"The place of man under grace is that he has been accepted in Christ (Eph 1:6), who is his standing and therefore is not on probation. As to his past life, it does not exist before the Father; he died in Christ on the Cross and now Christ is his life.
Grace once bestowed is not withdrawn (irrevocable; Rom 11:29 - NKJV); for the Father knew all the human exigencies beforehand and His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them. The failure of devotion does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace (as it would under law).
For example: the man in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 and also those in 11:30-32, who did not “judge” themselves and so were “judged by the Lord – that they might not be condemned with the world.'"
- William Newell
The New Covenant of the Christian (Mat 26:28; Mar 14:24; Luk 22:20; 1Cr 11:25) which is now, is different from the New Covenant of Israel, which will begin during the Millennial Kingdom (Jer. 31:31,32; Ezek. 36:26,27; 37:14). –NC (Bob)
DEVASTATING DEVIATION
"Study to show thyself approved unto God" (2 Timothy 2:15a).
There is as much error produced in failing to divide the Word at all, as there is in wrongly dividing it.
"Covenant Theology (Law), at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their position in the Lord Jesus is ignored, or alas! guarded against as dangerous. Men are placed under the New Covenant (millennial Israel) which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written in the heart. But being in Christ, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and what it involves now has dropped out of their creed altogether."
"We are come 'to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant' (Hebrews 12:24). We (Jewish / Gentile Christians) are not come to the new covenant (of Israel), but to Jesus the Mediator of it. I am associated with Him who is the Mediator; that is a much higher position than if we merely come to the covenant. He will make this new covenant with Israel on the millennial earth." -H.S.
"Non-dispensational teachers have endeavored to bring over the many promises of the physical and material aspects of kingdom salvation into the present dispensation, giving hope of material prosperity and physical health, as well as political peace. Failure to realize these promised goals has caused many to lose faith and to become bitter toward God Himself. The failure, of course, is not of God, but of teachers who have refused to rightly divide the Word of Truth."
"Calvin attempted by discipline of Church and State to make everyone live like a Christian–as did the Puritans. As a result, this effort resulted in the need to use the Old Testament rather than the New as an ethical guide."
"A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15b).
WithChrist.org
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
"You. . . hath He reconciled" (Colossians 1:21).
Our Father's Cross-love was personal; we were there in the Son. Our Father's heart-love is personal; we are hidden there in the Son.
"Have you ever thought of the Father dealing with you not as to what you are in yourself, but as to where He has positioned you in His Son? Have you ever thought that it is the affections of the Father's heart which flow down to us where we are, seeing us in the Son, not in our poor wretched selves? What we are in the old man is not the thing to scan, but what we are, and where we are, in the Son; and what there is in the living affections of the Father, who has raised us up together with His Son, and has given us all heavenly blessings in Him." -G.V.W.
"Nothing can make up for a lack of personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. Intimacy with Himself is certainly the secret of true devotedness. Occupation with Him, the heart readily detects, and rejects the voice of the stranger, and cannot but own the Lord's claims to be paramount. Nothing so thoroughly tests the state of our hearts, as whether or not we have intimacy with the Lord Jesus Himself." -H.H.S.
"A great deal of our time is spent in learning that there is nothing here to meet the requirements of our new affections. There is a wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, and yet no city is found to dwell in. But our Father allows this in order that His children may find that their desires can only be satisfied by and in Him. We must learn that we are not of this world." -J.B.S
"To present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight" (Colossians 1:22).
WithChrist.org
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Christian life is never that of independence but of dependence. There is nothing within ourselves to trust, but rather to “yield” it all to Him (Rom 6:13) and He will deal with it in us (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:17). Faith is not in that which it produces but in Him who produces faith in us.
Otherwise, we would be self-deprived of “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7), which places strength in Him and not ourselves. It has been well said, “To be disappointed is to have trusted in the arm of flesh and not the arm of God, for God does not disappoint.”
If we believe that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28), we should not be disappointed even with ourselves, which concludes of regret; this detracts in our conscience from enjoying God’s complete forgiveness and acceptance in Christ (Eph 1:6).
Regret is a worldly sorrow and can interfere in knowing complete forgiveness. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor 7:10, NKJV).
- NC
SPIRIT-DEPENDENT
"God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
To be Christ-centered, we must be Spirit-dependent.
"It is basically the belief of the truth; it is not belief of the fruits. The Holy Spirit cannot present to me the fruit He has produced in me, as the object of my faith. He speaks to me of my faults, of my sins, but not of the good works that may be in me. He produces them in me, but He hides them from me; for if we think of them, it is but a more subtle self-righteousness. It is like the manna which, being kept, produced worms. All is spoilt–it is no more faith in action. The Holy Spirit must always present to me the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may grow and have peace." -J.N.D.
"An understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is basic to Christian growth. Spirituality is Christ-likeness, and Christ-likeness is the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual power is not the miraculous or the spectacular, but rather the consistent manifestation of the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in the believer's life. All this is the work of the Spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said, 'He shall glorify Me' (John 16:14).
"What are the ingredients of spirituality? First, a spirit of dependence, whatever may be the state of faith and the blessings we may have realized. Secondly, an entire confidence in the goodness of the Father; for He is love. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus as the constant object of the affections of the heart, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart is to fill it with contemplation of and fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory."
"Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
WithChrist.org
Grace once bestowed is not withdrawn (irrevocable; Rom 11:29 - NKJV); for the Father knew all the human exigencies beforehand and His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them. The failure of devotion does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace (as it would under law).
For example: the man in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 and also those in 11:30-32, who did not “judge” themselves and so were “judged by the Lord – that they might not be condemned with the world.'"
- William Newell
The New Covenant of the Christian (Mat 26:28; Mar 14:24; Luk 22:20; 1Cr 11:25) which is now, is different from the New Covenant of Israel, which will begin during the Millennial Kingdom (Jer. 31:31,32; Ezek. 36:26,27; 37:14). –NC (Bob)
DEVASTATING DEVIATION
"Study to show thyself approved unto God" (2 Timothy 2:15a).
There is as much error produced in failing to divide the Word at all, as there is in wrongly dividing it.
"Covenant Theology (Law), at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their position in the Lord Jesus is ignored, or alas! guarded against as dangerous. Men are placed under the New Covenant (millennial Israel) which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written in the heart. But being in Christ, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and what it involves now has dropped out of their creed altogether."
"We are come 'to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant' (Hebrews 12:24). We (Jewish / Gentile Christians) are not come to the new covenant (of Israel), but to Jesus the Mediator of it. I am associated with Him who is the Mediator; that is a much higher position than if we merely come to the covenant. He will make this new covenant with Israel on the millennial earth." -H.S.
"Non-dispensational teachers have endeavored to bring over the many promises of the physical and material aspects of kingdom salvation into the present dispensation, giving hope of material prosperity and physical health, as well as political peace. Failure to realize these promised goals has caused many to lose faith and to become bitter toward God Himself. The failure, of course, is not of God, but of teachers who have refused to rightly divide the Word of Truth."
"Calvin attempted by discipline of Church and State to make everyone live like a Christian–as did the Puritans. As a result, this effort resulted in the need to use the Old Testament rather than the New as an ethical guide."
"A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15b).
WithChrist.org
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
"You. . . hath He reconciled" (Colossians 1:21).
Our Father's Cross-love was personal; we were there in the Son. Our Father's heart-love is personal; we are hidden there in the Son.
"Have you ever thought of the Father dealing with you not as to what you are in yourself, but as to where He has positioned you in His Son? Have you ever thought that it is the affections of the Father's heart which flow down to us where we are, seeing us in the Son, not in our poor wretched selves? What we are in the old man is not the thing to scan, but what we are, and where we are, in the Son; and what there is in the living affections of the Father, who has raised us up together with His Son, and has given us all heavenly blessings in Him." -G.V.W.
"Nothing can make up for a lack of personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. Intimacy with Himself is certainly the secret of true devotedness. Occupation with Him, the heart readily detects, and rejects the voice of the stranger, and cannot but own the Lord's claims to be paramount. Nothing so thoroughly tests the state of our hearts, as whether or not we have intimacy with the Lord Jesus Himself." -H.H.S.
"A great deal of our time is spent in learning that there is nothing here to meet the requirements of our new affections. There is a wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, and yet no city is found to dwell in. But our Father allows this in order that His children may find that their desires can only be satisfied by and in Him. We must learn that we are not of this world." -J.B.S
"To present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight" (Colossians 1:22).
WithChrist.org
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Christian life is never that of independence but of dependence. There is nothing within ourselves to trust, but rather to “yield” it all to Him (Rom 6:13) and He will deal with it in us (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:17). Faith is not in that which it produces but in Him who produces faith in us.
Otherwise, we would be self-deprived of “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7), which places strength in Him and not ourselves. It has been well said, “To be disappointed is to have trusted in the arm of flesh and not the arm of God, for God does not disappoint.”
If we believe that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28), we should not be disappointed even with ourselves, which concludes of regret; this detracts in our conscience from enjoying God’s complete forgiveness and acceptance in Christ (Eph 1:6).
Regret is a worldly sorrow and can interfere in knowing complete forgiveness. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor 7:10, NKJV).
- NC
SPIRIT-DEPENDENT
"God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
To be Christ-centered, we must be Spirit-dependent.
"It is basically the belief of the truth; it is not belief of the fruits. The Holy Spirit cannot present to me the fruit He has produced in me, as the object of my faith. He speaks to me of my faults, of my sins, but not of the good works that may be in me. He produces them in me, but He hides them from me; for if we think of them, it is but a more subtle self-righteousness. It is like the manna which, being kept, produced worms. All is spoilt–it is no more faith in action. The Holy Spirit must always present to me the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may grow and have peace." -J.N.D.
"An understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is basic to Christian growth. Spirituality is Christ-likeness, and Christ-likeness is the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual power is not the miraculous or the spectacular, but rather the consistent manifestation of the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in the believer's life. All this is the work of the Spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said, 'He shall glorify Me' (John 16:14).
"What are the ingredients of spirituality? First, a spirit of dependence, whatever may be the state of faith and the blessings we may have realized. Secondly, an entire confidence in the goodness of the Father; for He is love. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus as the constant object of the affections of the heart, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart is to fill it with contemplation of and fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory."
"Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
WithChrist.org