Growth Are You There?

[netchaplain]

The great and peculiar privilege of the believer now is, that he is united to the risen Lord Jesus in glory, and therefore where He is determines everything. The old association was not to be resumed, as He said to Mary Magdalene, “Touch Me not . . . but go to My brethren and say into them, I ascend to My Father and your Father; and to My God and your God” (John 20:7).

There is a great deal of enjoyment of the Lord Jesus which does not spring solely from personal fellowship with Him. There is a sense of perfect remission of sin; there is the heart burning because of the opening of the Scriptures; and there is the action of the light, the sense that I belong to it, and am really of a divine origin. There is the knowledge of His favor in service and circumstances, yielding a very distinct joy; and yet none of these rises to the height of association with Him where He is. All of these, however great, could be and are enjoyed on earth.

Nothing can divert from earth but another place, and a greater, and this is one of the primary effects rising from fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory. Then I know my citizenship is there; I become loose to earth, because I am conscious of having real enjoyment of heart with Him in heaven where He is. If I only get heaven when I die, I retain earth until that event takes place. But when I know my position above I am deflected from this place, which is so entirely, in the best of circumstances, inferior to it.

There are other great and deep experiences which cannot be known unless the believer has been led by the Spirit of God into heaven. First, there is no true and clear sense of the priesthood of Christ, unless I know Him now appearing in the presence of the Father for me. How could I enjoy the effect of this, if I were not in spirit associated with Him there?

How can I know what it is to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of the Lord Jesus, by the new and living way, unless I were associated with Him by the Spirit? If I am not with the Lord Jesus where He is, I have neither a clear, well-assured sense of how He maintains me in the presence of the Father, nor have I, however great my intelligence of doctrines and truth generally, ever really tasted of the true place of worship in the Holiest of All.

This accounts for the constant references in hymns and otherwise, by many apparently advanced saints, to the work of the Lord Jesus and their need of atonement. I believe that everyone in the Holiest deepens in his appreciation of the wondrous work which has procured entrance for him into the perfect scene; but I say that one there, is not seeking or reverting to the way to get in, because he is in, and he is praising and blessing because he is there.

A saint might have the faith of an Abraham, and not enjoy occupation with the Lord Jesus in heaven. He might have the courage of a Daniel, and not know union with Him in heaven. He might be assured of the forgiveness of his sins, and not know that he is united to the Lord Jesus in heaven. He might have the devotedness of a Mary of Bethany, and be as sure of heaven as a Simeon or the thief on the cross, while still not knowing the deep, wondrous effect of being in spirit with the Lord Jesus; hidden with Him in God.

- J B Stoney

 

[Eugene]

Dear brother netchaplain, my take on what you have given us here is that growing in grace and knowledge of our LORD produces the experiential realization of the following scriptures.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

It’s no longer just that God tells; we know that He is in us, and we in Him; His Spirit reveals it.

1 Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

 

[netchaplain]

Dear brother netchaplain, my take on what you have given us here is that growing in grace and knowledge of our LORD produces the experiential realization of the following scriptures.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

It’s no longer just that God tells; we know that He is in us, and we in Him; His Spirit reveals it.

1 Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Hi Eugene - Thanks for the applicable passages in your reply. As you've indicated, "His Spirit reveals it," and how pertinent this is, for the primary means of the believer being confirmed of God in them is, "The Spirit Himself beareth witness withour spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom 8:16).

The most significant doctrine which Scripture reveals is that of the permanency of being reborn, for without understanding this, one will misunderstand most of what Christianity teaches concerning growth in Christ's "image" (Rom 8:29; 2Cor 3:18); and this is the greatest hindrance presently to the growth of many believers within the last half century. If it's not eternal, it's not salvation, for there is no Scriptural concept for temporal salvation, only "eternal salvation (Heb 5:9).

 

[gr8grace3]

Dear brother netchaplain, my take on what you have given us here is that growing in grace and knowledge of our LORD produces the experiential realization of the following scriptures.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

It’s no longer just that God tells; we know that He is in us, and we in Him; His Spirit reveals it.

1 Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Eugene, you have doctrine in the soul Brother.

And you touched on a very important principle that we as Christians often overlook.

1. Gods tells us....we hear it.
2. We NEED to metabolize what He tells us......Know it.
3. We need to apply it........live it.
Eternal security, and KNOWING we have eternal life is crucial in LIVING the Christian way of life.

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

netchaplain Hello,
Thank You for posting this and sharing from your heart.
Over the years I have grown in the Lord but it was not until I made a choice to totally surrender my all unto Him that He became so much more real in me. I am NOT saying I am there yet, but I am saying each day I strive to learn more of how to do so.

I have gotten to the place where, nothing matters to me other then being what God has created me to be and fulfilling His plan for my life. I want to be more and more like Him and talk more and more like Him and do more and more like Him. I gave Him all my dreams and desires and settled back to allow Him to place His desire for me into me and then trust Him to get me to this place.

For me my one desire is simply, to go after the very heart of God...
Have a wonderful week
Jim

 

[netchaplain]

netchaplain Hello,
Thank You for posting this and sharing from your heart.
Over the years I have grown in the Lord but it was not until I made a choice to totally surrender my all unto Him that He became so much more real in me. I am NOT saying I am there yet, but I am saying each day I strive to learn more of how to do so.

I have gotten to the place where, nothing matters to me other then being what God has created me to be and fulfilling His plan for my life. I want to be more and more like Him and talk more and more like Him and do more and more like Him. I gave Him all my dreams and desires and settled back to allow Him to place His desire for me into me and then trust Him to get me to this place.

For me my one desire is simply, to go after the very heart of God...
Have a wonderful week
Jim

Hi FCJ - Like your signature! You are at the position where the Father eventually "works" in all who are His, "both to desire and to do of His good pleasures" (Phl 2:13). For some it could require the majority of their Christian life before arriving to this level of growth concerning being "conformed in the image of Christ" (Rom 8:29).

The most significant encouragement I can give (and for all believers at any time) is that of getting as much Word-exposure, esp. the NT, as possible!

God's blessings to your Family!