Radio Broadcast Wednesday 08/17/2022

Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ P69 (08-17-22)

It is Because of God’s Love For Us That We Have Eternal Life in Him

~ Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Listen in to today’s lesson with more in-depth teaching, from the Bible study booklet, A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ, available for purchase from our online Bob George Ministries ecommerce store.

Just as a person’s physical growth is based on proper diet and exercise, so is the Christians’s spiritual growth dependent on regular feeding upon the word of God and application of its principles. With more false teaching, shifting opinions and general confusion in the world than ever before, Christians need a solid foundation upon which to base their beliefs and build their lives. The word of God declares that Jesus Christ is that foundation of truth. With that in mind, let’s now take A Closer Look at Your Identity in Christ.

Bob George 0:43
We’ve been in this series for quite a long time. But as we’ve mentioned so many times that studying your identity in Christ and looking at the believers identity, is the most important thing that we can come to grips with in regard to our own relationship with the living Christ. There is no subject taught in the Scripture, that is not important. But this identity crisis that we experience in Christendom, is a crisis that quite frankly paralyzes people to trying to, to that, a task of trying to find our acceptance in the sight of God through our own works, instead of resting in the fact that we have been made acceptable in the sight of God through his works. And that’s that Sabbath rest that God called us to in the book of Hebrews. It’s not a day of the week, folks, it’s a continual state that we are in, of resting now from our works just as he did from his.Well, what is it talking about? Well, I don’t, I don’t work anymore to be justified, I certainly don’t work to be forgiven. I don’t have to work to be cleansed, that’s already occurred. I don’t have to work to make myself holy and blameless. He’s already done that. I certainly don’t have to work to be baptized into his body that’s already occurred. I’m already a part of the body of Christ. I don’t have to work to be chosen by God, I already have been. I don’t have to work to be saved. I don’t have to work to keep salvation. That’s a contradiction of terms, because I didn’t get it by earning it to begin with. So why do I think I would keep it by earning it. It’s all him and none of me. I don’t work anymore to be righteous. He’s made me that way. In other words, I’m resting in the truth of the testimony of God concerning his Son what we talked about last week, it’s an insult for us to deny the testimony of God concerning his Son that he has given us eternal life. That’s an insult to say, I don’t have eternal life. It’s an insult to God’s testimony to say you can lose salvation. It’s a it’s to me, it’s indicative of the fact that you don’t know what salvation is to begin with. Salvation is life, folks. And you can’t lose life that is called eternal life. That’s where the contradiction of terms come in. People say Do you believe once saved always say, well, there’s no term like that in the Bible so you can run all over the place with it. Say, No, I don’t believe once saved always saved, I believe in justification by faith. And justification is not semi and just today and gone tomorrow. It’s forever. I believe in a life that has been given to me by God. And that life is Jesus’s life and his life is eternal. And because he lives in me, I have his life and that’s eternal life. You can’t lose something that’s eternal. We insult God all the time by denying his testimony concerning his Son. He’s given us eternal life, this life since the Son when you have the Son, you’d have life when you don’t have the Son, you don’t have life. And then clarifies it again by saying these things I’ve written unto you, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Now, that life was given to us by love, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that God so loved that he gave Jesus. That’s what he did, our response so that whosoever believes in Him not works for trusting would not perish but have everlasting life. Without the Son, I am perishing, and I do not have everlasting life. I have dead I have everlasting death. A man who is under the wrath of God is under death. That is eternal death until life is received when you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your sinful nature. That’s death. God made you what? alive with Christ. He forgave all of our sins that’s eternal life. Now all of that came from love. So our identity in Christ is based upon the love of God. Everything that we have learned thus far in our studies about who we are in Christ is as a result of God’s love. He cleansed me because he loved me. He forgave me because he loved me. He made me holy and blameless in his sight, because he loved me. I’m hidden with Christ in God, because He loves me. I’m clothed with the righteousness of Christ because of his love, chosen by God because of his love. Saved by His grace because of his love. Love was the motivating factor behind all of this. So God so loved that he gave, why did he give? Love. What held Jesus on the cross folks, nails? No love. He could have melted those nails in a minute. It was love that held him to a cross held him there until the work was finished until he could say, it’s finished. I have become sin for them. I’ve taken upon myself, their sins, I am going to take their death for them. And I’m going to then present this sacrifice to you, Lord, and you’re going to say propitiation has taken place, I’m satisfied all of that done as a result of love.

So, we have to realize that it was love that motivated God to make us his children and to give us this incredible inheritance that we have. And anytime we have doubts concerning our identity, whether it’s, oh, questioning our forgiveness, wondering about our righteous standing before God, or in some instances, fearing that we’ve lost salvation, what we’re really questioning is God’s love for us. In other words, maybe he lied when he said he loved me, because his love is what gave me eternal life. And if I’m doubting eternal life, I guess I’m doubting his love, aren’t I. Now, does he totally love me and accept me in this situation or doesn’t he? We’ve all asked this question at times. So you can see why it’s important to realize that part of our identity as believers is that we are totally loved. It’s the knowledge of that, that absolutely sustains us, in the crunches of life that all of us are going to go through the love of God. Paul said, I’m convinced nothing can separate me from the love of God trials can’t tribulation can’t. Why do you say that? Because he has gone through trials and tribulation. What comforted his heart that the tribulation was gone? No, no, he just got rid of one and got another one. That the trials had stopped that the nakedness that the sword? No, no, those things didn’t stop. What sustained him? That nothing can separate me from God’s love. The whole world could turn around against me, but nothing is going to separate me from the love of God. Well, Bob, that’s a true thing. It’s a true thing for you. And it’s true thing for me, that man can turn his back on you. You can lose your health, you can lose your family, you can lose everything, but nothing will ever separate you from the love of God.

Now, how did that come about? John 15:9, or tells us this as the Father Jesus is saying, As the Father loved me. So have I loved you. Now it says, remain in my love. Well, folks, how much do you suppose the Father loved his Son? I’d say pretty much. And he said in the identical way that the Father has loved me. He says, so have I loved you. So he says, Now remain in my love, whose benefit is that folks to remain in his love? That’s for our benefit. He’s saying, look, bask in that thing. Remain in the fact that nothing is ever going to separate you from my love. And during the times of trials and tribulations that we all go through, it’s the thing that will sustain you. Perfect love is what casts away fear. Fear has to do with punishment, all the punishment for your sins has been placed upon Jesus, they’re isn’t anymore. And so walk it says, abide remain in my love. In other words, believe it and be blessed by it.

As as I mentioned the other day, Amy and I are going down sometimes on the seashore and picking up shells, we always try to pick up the good ones and discount the bad ones. And it came to me one time that God only collects broken shells. He just collects the the old broken ones, and that’s exactly what we are where we are broken. We are dead in our sins and we’re at the uncircumcision of our sinful nature. We have nothing from our standpoint to offer to a living God and yet he says, Yeah, you do. You got yourself and I want you and you say But Lord, I blown it. And he said, who hasn’t? I didn’t come for the well, there aren’t any well, I just came for the sick. And so it’s when man comes to a point in his life where he recognizes his need and recognizes his own wretchedness, his own inability to ever live up to even his own standards, let alone God’s Bob, I couldn’t even live up to my own standards, I sure couldn’t live up to the standards of people that I consider to be just good men, let alone God’s standards. And you came to the point, as you mentioned the other last week that you became sick of Bob Davis and I became sick of Bob George, I came to a point where I said, I need new life I need I need some something else besides me, I can’t change myself, I cannot do what I even want to do. And then of course, we become born again of the Spirit of God and, and then we think, well, now now I can do what I want to do. And we find out that we’re still under the same bondage to a degree, same conflicts that are there, although there’s something inside me that says, Yeah, but I’m a new creation. And we are a new creation, we are a brand new creation, because now his nature lives in us. And then Peter says, we have the privilege given to us to participate in His divine nature. So we now have him living in us, it says that we literally have the mind of Christ living in us we have Christ is in us our only hope of glory. So it’s not, it’s not so much that I have changed. But I have the ability now as a believer no longer ever to be the old man and unbeliever again. But now in my, in my flesh, in my soul, I have the ability and the privilege that God has given me to participate in His divine nature that’s there. So when I yield to it, why the benefit of that is going to be exemplified in my thoughts and behavior, when I don’t yield to it, my flesh is going to behaving in the very opposite way. So again, that’s the part of the renewing of the mind and of the yielding, presenting of our bodies now, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in the sight of God, which is a reasonable service, quit being conformed to the world, but be transformed. Now, how? by the renewing of our mind, only Christ can do that. So it’s my willingness to yield my thoughts to his mind, to His divine nature.

And that’s a neat thing to realize the I think one of the things, see if any man’s in Christ is a new creation, that’s identity, that is identity. That’s who I am. See, I’m a new creation and, and what that new creation is that, that sinful nature that unbelieving nature has been cut away. So my flesh now is not an unbelieving nature. It’s not an unbelieving flesh, my flesh now, I can yield to the lies or it can yield to that divine nature that is now living inside of us, Christ in us Our hope of glory. And the byproduct of that is going to be to whoever we are yielding to. So it’s not that I am necessarily getting better. I am a new creation, I only have one identity. I’m not an old man, a new man, I’m just a new man in Christ. But that new man in Christ is Christ lives in me. That’s what makes me a new man, a new creation, is Christ. My Creator has now taken up residence once again, with his with his creative being. That’s a new creation, Bob George now, with the Spirit of God living in me. And so the conflict that sometimes comes along and many times comes along as boy, if I’m in Christ, I’m supposed to be a new creation. Why do I still think the way I do? Why do I do still act the way I do? Well, because you that that new creation, Christ living in you and me, our only hope of glory, that spiritual regeneration that took place not solely your bodily spiritual that new you is there, and you’re not yielding to that divine nature that is now in you.

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Bob George 14:22
You don’t have an old sinful nature anymore, you’re not an unbeliever anymore. So you may as well if you’re not an unbeliever, we may as well believe or walk by faith. And when you don’t believe you’re acting unnaturally, to the fact that you’re not an unbeliever anymore. You’re you’re you’re doing something contrary to, to who you are now to your identity. So sometimes gets a little complicated to explain all those things. But the fact of the matter is that Bob, George that the Spirit of God living in Him, He’s gone, he’s dead and only have one identity that’s a child of the living God. But that new identity is still living in a body that contains indwelling sin, and there’s the conflict, but I don’t have to give in. I don’t have to be an unbeliever, I’m not one anymore. So why should I, so I never will be one, I can just act in one belief. And when I’m doing that’s what I’m doing is acting, acting totally contrary to who I am.

Well, again. So that’s why it’s important for us to understand the love of God, folks, that’s the beginning step of renewing our mind. Paul talks about that in the third chapter, the book of Ephesians. In chapter in verse 14, he prays a prayer there. And the reason he prays that is, because it’s this is really the will of God concerning you and me as a believer. For this reason, he said, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, that he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. So again, he’s praying that in my inner being, I will be strengthened with his power through his Spirit, well strengthened to do what? well, he’s gonna tell us I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power now, together with all the saints to do something, What’s he want us to do? Go ahead and do great deeds for the Lord? No, that we might have power to grasp what’s in our minds, folks, how wide and long and high and deep, is the love of Christ. That’s the power of God in our lives, not the power to go out and do something powerful. Old man’s flesh and ego is always in big assemblies, trying to do some powerful and walking around touching people in their head, let them fall back and say, boy, that’s the power guy just zapped right through there. Well, I’m sorry, folks that didn’t have anything at all to do with anything in the Scripture. When you’re talking about power, you’re talking about the contrast between what we think is powerful, big, strong, noisy, we name our football teams after things that are powerful, big, strong, noisy, the, you know, the, the Tigers and the Bears, the Chicago Bears and the Cowboys and the Indians and, and man, we get powerful stuff, you know, because that’s the macho thing, you know, who in the world would ever call their football team, the Los Angeles Lambs, the Seattle Sheep? You know, that just wouldn’t make any sense. It’s bad enough with the Ducks. But it just doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t tie in with the power of the macho stuff there. But the most powerful man that ever walked on the face of the earth was called was the tiger of God, the bear of God? no, the Lamb of God, gentle as a lamb, the Lamb of God who did what? took away the sins of the world. So folks, power is not what you and I think it is. It isn’t out there doing some big for God. It’s the power that God gives you to grasp a hold of his love.

There, there’s a terrific resistance to understanding the love of God. If perfect love is what casts away all fear. Is it God’s desire for you to walk in perfect love? Well, of course it is. What is that perfect love, do? Casts away all fear. So a perfect love casts away all fear. What does fear cast away? Perfect love. So guess where satan lives, in fear. Why? It keeps you away from understanding the perfect love of God. So it is God’s desire, it is God’s will. It is his ultimate intention for you and me. It’s it’s a part of that, that he says that I am committed to completing the work that I began in you. Faithful as he called you, who will do it teach you about his love. Why? Well it changes your life, love changes your life, folks. And so this power is strengthening you and me with power through his Spirit and your inner being. So the Holy Spirit of God is living in you and me. And he says, I pray that God will give you power in that Spirit living in your inner being to do what? grasps get a hold of this folks, the height and depth and breadth and width of the love of Christ. And then it says to know this love that surpasses knowledge. Now what’s the result of that? That you might be filled to the measure with all of the fullness of God.

Now what does it mean to be filled to the measure with all of the fullness serve God? Would that be the same as an example as being filled with a Spirit? Well, I think absolutely, as a matter of fact, just two chapters over in the fifth chapter of this same book of Ephesians why you see that terminology. Don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is, don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead, be filled with the Spirit. Well, what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Well, unfortunately, some people may think that that just means to speak to one another, as it says, with psalms and hymns, and always given thanks to the Father and everything, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but folks, those are that’s the byproduct of what it truly means to be filled the Spirit is to be filled with the love of God. When you’re filled with the love of God, why you’re going to be speaking to one another in spiritual truths and songs and making music in your heart being, experiencing the joy of the Lord and the peace of the Lord and the love of God and all of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s, that’s a byproduct of those. So we’re out trying to hit the byproducts instead of being controlled by the love of God. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit, folks? if you don’t put it in context, it just means anything you want it to me. And another one of those cases, Bob, have a verse that I memorized earlier, my Christian experience being a drunk with wine, wherein is excess be filled with the Spirit, just quote at the drop of a hat, but didn’t know what it meant so because I didn’t know what it meant as it relates to context, why it meant whatever I was taught, it was meant. It’s not what God says it is, to be filled with the Spirit says just what it says here to be filled to the measure with all of the fullness of God.

As we left off, we’re talking about that it was God who was going to give us power through the Holy Spirit of God living in us give it to us in our inner being so that Christ may dwell, in other words, be at home, in your hearts through faith. Well, how can someone dwell and be at home in your heart when you’re afraid of them? If you’ve ever been around somebody, people who are real touchy and irritable, why it really annihilates conversation and communication. When someone’s wanting to punish you all the time, or someone’s, you’re thinking all the time, but brother, I better not say some because I’m gonna get annihilated by them. It’s very tough to live with people like that, well, thank God, we don’t have to live with Jesus that way that, that he’s the one who took away our sins. And he says, I want you to be filled to the measure with the fullness of my love. And when that occurs, when you are, when you are filled, it means to be controlled by. So he said, I pray that you will be controlled to the measure with all of the fullness of God. So folks, terminology, like we said before, what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Man, if you don’t take that in context, it’ll mean anything you want it to be. And you got just denominations all over the place. And each one I’ve have a different interpretation of that. But what the Bible says it is not what man says it is. But what the Bible says that is to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled to the measure with all of the fullness of God. And you match those two scriptures up yourself in chapter three of the book of Ephesians, verse 19, and then go over to the fifth chapter, verse 18, in the same book, and you just see if the two don’t tie in together. So what does it mean then to be filled to the measure with a fullness of God? Well, to be filled means to be controlled by. So what are we to be controlled by? Well, the love of God.

So I just told you, I pray that you be rooted and established in love rooted in that that means that the roots of the love of God has gone down to the point like the apostle Paul being able to say, I’m convinced nothing can separate me from the love of God. It’s knowing his love for folks not just knowing about it, but to know this love that surpasses knowledge. In other words, it’s, it’s, it is absolutely a part of you. It isn’t something you have to think about anymore. It’s an intricate part of your very being. That I know that I’m a loved person by God. I don’t have to think about that a more. It’s just resting in that knowledge that I am a loved person, by the Lord Jesus Christ. I didn’t deserve an ounce of it didn’t earn a bit of it. It’s just God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son for me. So that the very moment that I turned to him and believe he gave me his Son’s life, which is eternal. That’s a love that we can’t even enter into but that’s what it means to be controlled by the love of God. Well think about it for a moment, folks what controlled the apostle Paul? Well he said, the love of God constrains me or controls me. Same deal. What controlled? What control Jesus? Well the love of God. And what is to control you and me? Well, the love of God, were to be controlled by love. Now, Christ tells us to remain in his love. And however, we can’t understand how high and wide and deep and long is Christ’s love for us, through our finite minds, in other words, God has to teach us that too. And so in First Corinthians two, nine and 10, we’re told that no eye has seen no ears heard, nor mind is conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed it by His Spirit. So again, it isn’t one of those type of things, we go out and we say, well, I’m just going to go out. And intellectually, I’m going to study Greek and Hebrew, and whatever else it might be, so I can learn the love of God. Well, you can learn well about it, you can learn what it says, but you will never know what it means experientially, until it’s revealed to you by the Spirit. Why? Well, it tells us your eyes not seen, your ear has not heard your mind has not conceived of what God has prepared for those who love him. It’s got to be revealed by the Spirit. So God has given us the power to understand and experience His love for us through His Holy Spirit. And when you rely upon the Holy Spirit of God to reveal that to you, that’s when you’re going to know it. Now, folks, are we just going to know about the love of God through reading about it? I don’t think so. Paul said, I have become convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God. And he mentioned trials, tribulations, hardships, life, death, all kinds of things. Why did he mention those? That’s where he learned about the love of God. Now he had to have heard about the love of God. But it’s while going through the trials and tribulations of life that the Spirit reveals to you the love of God.

Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity, with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord, find more information online at shop.BobGeorge.net. There you’ll also find available CDs, DVDs, and bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith, be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.