Chapter 1 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 4 |
"For if the first fruit is holy, the whole mass is also holy, and if the root is holy, so are the branches." Romans 11:16. The first thing we must comprehend by the spirit, is that Jesus is the first fruit and the root. Revelation 22:16 says, "I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to you to witness and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the radiant and brilliant Morning Star." If Jesus is the root and we are the branches, and Romans 11:16 says that the root is holy, then we as the branches, must also be holy. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, " Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" Verse 17 says, "For the temple of God is holy." If we are the temples of God and God says the temple is holy, that must means we are holy! Presented Holy; At New The Birth Colossians 1:21-22 says, "And although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities. Yet now has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His presence." The question is, when did we receive this holiness? When were we able to approach His faultless presence? Friend, it was presented at the cross.. We were instantly made holy and thus able to approach the awesome, majestic Glory of God without condemnation. Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love." Simply, we were chosen to be holy. Again, when did this holiness, blamelessness in His sight, occur? At the cross. All we have to do is become aware of it and live out what we are chosen to be in Christ, holy! 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." The apostle Peter made a bold statement. He called us a holy nation, a holy people. Today, if we stood up in most churches circles and said, "You are a holy people," they would probably ask you to leave or in modern terms you may be facing rejection or excommunication. Many of God's people see themselves from an "I'm an old sinner" mentality. My question is this: if we are sinners, what is it that sinners do? They sin! If we are holy, what is it that holy people should do? Produce holiness! Saints Of God Ephesians 1:1 says, "Paul, An apostle of Christ Jesus, by the divine will to the saints at Ephesus who are also faithful and loyal and steadfast in Christ Jesus." Notice Paul called them saints! The word "saints" means "holy ones." The word "holy" (Vines Expository Dictionary) means "separated to God, separated unto God," or simply set apart for God. Child of God, through our position in Christ, we are saints or holy ones. These words are interchangeable. When the Word calls us saints, it is saying we are holy ones separated unto Him. 1Corinthians 1:2 says, "To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified and made holy in Christ Jesus, together with all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." A study in church history would reveal that the Corinthian church was one of the most carnal churches that ever existed. They were into drunkenness, adultery and suing each other, disrespectful and arrogant. Yet Paul states the fact that they are holy, purified, and consecrated in Christ. Wow! This is a hard on our religious thinking, because we can be so performance oriented or steeped in legalistic attitudes of how we see God or the church. I mean for us to see ourselves holy and purified in God's sight seems to border on blasphemy. Yet that is exactly what the Word of God is saying when it refers to us as saints. New Creation in Jesus Dear friend, we are not old sinners anymore; we are saints of God. And when we agree with God's word, we agree with the finished work of the cross. This of course this was the intension of our Father's heart through reconciliation. We must understand and see that we are new creations, spirit beings. Simply we are something that was not there before. Galatians 6:15 says, "For neither is circumcision of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any person is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" In Ephesians 4:24, it commands us to put on this new nature. "And put on the new nature created in God's image, in true righteousness and holiness." We are to put on our new self daily-walk in the attitude of your position in Christ. How? By renewing our mind or consciousness of who we are in Christ. As we do this, we will produce righteous fruits. We will produce good works. We will produce holy living. Why? Because it is our nature to do so. No Need To Sin Well, does this mean that I do not sin or that I'm sinless? Now in the life of the flesh it does not and will never be perfect or sinless. But by the life of the spirit it is saying that we no longer have to be living habitually by the flesh because by the spirit I am sinless. Sin's power was broken on the cross so we do not have to serve or obey its dictates anymore. Romans 6:11a say, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but that you are alive to God." Our position or identity is alive in Christ, who has set us free from the power of sin and death, which has made us free to choose God's ways, not the ways of darkness. But if we by the flesh do stumble and fall we are still perfect as He is in His site. Friend, when we see ourselves as God sees us as saints; it will be a joy to serve God and to be with Him. Nowhere in the New Testament does God refer to a believer as sinners. We are now called holy people, saints separated unto God. What an incredible miracle! Again become righteous conscious and not flesh conscious and you may see this freedom of truth |
Copyright Roxy J Nolin 1997 |
Holy, As He Is So Are We By Roxy J Nolin Chapter 3 Made Holy |
The Book Holy, As He Is So Are We |
Chapter 1 |
