Growning in Christ.

[Not me]

49 minutes ago, In Him said:

Of Course! Will never forget 2C3:3 ! \o/

Growing in Christ is always a good thing.

Thank you for your kind words. It blesses me that God would use such a feeble and flawed person as I am. But you too have been a strength and a blessing and  a increase for me also. 

So let us both increase our efforts to press into Christ, more and more and more and more. !

Blessings. 

Much love in Christ, Not me

ps, and more still !!!  ??

Edited December 6, 2018 by Not me

[JustPassingThru]

5 hours ago, In Him said:

I've noticed you've used this term before elsewhere "Christ be written in our heart"...or manifested in our life.

I understand 'manifested', and have looked for scriptures to understand where you get "written" in our heart.

Beloved, it's written in Jer 31:33 and repeated in Heb 8:10, it's the New Covenant: 

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

The question most often asked is, "How does God write on our heart?"  

Very simple, every time we open God's Word before we start to read we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us 1 Jn 2:27, we ask God to speak to us with a sincere heart that His will be done in our lives, we give authority to the Holy Spirit to rule and reign in our hearts and in faith we believe He will talk to us, ...practiced in this manner the Word will literally jump off of the pages. You have already experienced this, ...for example you know in your heart Jesus is God and no one can take that from you, to do so they would have to literally rip out your heart, as we mature in the different stages of our spiritual growth, babes, children, teenagers and adults, the more we need to respect God for the Sovereign King He is, ...the baby grand kids of the Queen of England can just rush into her presence because they haven't learned the proper respect for her office, but it's different with older children, teenagers and adults, ...if it be that way with an earthly monarch, how much more respect and reverence should we have for our King, ...the King of Kings?  

Lord bless 

[Guest In Him]

4 hours ago, Not me said:

So let us both increase our efforts to press into Christ, more and more and more and more. !

Thank you for those words. I take them seriously. He is speaking that very word to me.

The other day while praying and pushing the grocery cart at Walmart, He suddenly ‘squeezed’ my heart (as He has done before),

but this time I saw the words “In Him” while He was ‘pressing’ my heart into Him, it seemed. I wept. And got the message.

I also came across a verse that got my attention that speaks for itself.

And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. 2Chron 12:14

Thank you for your prayers. Pray for you also. And Turtletwo...and frienduff...and others.

Sincerely,

In Him 

 

[Willa]

On 12/1/2018 at 2:11 PM, JustPassingThru said:

Didn't John tell us that whosoever is born of God does not sin?

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and He cannot sin, because He is born of God.

1 Jn 3:9

 

1Jn 3:9  ESV  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

There is no direct translation of the tense used in these phrases.   It is similar to the Latin present progressive; my understanding of Greek tenses is limited but I know the problem of translating something that doesn't have an English counterpart.  It means you have to get wordy, which isn't as poetic.  KJV was criticized by its contemporaries for sacrificing accuracy to be poetic.  This is one place where that is true.  ESV has done a better job of conveying that a born again person doesn't continue to make a practice of sinning.  At least he is miserable if he does sin and strives not to do so.  A person who is not born again doesn't care and indulges.

 

[Not me]

2 hours ago, In Him said:

Thank you for those words. I take them seriously. He is speaking that very word to me.

The other day while praying and pushing the grocery cart at Walmart, He suddenly ‘squeezed’ my heart (as He has done before),

but this time I saw the words “In Him” while He was ‘pressing’ my heart into Him, it seemed. I wept. And got the message.

I also came across a verse that got my attention that speaks for itself.

And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. 2Chron 12:14

Thank you for your prayers. Pray for you also. And Turtletwo...and frienduff...and others.

Sincerely,

In Him 

 

Thanks for sharing one of your precious moments with God with us. Reading your account at Walmart,  brought a smile to my face. I could almost see the Glory that was yours. 

Scriptures says;

“you shall find me when you search for me with all your heart”

Let this heart be in all of us, that call on His name from a pure heart. 

Blessings 

Much love in Christ, Not me 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Not me

[JustPassingThru]

1 hour ago, Willa said:

1Jn 3:9  ESV  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

There is no direct translation of the tense used in these phrases.   It is similar to the Latin present progressive; my understanding of Greek tenses is limited but I know the problem of translating something that doesn't have an English counterpart.  It means you have to get wordy, which isn't as poetic.  KJV was criticized by its contemporaries for sacrificing accuracy to be poetic.  This is one place where that is true.  ESV has done a better job of conveying that a born again person doesn't continue to make a practice of sinning.  At least he is miserable if he does sin and strives not to do so.  A person who is not born again doesn't care and indulges.

Beloved, while I find the study of the original languages very fascinating, I too am very limited in my knowledge of them, I agree with you about practicing or habitually sinning, but I don't believe that was the intention of the Holy Spirit to write through John, so, when I encounter a seeming difficulty I always revert back to what my pastor taught me, that is, "the Bible is it's own best commentary,"  in this case if we study the verse:

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

And if we apply 1 Pet 1:23 to John's verse:

 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

It tells us we are born again by an incorruptible seed, that is of the Holy Spirit, just like in the life of Mary and the Word of God, ...that means each born again child of God has a particular verse (Peter tells us for him it was Is 40: 6-8 vs 24,25) that is the ovum and it is fertilized by the incorruptible seed of the Holy Spirit.

If we plug that info into John's verse, we find that the Seed that remains in us is the Seed of the Holy Spirit and He, the Holy Spirit, can not sin, so..., a born again child of God does not, can not sin, but rather it's our old Adamic nature, our flesh that is tempted and then gives into the temptation (God can not be tempted) and the old man sins.

Lord bless

[Willa]

1Jn 3:9 AMP   No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.

1 Jn 3:9 ALT3. Everyone having been begotten of God is not practicing sin, because His seed abides in him, and he is not able to be sinning because he has been begotten of God.

1Jn 3:9  (9-10)  Wuest  Everyone who has been born out of God with the present result that he is a born-one of God does not habitually commit sin because His seed remains in him. And he is not able habitually to sin, because out of God he has been born with the present result that he is a born-one of God.

ALT3 comes with translation notes of the Byzantine text and tells precisely the reasons why it is translated that way.  

Word Study Dictionary: 4160  ποιέω poiéō; 

(II) To do, expressing an action as continued or not yet completed, what one does repeatedly, habitually, like prássō(G4238), to practice.

I also use Scripture to interpret Scripture and I understand the point you are making and have respectfully considered it. You make a good point;  but in this case we are looking at the most precise translation of a word in context with the passage.  It is referring to ongoing sin.  

So we will agree to disagree.

 

 

[discipler777]

On 11/30/2018 at 9:55 PM, Not me said:

This is what’s required to be set free from the power of our fallen nature’s. We need to come to the place where we would rather “die than sin”. When this realization has been reached, the truth of our being “dead in Christ” is the one truth that will bring victory over sin. Until this realization is reached a person will be fighting their fallen nature’s in the power of their own efforts. It is when a person sees, that it would be better to die than live in sin, that freedom from the old nature is at hand. For this is why Christ died, to free us from our old nature’s. The realization that “we died when He died”, makes the scripture “reckon yourself dead into sin, but alive unto God” become your life. For you see that our “being crucified with Christ” is the foundation of our salvation in Christ. May we all come to know by experience what Christ has brought to mankind by His death and resurrection. Death to the old, that a new life might be made real in the life of the believer. For Christ came not to “fix” you but to “replace” you with a new creation.

Yes, ....... but how does Jesus Christ truly make us alive in Him and dead to the old self-nature.?

Does this happen "out of the blue" = we miraculously or automatically become "dead to sins/evil-deeds" and walk perfectly in the Spirit like Christ.? Is the sanctification from sins/evil-deeds by Christ/the HOLY Spirit a gradual process or a done process.? Does Christ make us into will-less or mindless robots under His complete control.?  Does God's Law/commandments/Word has anything to do with this.? 

[Not me]

7 hours ago, discipler777 said:

Yes, ....... but how does Jesus Christ truly make us alive in Him and dead to the old self-nature.?

Does this happen "out of the blue" = we miraculously or automatically become "dead to sins/evil-deeds" and walk perfectly in the Spirit like Christ.? Is the sanctification from sins/evil-deeds by Christ/the HOLY Spirit a gradual process or a done process.? Does Christ make us into will-less or mindless robots under His complete control.?  Does God's Law/commandments/Word has anything to do with this.? 

It comes through ones personal relationship with Christ. The heart is brought to them place where it longs to be freed from itself. Than in humble faith turns to Christ. For it is no great mystery or secret of how to be “dead to sin” but there is a need to see the necessity of it. When a believer is brought to the place where he hates all of his self life. Not just the so-called bad parts but the so-called good parts. All of his life that was born in Adam. Than the believer is brought to the end of himself where he would willingly enter into death rather than remain as he is (full of sin). Than a simple turning to Jesus is all that is required. For the scripture says; “the just shall live by faith” and again, “access by faith into the grace we stand”. 

It is the simple turning the total faith of the heart to God..... it is that simple!  But this total turning of the faith of the heart to God can not happen until like Paul they are are brought to the end of themselves where they cry out “oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death”

For if one’s personal relationship with Christ is not active and growing, regardless of how much scripture one knows. Irrespective of how many intellectual arguments they can make for or against any particular doctrine of scripture they will never know victory over the “old man and his deeds”. For our salvation in Christ is only accessed by faith. And any and all increases come through faith. This is why our personal relationship with Jesus are our very lives. It is this one and one fellowship we have with our Creator that opens and teaches us all things. 

As far as us being mindless servants, scripture says “he that sins is a slave of sin” meaning that he that sins is a mindless slave to sin. Christ came that we might no longer be slaves to sin. The only way this can happen is if we walk in righteousness, for in righteousness is freedom to be found. For freedom did Christ set us free. Freedom in the most extreme and deliberate understanding of the word.

scripture says; 

“line upon line” “from glory to glory”

It is to the degree that one appropriates their death in Christ to that degree will they be made  free from sin. But know and understand that just being made free from sin is not “Christ being formed” in the believer. It is just cleaning the soil that Christ May have clean soil to grow Himself in. For how can a created being form their Creator in themselves?  They can’t. It is a work solely done by God Himself. Henceforth the scripture says; “the just shall live by faith”. But the creature can desire it with all their heart.   

For a humble and repentent heart that is willing to die to itself is that which is required. 

Hope it helps. 

Much love in Christ, Not me 

Edited December 7, 2018 by Not me

[discipler777]

48 minutes ago, Not me said:

As far as us being mindless servants, scripture says “he that sins is a slave of sin” meaning that he that sins is a mindless slave to sin

HEBREWS.8:10-13 (NKJV) = 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

.

I think it also depends on how many of God's Law or Moses Law a Christian has when he/she came to faith in Jesus Christ. A new Jewish Christian would have already known most of the 613 laws of God = the Law easily implanted by God on his/her heart and mind. Not so for a new Gentile Christian who was often quite clueless and lawless as a former Gentile unbeliever wrt God's Law, eg US Law allows many kinds of sexual immorality(adultery/divorce, sodomy, same-sex marriage, etc), blasphemy, idolatry, witchcraft/sorcery, etc.(cf ACTS.15:19-29 & 21:20-25)

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Edited December 7, 2018 by discipler777