How Does the Christian Deal with Sin?  

a study series by Arthur J Licursi

Part of 14 of 14 – God’s Expectation

Actually, God has no expectation of “you” – you in yourself are as hopeless as I am. Knowing we are hopeless, God placed the life of His Son’s very life into us as our “hope” of glory” (Col 1:27). Thus, God’s expectation is of “Christ in you” as you simply trust Him in every situation of life, as your new life. Christ is the embodiment of the Father’s love and life given to you. It is by His life in you, which is one with you, that you have the very real potential to express that life of the love of the Father to all those around you. 

The conflict is between your old way of living that was on the basis of a corrupted love of self as the god of your own life, and now a willingness to trust His love and life. We can only love and accept ourselves and others as we come to know the love of God; to see ourselves as precious in His eyes – so precious He sent His Son to die for us and to give His Son’s life to us. Unless and until we receive God’s love in the person of His Son we don’t know love and we have not received real unconditional love – so we have no real unconditional love to give to others.

1 John 4:10-12 (AMP) In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our Sins. 11 Beloved, if God loved us so [very much], we also ought to love one another. 12 No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!

We need to receive Christ moment by moment, by receiving His speaking within us moment by moment as He works in us to regulate and guide our living. What is expected, but not required to keep or maintain our salvation, is that we should “learn Christ” (Eph 4:20), not just learn about Jesus of Nazareth. We need to learn to walk in accord with “the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” who indwells our spirit. He leads us from within by the His "Spirit of life," by a new “the sense of His life” that we've come to possess. This is to be our new normal way of living. Every one who is of God hears God (John 8:47), but we don't necessarily receive His inner speaking that we have by His indwelling Son so as to walk with Him walk with Him - this we must come to learn.

Christ as God's grace given to us lives and speaks within us in order to enliven us with His glorious power, nourish us to endure life with patience, to lead us, and to govern our living.  The title “Lord” in Greek is “kurious,” meaning, “Governor.” This life and leading we have by Christ in us comes with His empowering life to enable us to overcome with His glorious power that enables us to endure life's conflicts with all patience and longsuffering. Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

The one key for victory in life is that we must flee to Christ within and abide in union with Christ within us as soon as we recognize our need. Thus, we do have a need to co-operate with Christ who indwells us if we are to overcome Sin and life's situations. We can say this, He is the operator within us and He is the empowering life – all we need do is agree and to co-operate by taking that first step of turning our heart to Him within. He is as the living hand within the glove; we are the living glove that must bend to the sense of Him within. Of course we may still fail by refusing to co-operate for a time; it is then that we will receive the training that comes from our loving Father who knows our real need.

Hebrews 12:5-8 (AMP) And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him; 6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. 7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? 8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].

We must note the word used for God in Heb 12:7 above is “Father”– not “judge.” Paul says we are chastened in a remedial way of a loving Father - we are not punished as by a judge. We grow by learning Christ, learning to trust Him, learning to obey His voice within, to be led by His “Spirit of life” within. Romans 8:14 (AMP) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. This means, if we accept His inner leading, we are growing up. We begin as children of God. Romans 8:16 (AMP) The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God. But, it’s by our failures that we learn to obey Him; then we become the grown up “sons of God.”

We can see from the foregoing that it is God as Father who is at work in our lives; calling us, justifying us, enlivening us, and empowering us with the very life of His Son - then He trains us to walk in accord with Christ’s “Spirit of life.” Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

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