounded people that a human being could see like that and operate like that into another dimension...that of the Spirit. Jesus could see through this world into the kingdom of God.

As such His life was hidden in God.

Although He walked here as a human...that was only one part of Him. Jesus also walked in heavenly places.

And so it is with they who are born of the Spirit...these can see as Jesus saw...in His light. This walk was prophesied about before Jesus came.

Ps. 36: 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

Who gives this power to mankind...to walk as Jesus walked? It is from God by abiding in Christ.

So then we may appear as normal humans on the outside...but not so on the inside (if we abide)...there is a whole other world inside the believer that if a non-believer could get a glimpse of...would no doubt convert him on the spot.

So then as we abide in Christ in order to walk WHERE He is in the heavenly places...THAT life is hid with God.

From there we see as Jesus saw...and we walk as Jesus walked. Christ is hidden in us...and we are hidden in Christ so that we each are experiencing what the other is. And this from moment to moment (If we abide).

As He IS so are we in this world.

 

[marks]

When Jesus walked the earth...nobody could tell who He was just by looking at Him. But to be able to see as Jesus saw and walk in the power He was walking in would have astounded people that a human being could see like that and operate like that into another dimension...that of the Spirit. Jesus could see through this world into the kingdom of God.

Actually, people would look at Jesus, listen to Him, and they saw by what He did, and what He said, that He was very different.

When Jesus walked the earth...nobody could tell who He was just by looking at Him. But to be able to see as Jesus saw and walk in the power He was walking in would have astounded people that a human being could see like that and operate like that into another dimension...that of the Spirit. Jesus could see through this world into the kingdom of God.

As such His life was hidden in God.

You say, "As such . . .", as such . . . what? That Jesus saw into the heavenly realm? BTW . . . wondering what passage you have in mind on that. I'm certain He did as the Spirit gave that ability.

As such that Jesus walked in the Spirit?

Then your statement becomes, your life is hid with Christ in God if you are walking in the Spirit. But the passage itself makes it conditioned by our rebirth, not by our daily behavior.

Look again please:

3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

If you are risen with Christ, this means you've died with Christ, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Much love!

 

[Helen]

Actually, people would look at Jesus, listen to Hi, and they saw by what He did, and what He said, that He was very different.



You say, "As such . . .", as such . . . what? That Jesus saw into the heavenly realm? BTW . . . wondering what passage you have in mind on that. I'm certain He did as the Spirit gave that ability.

As such that Jesus walked in the Spirit?

Then your statement becomes, your life is hid with Christ in God if you are walking in the Spirit. But the passage itself makes it conditioned by our rebirth, not by our daily behavior.

Look again please:

3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

If you are risen with Christ, this means you've died with Christ, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Much love!

Good post bro.

And good thread @Not me .

For two decades I sat under a teaching that we better be careful because any moment God may say that we don't make the grade ..'out on your ear'

My kids sometimes got it right, and sometimes got it wrong...but they never lived under the fear that their dad and I would tell them they were losers.
My kids ( now 56 and 57 ) became solid believers , they had no 'teen years' doubting God. They had a security in the Father...and became strong Christians, and there children after then.

No sitting with a daisy plucking the flower...to see what their fate will be-
"He loves me He loves me not"...

 

[marks]

For two decades I sat under a teaching that we better be careful because any moment God may say that we don't make the grade ..'out on your ear'

I sat under it too, for far too long. Even though they would tell us that we were secure, yet there was still the underlaying message that we would be accepted or rejected based on our bahavior, whether that be for final salvation, or blessing today.

Nothing further from the truth! Of course the reason Jesus came was to provide a way to live with God in grace, and not in works.

You've got the calvinist tulip, and the arminionist daisy. Neither are correct. Enough of flowers!

Much love!

 

[marks]

My kids ( now 56 and 57 ) became solid believers , they had no 'teen years' doubting God. They had a security in the Father...and became strong Christians, and there children after then.

That's telling right there!

 

[Not me]

Hi Not me,

When we love others, we know that God is real inside us, and this gives us confidence before God.

Colossians 3, when I accepted it as true, totally changed my life, as you say, in coming to understand the permanence of what He has done.

I think about those who have not grasped that our salvation is forever safe in Christ, rather only if we do sufficient amounts of good works. I think about those who don't know whether they will "make the grade" or not.

I think of those who say cutting, spiteful, and untrue things, and surely they must realize the difference between walking in love, and walking that way, do they not?

And when they see these things in themselves, do they admit? Do they repent? Inside they know. And where then can their confidence be before God? If real love is what lets us know we are right with God, then what when we don't see that real love inside?

It's so sad! It's especially sad for those who buy into these ideas, while still being tender-hearted towards God. These even more sadly want Him, but can feel shut out by the legalistic message.

OK, I'm sure I've said too much!

Much love!

Blessings marks, you are a man after God’s own heart.

As you know by experience it is our personal relationship with Christ that is to be our teacher of all things. Many people use many things including fear to get other people to follow them and as scripture says “glory in their flesh”.

But we know the Spirit of Christ in us forbids such a thing. So to the peace of Christ in our heart do we listen to and we let no man steal our joy.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Not me]

Good post bro.

And good thread @Not me .

For two decades I sat under a teaching that we better be careful because any moment God may say that we don't make the grade ..'out on your ear'

My kids sometimes got it right, and sometimes got it wrong...but they never lived under the fear that their dad and I would tell them they were losers.
My kids ( now 56 and 57 ) became solid believers , they had no 'teen years' doubting God. They had a security in the Father...and became strong Christians, and there children after then.

No sitting with a daisy plucking the flower...to see what their fate will be-
"He loves me He loves me not"...

Thanks ByGrace, it blesses me that it blesses you. To God be the glory for calling us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Thanks for the testimony about your kids. May they be blessed with you.

So to a pressing into Him might our hearts cry out after.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Not me]

When Jesus walked the earth...nobody could tell who He was just by looking at Him. But to be able to see as Jesus saw and walk in the power He was walking in would have astounded people that a human being could see like that and operate like that into another dimension...that of the Spirit. Jesus could see through this world into the kingdom of God.

As such His life was hidden in God.

Although He walked here as a human...that was only one part of Him. Jesus also walked in heavenly places.

And so it is with they who are born of the Spirit...these can see as Jesus saw...in His light. This walk was prophesied about before Jesus came.

Ps. 36: 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

Who gives this power to mankind...to walk as Jesus walked? It is from God by abiding in Christ.

So then we may appear as normal humans on the outside...but not so on the inside (if we abide)...there is a whole other world inside the believer that if a non-believer could get a glimpse of...would no doubt convert him on the spot.

So then as we abide in Christ in order to walk WHERE He is in the heavenly places...THAT life is hid with God.

From there we see as Jesus saw...and we walk as Jesus walked. Christ is hidden in us...and we are hidden in Christ so that we each are experiencing what the other is. And this from moment to moment (If we abide).

As He IS so are we in this world.

The truth brought forth by this scripture;

“for you have died and your life is hide with Christ in God”

Is a most blessed one indeed.

Blessings as you pursue Christ.

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

The truth brought forth by this scripture;

“for you have died and your life is hide with Christ in God”

Is a most blessed one indeed.

Blessings as you pursue Christ.

Much love in Christ, Not me

There is a real place where that is true. But just because you own a bible and want to believe it doesn't mean that this has happened to you specifically yet.

The latter is what I call....reading yourself into the text.

What is the difference between a real knight and Don Quixote who thought he was a knight?

One is based on real battles and the other on an imaginary quest.

So the verses indeed sound glorious. And we do have access by faith into the truth and reality of these...but it must be the faith OF Jesus and not our own beliefs. You can't just believe your way into divinity. Something has to happen directly from God.

When that happens one experiences the fear of the Lord and humility. That's how you can tell if there was a real encounter or it is just a religious over-imagination.

 

[Not me]

There is a real place where that is true. But just because you own a bible and want to believe it doesn't mean that this has happened to you specifically yet.

The latter is what I call....reading yourself into the text.

What is the difference between a real knight and Don Quixote who thought he was a knight?

One is based on real battles and the other on an imaginary quest.

So the verses indeed sound glorious. And we do have access by faith into the truth and reality of these...but it must be the faith OF Jesus and not our own beliefs. You can't just believe your way into divinity. Something has to happen directly from God.

When that happens one experiences the fear of the Lord and humility. That's how you can tell if there was a real encounter or it is just a religious over-imagination.

Curious, does this;

“you can’t believe yourself into Divinity”

Does this mean you can’t believe yourself into being made partakers of the Divine Nature?

What you say about just because a believer knows the words of scripture doesn’t mean they are in possession of those truths. This is very correct.

So how are we told in scripture to judge one another?

“by their fruits shall you know them”

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[marks]

“by their fruits shall you know them”

A very appropriate passage for this forum, anywhere, really, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Much love!

 

[marks]

Curious, does this;

“you can’t believe yourself into Divinity”

Does this mean you can’t believe yourself into being made partakers of the Divine Nature?

I don't know if you've seen this yet, episkopos likes to take people's expressions of faith and reword them as if it was all self, just like this,
"You can't believe yourself into Divinity", of course not! That's pretty obvious, well, to most of us I think.

But no one is saying that, it's one of those Straw Men.

What I say, and many others also, is that when I believe, God gives rebirth. Episkopos comes back with, You don't just believe youself into rebirth, God has to do it, as if this is different that what I say.

Of course, when I say rebirth, I mean born of God, a child forever, sharing His nature, unified with Him. Episkopos means that we can now start our path of overcoming so that we can make ourselves righteous not just with Jesus' righteousness, but now with our own, so we can really be saved. Very different. @Episkopos can restate his view if I'm not saying it right.

Much love.

 

[Not me]

I don't know if you've seen this yet, episkopos likes to take people's expressions of faith and reword them as if it was all self, just like this,
"You can't believe yourself into Divinity", of course not! That's pretty obvious, well, to most of us I think.

But no one is saying that, it's one of those Straw Men.

What I say, and many others also, is that when I believe, God gives rebirth. Episkopos comes back with, You don't just believe youself into rebirth, God has to do it, as if this is different that what I say.

Of course, when I say rebirth, I mean born of God, a child forever, sharing His nature, unified with Him. Episkopos means that we can now start our path of overcoming so that we can make ourselves righteous not just with Jesus' righteousness, but now with our own, so we can really be saved. Very different. @Episkopos can restate his view if I'm not saying it right.

Much love.

That is why I worded my question the way I did. For we can absolutely believe ourselves into being made partakers of the Divine Nature, for that is what salvation by faith is. So I’m curious to see how He skirts the fundamental doctrine of salvation.

~Receiving the Divine Nature by faith (being born again) ~

I wonder how hard it is to kick against the pricks?

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

For we can absolutely believe ourselves into being made partakers of the Divine Nature,

That is your position in a nutshell. But the new birth is by the power of God. No one is born again just by believing. God has to intervene. The walk is by faith. But the new birth is by the will of God....not the will of man. You can't believe yourself into the kingdom of God. Just like you can't believe yourself into walking on water.

So that is the first foundational error.

The initiative always rests with God. What God is doing. Not what you want to believe He is doing.
If belief was all it took to do impossible things then a person on drugs who believed they could fly...because they are so sure of their belief...would be able to fly. But the truth is that they can't..even if they believe it with all their hearts and minds.

So then our beliefs are really something that can deceive us.

If you were talking about instruction in righteousness...and learning to trust God on a growing and daily basis more and more each day...I could agree with you. But since you choose to claim supernatural things for yourself by your beliefs...then I must continue to correct your errors.

You overestimate what your own beliefs can do...so you are missing the higher calling at the level that the bible is describing it.

No one learns the divine nature.

That is your next error.

The divine nature comes complete as a gift. What we grow into is in fact righteousness...a maturity in righteousness.
But as I've already stated an attempt to grow in righteousness without humility and the fear of the Lord is to miss the way.

So there is the gift of holiness...a righteousness on HIS level...by an instantaneous gift as we enter INTO Christ. It is a gift of purity.

And there is a growth in righteousness (our own) whereby we learn to obey God in an increasing way by the faculties we already possess. That is our call to maturity.

 

[Not me]

That is your position in a nutshell. But the new birth is by the power of God. No one is born again just by believing. God has to intervene. The walk is by faith. But the new birth is by the will of God....not the will of man. You can't believe yourself into the kingdom of God. Just like you can't believe yourself into walking on water.

So that is the first foundational error.

The initiative always rests with God. What God is doing. Not what you want to believe He is doing.
If belief was all it took to do impossible things then a person on drugs who believed they could fly...because they are so sure of their belief...would be able to fly. But the truth is that they can't..even if they believe it with all their hearts and minds.

So then our beliefs are really something that can deceive us.

If you were talking about instruction in righteousness...and learning to trust God on a growing and daily basis more and more each day...I could agree with you. But since you choose to claim supernatural things for yourself by your beliefs...then I must continue to correct your errors.

You overestimate what your own beliefs can do...so you are missing the higher calling at the level that the bible is describing it.

No one learns the divine nature.

That is your next error.

The divine nature comes complete as a gift. What we grow into is in fact righteousness...a maturity in righteousness.
But as I've already stated an attempt to grow in righteousness without humility and the fear of the Lord is to miss the way.

So there is the gift of holiness...a righteousness on HIS level...by an instantaneous gift as we enter INTO Christ. It is a gift of purity.

And there is a growth in righteousness (our own) whereby we learn to obey God in an increasing way by the faculties we already possess. That is our call to maturity.

“No one learns the Divine Nature”

To build a straw man argument just to knock it down is just self playing with the words of scripture.

Actually you can have faith enough to walk on water for Christ Himself said that if you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain such and such.

So your straw man arguments are just that, made of straw.

That being said. To the elephant in the room;

It’s a shame that Peter didn’t know what you know for he wrote;

2 Peter 1:4 (NASB)
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

So we are to do something with these great and precious promises.

Let see, there’s two things we can do with them. We can believe them, or not believe them, to get what has been promised.

I wonder which one God would have me do. This is most perplexing, think I’ll have to go to God and ask what He would have me do.

Most curious interpretation of scriptures you’ve got there. Good luck with building your house.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

We can believe them, or not believe them, to get what has been promised.

This reasoning is itself a strawman. You are offering a false choice. The initiative never rests with us...but with God. One must go to God to receive the gift....not just believe you already have them.

So then IF you believe that God has these gifts waiting for you...seek the Lord for them.

 

[Not me]

This reasoning is itself a strawman. You are offering a false choice. The initiative never rests with us...but with God. One must go to God to receive the gift....not just believe you already have them.

So then IF you believe that God has these gifts waiting for you...seek the Lord for them.

Once again you are building another straw man. I did not put the choices before man, God did. Fire or water, life or death, Christ or self, to believe or not to believe, to have faith or not to have faith. These are the choices set before man, all being the same thing just using different words. And God even goes further to call both Heaven and earth to testify against a man that would say contrary.

To your second thought; “the initiative” God has already given the initiative when He gave Christ to mankind. For scripture says;

“He that gave us Christ Jesus will He not freely give us all things.”

So God has already called all man to Himself in Christ. He is just waiting with His arms out wide for our answers.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Philip James]

No one is born again just by believing. God has to intervene. The walk is by faith. But the new birth is by the will of God....not the will of man.

And if HIS children, walking in faith, ask their Father to give this gift to their newborn children....

Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.

Peace be with you!