Radio Broadcast Tuesday 01/25/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at The Reality of The Resurrection P25 (01-25-22)

In Christ Jesus We Are a New Creation!

We continue on with our study of “A Closer Look at The Reality of The Resurrection.” We want to remind you, that it is never too late to pick up your copy today from our ecommerce store at Shop.BobGeorge.net. We encourage you to join along as Bob teaches from the word of God. Listen in and follow along.

So let’s pick up with our study and review some of the things we have learned. Jesus has made us a brand new creation. The Apostle Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 5:17 the new creation has come if anyone is in Christ Jesus. The old has gone and the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

And furthermore Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 that I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Paul is telling us that the old Paul no longer lives, but Christ lives in me. So his new identity was “Christ in me,” my hope of glory, my hope of identity, my hope of everything.

Galatians 2:20
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

And Paul continues on that the life I live now in this body, I live by faith in the Son of God; that’s the one who made me into a new creation; that’s the one who demonstrated His love for me, in that while I was a sinner He died for me, the one that was raised from the dead in order to give life to me today. He died for me then so He could live in me now. The one that came to do more than get me out of hell and into heaven, and more importantly to get Himself out of heaven and back into me, and that is the Christ I am identified with now. That is, I am a new creation because of Him living in me.

I’m not a new creation because of what I do any more than I was an old creation because of what I did. I am a new creation because of what He did. I was an old creation because of what Adam did. So in both cases, our identities were based upon what someone else did, not what we do. There are only two types of people and identifications as far as God is concerned; lost and saved. Those in Adam; lost, those in Christ; saved.

In 1 Corinthians 15: 21 and 22 it explains that for since death came through a man (that was Adam) and the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man (that is Christ). For in Adam all die (those in Adam are all dead), so in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:21,22
²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

So who will be made alive? All those in Christ (the living One). So our identities are not determined by what we do, but is determined by who we are. We are born into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. When you were dead in your trespasses and sins, God made you alive with Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1,4,5
¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And so, Jesus forgave all of our sins. And as far as God is concerned there are only two types of people in the world. Lost, those in Adam and saved, those in Christ Jesus. Two kinds of people. Not three, not four – two (lost and saved). So we need to understand that is where are identity comes from.

God created man to have his identity in His creator. And man had an identity with Him, as a child of God. But when sin entered into the world and Adam sinned, man was left on his own to try and determine his own identity. But man needs to have an identity in something. For man can not live without an identity any more than he can live independently. So independence and no identity go together.

God did not create man to be independent. He created man to be dependent upon His creator. And a major part of that dependence is being dependent on his identity. Because apart from God giving me my identity, I have no identity except what I conjure up on my own. And so if I am not going to depend on something that is dependable, I am going to be living in fear. Because if my dependence is not on something dependable, then how can I be secure in what I am depending upon?

So if the chair that I am sitting on is not dependable, I would be foolish to sit on it. Or, if I did sit on it, and it was not dependable, I would be sitting here in fear of falling down on the floor. So, we see that dependency has to be predicated on something that is dependable and to live free from fear and anxiety. So, what happens is that when we shift our dependency off of a God, the dependable One; and shift it to what we perceive is dependable, only to find out through life experiences that nothing is dependable except for Christ Jesus. So if we have shifted our dependency of of Christ, then we live in fear. Now, the naivety of youth tends eliminate fear. Because in our youth we tend to think everything is going to be okay. And in youth we tend to think we know everything, until we get older, we then wonder how on earth did we survive. But sooner or later, those things that we have depended upon are not dependable at all. And that is what cause the fear, anxiety and stress of life that we live.

Listen as Bob continues on with some things with identities of the world. Sometimes we get our identity in what we do. We try harder to be more successful with our professions. Identities of what we do: I am a businessman. I am a housewife. I am an athlete. I am a lawyer. I am a doctor. I am a model. Or any other term that people constantly use to identify themselves. I am a minister. I am a pastor. Well, all these are identities given to you by the world. And we buy into that identity. And if I don’t have any other identity that’s as good as any identity. At least I know who I am.

When I was lost, I would have gone out of my way to let people know that I am a businessman. And, I would even have gone further to let them know I am a successful businessman. Because not only did I want them to know I was a businessman, but I also wanted to make sure they knew how successful I was as a businessman too. Now that is the boasting that goes on with wanting to tell people how much I have and the boasting in telling people what I do.

Bob continues on telling the story about his dad and that his dad was a lawyer. He tells the story of when his dad got cancer and the flying back and forth. He realized at that point in time that all the things he had placed such great emphasis were meaningless in comparison to eternity. Listen in as he tells the story in his own way.

Psalm 46:10
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

Bob realized that what was important to understand, is that God came down here, and enabled us to be born again. He reached down to you and me and enabled us to be born again of His Spirit, and to come into a relationship with the very God that created this entire universe. That is what is important. All of these other things, they are fading away. The world and its desires pass away.

1 John 2:17
¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

There going to pass way physically when God gives a new world. They will pass away for us, when we die physically.

So now we begin to identity that we are a child of the living God. Now it is no longer in what we do, but who we are. For if our identity is on what we do in the world, it could be wiped out with a stroke. But if we are a child of God, that can never be taken away.

Bob continues on teaching about dependency. He spoke of the dependency on a profession. Now he segues into psychological dependencies. For example, the flesh tries to be better at something. Psychological dependency is totally contrary to the word of God. And that is the main danger of it. Satan will do everything in his power to get you off your identity (as a child of God). For example, he may call you a thief. Or he may call you a drunk or an alcoholic. Or a anorexic, or a bulimic, or a schizophrenic. All of these identities are done very cleverly, by very clever people, by very persuasive people, who are making an awful lot of money, through calling God a liar, when He said you are a child of God. And we (the creators of these scientific names) know more than the God of the universe who created everything.