This article will bring you into the understanding of two natures, a simple place to begin.
This article is a foundational teaching on the subject of Identity.
Knowing who we are and who we are not is critical in the operation of separating out the “leaven” from the loaf “that you may be a new batch without yeast-as you really are (1 Cor 5:7).” It is the knowing of the truth about ourselves that sets us free. The Truth is already the Truth and we are as free as our present knowledge of the Truth is developed.
WHO ARE YOU ?
Who are you? I am a carpenter; I am the father of four children, I am a single mom just trying to make it in this crazy world. I am a failure; I am a freak; I am an alcoholic; I am rich; I am the carefree sort; I am depressed. We tend to define ourselves by the things we do, the people with which we associate (I am a Republican), the things we are dealing with, or the things that have happened to us. The truth is that “I” am not my job, my job is what “I” do. “I” am not a failure, although I may have failed at some things in the past. So “I” am not the things I do, I am not the things I have been given, I am not the things that have happened to me, I am not other peoples’ expectation or definition of me. I am not my failures or successes… and the list goes on. I am not the external events and influences of my life.
There is something else going on in here that is not just the sum and effects of the externals of my life. Our perception of who we are can be strongly influenced by the conditions and experience of our lives. No doubt about that. For instance, if a child is told that they are stupid, of little value, and that they will never amount to anything, they may very well believe that about themselves. Inside, there may be a great capacity for solving problems and issues plaguing our society, but if the false image is not caste down, the potential will never develop. Their life could be compared to the potential of that in a peach seed. The germ and life of the tree is buried deep within the hard impermeable shell. If the shell is not broken, there will never be all that delicious fruit, season after season, and no shade to comfort someone on a hot July afternoon, no exquisite silhouette against the full moon in December. It is this believing something other than the truth that has the potential of humanity locked up, fearful, living within the walls of our own perceptions, deceptions, and defenses.
ADAM’S RACE
Gen 1:26-28 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." NKJV
Let’s inspect these some of words in detail- “OUR IMAGE” and ‘OUR LIKENESS” – the same root Hebrew word stated twice and translated as two different words in English -resemblance, representative figure, from an unused root meaning to shade. So man is made to resemble God, to be God’s representative. This is repeated for emphasis. Let’s not miss the point. We are created to resemble God. When everything false is taken away, that is who we are.
“DOMINION” – to subjugate, to come to have dominion, to prevail against, to rule over, to take. We are to be in charge of every other living thing, we are equipped to handle the responsibility for the governance of all life on earth. Wow!
“IN HIS OWN IMAGE” and “THE IMAGE OF GOD” – Yes, these are the SAME two words as at the beginning of these verses. Repeated twice and repeated twice more. We really need to get this. Man is made to resemble God, to be God’s representative on earth, we are to rule over every other thing. Life on earth is our responsibility. We are in charge, God told us.
“BE FRUITFUL, MULTIPLY, FILL THE EARTH FRUITFUL - bear, bring forth (fruit), (be, cause to be, make) fruitful, grow, increase.
MULTIPLY - to increase in whatever respect. Bring in abundance, bring up, grow up, and heap.
FILL THE EARTH - to fill or be full of (literally or figuratively), satisfy, take wholly, replenish. We are the ones that cause the earth to produce what the earth is designed to produce. We are to do this until everything is complete in every way - until there is satisfaction - until the earth is full of fruit.
“DOMINION” – It’s the same word as before, another repeat for emphasis. We are in charge, we are to take this thing and rule. God has given it to us to do. He’s delegated His own authority to us, by design, on purpose. Apparently the earth cannot just go along on its’ own and produce the “fruit” God intents. He has told us to take it. There is giving from God here, and there is receiving and accepting the job responsibility on our part. It is not just a done deal. God repeats the instructions – “This is the way you are built – take this – be in charge- bring this thing to fulfillment – till all my plans are satisfied. “
The Bible tells us that God is Love. As His representatives, we are to be displaying His nature and character until the whole earth is filled with His glory. Good enough.
1 John 4:16 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. NIV.
Further. The bible gives many descriptions of what Love look like.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. NIV
So, God’s plan is for us to be in the overseers of things on earth, and everything will grow and prosper until such a time that everything displays Love, and there is no more left to do. We say, “ Thanks God for all the great stuff, we’ll take over, just like you said, and it will all work out.” But it doesn’t work out, it a big mess, there’s murder, starvation, wars, pestilence, storms, earthquakes, atrocity after atrocity, and on and on. We blame God for all this because it was His idea in the first place, and we think that maybe God isn’t as good and powerful as He claims to be. Maybe this whole thing was a little more than what God can really manage and He’s lost control! We think that we had better just look out for ourselves, after all we are only human and the best we can hope for is a little happiness. What’s so wrong with that? We begin to think that God doesn’t care if I am satisfied.
We begin to think that God is just looking for our failures so he can keep us out of heaven, whatever that is; maybe we are supposed to make our own idea of heaven. What’s the difference, what’s the big deal?
After all I am just trying to survive….
AWhat Went Wrong?......... Adam Did Not Obey God
He chose to believe some information from another source and he put the very thing inside of him that the Lord warned him would kill him. The story is found in Genesis 3, and it is often called “the Fall”. I will paraphrase the account here, but you can read it for yourself in the Bible any time. The Lord told Adam, along with his other instructions that he could eat of ANY tree in the garden EXCEPT the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. The warning was that on the day he ate that fruit, he would die. Now, death is separation from God because God is life. Gen. 2 talks about how Adam and the Lord would walk in the cool of the day and talk. There was a personal and intimate relationship going on here. This goes against our natural thinking, we think of God as being far away, judgmental, ready to strike us at any moment for an error or blunder. We are afraid of God. But that is not how it was at the beginning, remember Adam was specifically built to be like God – in God’s class – in His image – representing and doing His work.
We must understand also that everything on the earth was not functioning in the will and purpose of the Lord. The serpent was already in the garden when Adam was placed there. Adam’s work was to “dress it and keep it” which means to bring it under control and keep it fenced in. The serpent was a created being; Adam was commissioned to rule over all life as the Lord’s appointed man. The serpent challenged God’s character- “Hath God said…” and the serpent lied about what God said – “… you must not eat of ANY tree in the garden?” And then the serpent spoke as if his word had authority over the warning God gave concerning death. ‘Surely, you shall not die…”
But Adam did die.
Adam had an opportunity to exercise his God-given authority right there. Here was this created being that Adam was to over-see, correct, and bring under the control of the Lord, but he chose instead to believe the lie and reject God. Furthermore, that fruit he ate was poisonous. Man was not designed for this particular knowledge, that is “the knowledge of good and evil,” he was designed to run things on earth, to keep and to dress… Man was designed to eat of the tree of life. This tree was available to Adam right up until the time he took of the other tree. It was only after the poisoning that the tree of life was separated from man. Genesis 3:22 says, “ the man has now become like one of us” (meaning Elohim, the three-in one God). By this willful act of rebellion and mistrust, man became more like God and less like man was designed to be. Because this fruit went into him, it polluted his whole nature. Man became defiled, while God was holy. Adam’s body was alive, his soul was alive, he could think and act and have children, but his spirit was no longer connected with the Spirit of God. His spirit was dead. On that day his spirit died. Adam lived 930 years, and then he died. (Genesis 5:5). Think of that!
Adam was like the branch of a tree that is cut off from the trunk, but there was so much residual power and life in his body and mind that it took 930 years for his body to finally give out. But here is the bigger problem, the same pollution and mixture that killed Adam was passed on to his sons and daughters. Sin had now entered the world through the very being created to guard, control, and protect it. We might look at this as a “genetic” disorder, but it is more accurately described as a “nature” disorder. While the defiled nature of man prevented him from fulfilling his purpose, the commission and plan of God did not change. God is love. Love never fails. In the presence of His enemies God prepares a table and covenant of reconciliation between man and God, and man WILL fulfill his original purpose.
We need to understand this principle: We are not viewed, as sinners by God because we do things that are sinful.
We sin because we are born with the sin nature (the poisoning of Adam) already in us.
In John 3, Jesus tells a Pharisee named Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (NIV) Some translations read “born from above”. What He is saying here is that we have no ability to perceive and understand what God’s rule is, how it operates, what its purpose is, or any thing until a new form of life is birthed in us. "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV If your Spirit is not alive, you have nothing that can perceive things in the realm of God.
John 3:5-8."I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit NIV
So this is the marvelous plan of God, the solution to this seemingly insurmountable problem that Adam introduced into the world. We have all people being born alive in the flesh, but still born (that is dead or separated) in the Spirit. What is needed is ANOTHER birth process that can be made available to everyone whereby their spirits can be brought to Life. That is the same as saying “brought to God”, because God is Life. God is Spirit. The Life is in the Spirit (God). When we are WITH God, walking and talking with Him, we can learn how He wants this ruling and reigning over the earth to work out.
First we must be “Born again” and then we see.
This is important –Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
We can get into this thinking that, well Adam did this thing, and we have inherited this “problem” from him so it is not MY fault that I am spiritually separated from God, and if God really loves me and wants to have relationship with me, why doesn’t HE just fix things and it’ll be OK? I do nothing, and God takes care of this sin thing. Well guess what, that is exactly What He has done. God has opened the door of reconciliation, and new birth: “nature exchange” if YOU WILL. The provision is here, but YOU are the one who must make the move to access this provision. There is only one way, no choice, but the way is always open.
You can read about it in Romans!
Rom 5:6-19 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. 7 Even if we were good, we really wouldn't expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God's wrath to come. 10 And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us! 11 Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins-making us friends of God. 12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned. 13[We know that it was Adam's sin that caused this] because although, of course, people were sinning from the time of Adam until Moses, God did not in those days judge them guilty of death for breaking his laws-because he had not yet given his laws to them nor told them what he wanted them to do. 14 So when their bodies died it was not for their own sins since they themselves had never disobeyed God's special law against eating the forbidden fruit, as Adam had. What a contrast between Adam and Christ who was yet to come! 15 And what a difference between man's sin and God's forgiveness! For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this one man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's mercy. 16 Adam's one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead. 17 The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God's gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam's sin brought punishment to all, but Christ's righteousness makes men right with God, so that they can live. 19 Adam caused many to be sinners because he disobeyed God, and Christ caused many to be made acceptable to God because he obeyed. TLB
1 Cor 15:45 45 The Scriptures tell us that the first man, Adam, was given a natural, human body but Christ is more than that, for he was life-giving Spirit. TLB
I’ll repeat that- Christ is MORE than Adam (Adamic nature); He is a LIFE giving SPIRIT (God is Spirit).
WHO ARE YOU IN CHRIST?
Here is a simple test – Are you afraid of God? Do you worry that you may never really measure up to the standards of holiness and be rejected from the Kingdom of God. Do you feel so dirty that it is inconceivable to think that you could be precious and of tremendous value to God?
Allow me to review just for a moment – what were the things that destroyed Adam’s relationship with God.
Adam BELIEVED some other voice besides the voice of God.
Adam DOUBTED that God really had his beat interests in mind. He took it upon himself to MAKE HIS OWN PROVISION (he ate the fruit to gain something FOR and BY HIMSELF).
The voice of the enemy of God is saying the same things today, he has no new tactic, no creative powers, but only to kill (Adam died), steal (Adam lost access to the tree of life), and destroy (intimate unrestrained fellowship was lost with God). Think about it. I believe that when we are honest, we can see the places in our lives where we have been deceived by these same things. We have decided to pursue our own provision because it did not seem that God would, or could do a good job for us. Romans 3 lays it out clearly:
Romans 3:22-31 But now God has shown us a different way to heaven --not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us-declare us "not guilty"-if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. 23 Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; 24 yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins. 25 For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God's anger against us. He used Christ's blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath. In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. 26 And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins. But isn't this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins. 27 Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. 28 So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do. 29 And does God save only the Jews in this way? No, the Gentiles, too, may come to him in this same manner. 30 God treats us all the same; all, whether Jews or Gentiles, are acquitted if they have faith. 31 Well then, if we are saved by faith, does this mean that we no longer need obey God's laws? Just the opposite! In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we truly obey him. TLB
So what then is missing?
Romans 3:27,28 Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds, it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do
Believing - This is Our Access
Jesus died once and for all the sin of the world. (Heb 7:27) There is no more need of sacrifice. The only thing lacking is YOUR belief. Remember that you cannot see the Kingdom unless and until you are born from above. When you believe in your heart and you say, “Yes, I trust you, Lord to forgive my sin, and bring my spirit to life”, then you begin to understand. You begin to perceive the Kingdom of God.
YOU speak to God,
Yes you can. He will hear.
It was His idea to save you in the first place. Every other voice is a liar.
Trust these words even for just these few moments and enter into the Kingdom of God. Be transformed out of Adam’s race and into Christ. You are a new creature – a new creation
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV
Can you see the original mandate to Adam? “ We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us…” In Christ we find our whole being restored, we are equipped and built to rule, and protect, and serve every living thing on the earth until all that God has planned is accomplished. The old nature is dead and we are alive in Christ. In Christ we can do all things, but apart from Him we can do nothing.
Now just because we can see and perceive the Kingdom of God does not mean that we are walking in all the fullness and authority that the Lord has for us. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are changed as we learn about the Truth and as we walk out the reality of the Truth.
Here is a simple way to start this transformation:
The New Testament is full of promises and instructions for those who are “ in Christ”. Read and believe these scriptures. They describe the reality of who you are “in Christ”. Either you are of Adam’s nature or you are of Christ’s nature. If you are in Christ, the following are all true, even though they do not yet look like reality in you life. Remember that the way of restoration is already open, all that might be lacking is that you believe a lie instead of the Truth.
Romans 6:11-12 Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. NIV
Romans 8:1-2 there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. NIV
Romans 8:38-39 I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
Romans 12:3-5 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. NIV
1 Corinthians 15:21-23 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. NIV
2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. NIV
Ephesians 2:6-8 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. NIV
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. NIV
Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. NIV
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV
Colossians 2:9-11 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. NIV
Philemon 4-7 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. NIV
So who are you?
- Are you found in Christ, or are you dead in Adam?
What is your identity?
Your identity is not about what you do, but who you are.
Deut 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you that todayI have set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Oh, that you would choose life; that you and your children might live!
Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and to cling to him, for he is your life and the length of your days. TLB