IDENTITY To Know Is To Know
We look at identity from an external viewpoint. Having never known true identity with the Father as our primary focus, it is difficult for us to know exactly what it means to be one with the Father through Christ. We are told, "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (I Cor. 13:12) We are told that we will have a knowing and an understanding that is filled with the wisdom of the Father, for then shall I know even as also I am known. This knowing is not a worldly knowing, but is fourth dimensional, for we will know who we are in Christ by the same wisdom that He knows who we are in Christ. This is an intuitive knowing that can be witnessed to only by one who has experienced the same revelation. This is the same knowing that testifies to us of our salvation. If someone outside of Christ asks me to explain to them how I know I have eternal life; I can not. They are asking me to explain, the unexplainable. Intuitive knowing is without words and carried on the breath of the Holy Spirit. They won't accept the fact that the Life within speaks to me and confirms to me, that I am His. If I say to another believer, I know because I know; they understand, for the same Life speaks to them.
Soulish Identity
Adam and Eve are the only ones who know what true identity with Father means. This was not a spiritual bond, but was soulish in nature. They did not rely on the witness of the Holy Spirit, because this relationship was temporal. They walked in the cool of the evening with Him, they talked with Him and I am sure they laughed with Him in the joy of His presence. At this juncture they had not made the choice that would cause separation from the Father. The Father was all that they knew. It was a face to face, one on one relationship. What a change in lifestyle, to know oneness with the Father and then to be cast from the garden into total separation. The despair they must have felt in this new way of life is never mentioned. This is the same despondency we feel when the circumstances and situations of life overwhelm us and we forget who we are in Christ.
Oneness with the Father was all they knew and then it was gone. There is nothing written of them trying to regain the oneness they once possessed. We are left with two choices. The Father may have made it perfectly clear there was no way to regain that personal oneness with Him or secondly, the way back was not yet a reality in the third dimension. The point is; to have known the Father so intimately and then to have lost that relationship means they understood what they had lost. They knew where they had been and had a benchmark for true fellowship with the Father.
Spiritual Identity
Our relationship with the Father starts on a different plane. Identity with the Father through Christ is not a known commodity for us. It is not temporal, but is fourth dimensional in nature. It is not a place in our lives to which we are trying to return. The best comparison I can give is buying a new house. If you have never been there, it will not look familiar, nor will you know where all the furnishings and fixtures are to go. It is only after we have lived in it awhile that we will know when a chair is out of place or something has been moved. We then have a basis to return the house to what it should be. This is a crude comparison at best, because our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ is not fixed. We are continually being changed even as deep calls unto deep.
Even so is our identity with Christ. We strive in ourselves to make it work. We are not sure what true identity is or when we have achieved it so we continue our third dimension living trying to achieve fourth dimension results. It is no wonder we grow weary trying to work out our salvation. Third and fourth dimension living do not mix any better than oil and water. I speak of third and fourth dimensional living, but it is only from our perspective. The Father sees us only as birthed in Christ. Any separation we may feel is contrived by our vivid imagination.
For some person or institution to give us a formula for living other than Christ, is ridiculous. The only solution is to be who we are in Christ and allow Him to live through us. We are not to worry about whether the expression is correct, but only if we are living by Christ as we know Him at that particular time. Some will see this as liberalism, but if my desire is to do the will of my Father, it can only be love. The renewing of the mind will never be complete in this lifetime, but it allows us the opportunity to be continually growing in Him. The only thing we must dois to be open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit so that we may grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The Finished Work
Paul tells us to, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12b) Work may not be the best word for what Paul is trying to say. It implies we are to put in 40 hours a week to keep overlaying the finished work of Christ. This is not what is spoken of in Jude:1:21: Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The finished work of Christ is a granite foundation. Our works are like a coat of paint that hides the completeness and beauty that is Him. We can only detract from the sufficiency and wholeness that is Him. The trials and tribulations that come our way are not meant to overwhelm us or to hinder our growth. Quite the opposite is true. What we see as an obstacle is the sandpaper needed to remove the paint and reveal the Foundation Stone.