![[The Good Seed]](../images/thegoodseed.gif)
The Good Seed and the Fruit
By Lloyd Ellefson
We have been birthed by an incorruptible seed, and that seed is the Christ, the Son of God! We have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus; we have received a consciousness of faith. But before we talk about the seed, we want to see the difference between redemption and resurrection.
In 1 Peter 1:18-19 it says, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." This refers to redemption - not resurrection. To redeem means to bring something back into usefulness, to restore it to its original purpose. We need to be redeemed, for as long as we live in the flesh we are dead in Adam, and therefore cannot please God.
We have been redeemed with the blood of the Lamb. (v.19) The blood typifies the soul - our consciousness of being. So through our redemption with the precious blood of the Lamb, we receive the awareness or consciousness that was in Jesus Christ. When the side of Jesus was pierced, His natural blood flowed onto the ground. In Hebrews 7 we read that He took His blood into heaven and presented it to the Father. This means He presented His consciousness of being to God. Then God poured out this consciousness of being and gave it to us in the Spirit. Christ's consciousness consisted of the knowledge of who He was. He knew that He was the Son of God, that God was His Father and that He was not of this earth. He knew that His origin and destiny were in the Spirit - in the heavenlies.
We need to be redeemed because we are still living in a vessel of clay. The Adamic consciousness dwells in this earthy man until Jesus Christ comes and puts that aside. He does that by renewing us in our spirit - in the consciousness of who we really are. We live in this physical body temporarily - like when we go camping and live in a tent temporarily. During our stay on earth, we are being redeemed, and therefore we can be a tabernacle of witness. Through spiritual revelation, our words and the spirit in which they are spoken, will testify to the Christ, to God and to who we are in Christ! Therefore, while we are still living in our physical bodies, we can speak words of life, understanding, and spiritual illumination. This enables us to live to the glory of God.
Our redemption does not take place instantaneously; it is a gradual process which takes place while we are still in our physical bodies. It brings us a change of lordship. Instead of having self (which is antichrist) sitting on the throne in the temple of our body, we now have Christ in our temple! He is our life (praise God) and now we are a tabernacle of witness! If our spirit has been made new, we can testify rightly of who God is and who Christ is. Our testimony consists of Christ in us, the hope of glory! It has nothing to do with the shape our body is in. Our boasting is in Christ - not in who we are in ourselves.
God is forming His Son in us. Only God, and those who have received God's revelation of His Son, know Him. Only God can reveal to others who we are in Christ. People cannot understand us unless God reveals His Son to them. Jesus hesitated when people pressed Him to tell them who He was. He called God His Father, but He never boasted about Himself. He always gave glory to the Father and said that He could do nothing of Himself.
In Phil. 2;5 it says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." There are two kinds of minds: one minds the flesh and the other minds the Spirit. The fleshly mind is in death, and the spiritual mind is in life. Resurrection means being raised from minding the flesh to minding the Spirit! Minding the flesh causes us to be involved and entangled in the things of the world. Jesus minded the Spirit and thus overcame the world. That is why He could say, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We also overcome the world in us by abiding in Christ - by being ruled by the Spirit.
Morality is not achieved by the legislation and implementation of laws, as many are trying to do today. They are fighting pornography, evil, abortion, robbery, abuse, killing, fornication - you name it! Organized religious systems are busily trying to correct all these evils through marches and the legal machinery of the government. But Jesus said, "My kingdom (My rule) is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting..." Well, some people fight anyway, even though they claim to be the disciples of Christ. As long as Christians are fighting sin, they have not recognized that the root of evil has to done away with.
Our redemption is not the same as our new birth. The new birth does not consist of the regeneration of the spirit. The word BORN means to generate. In the natural, we are born of the seed of our parents; they, in turn, were born of the seed of their parents. This goes on and on and on till we get back to God. This is called the generation of the flesh.
In Matthew 19 Jesus talked about those who would be with Him in the regeneration. I think that is what Peter was talking about in 1 Peter 1:18-19. The lamb represents an innocent, non-resistant, guiltless conscience. That is exactly what redeems us. We are redeemed when we get rid of our sin-consciousness, our lack of understanding God and self. Then we realize that we are immortal sons of God. Christ understood that He was the immortal Son of God. His soul, that is, His mind, emotions and will, had this awareness of being! This awareness comes to us in the Spirit. As we grow in this understanding, we are being redeemed! This is worth thinking about!
"For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you." (v.20) The Greek word KATABOLA, has been translated FOUNDATION, but it actually has quite a different meaning. It means putting down, casting down, disturbing, or disrupting. In Genesis 3 the rule of God was disrupted. Since Christ's consciousness was like that of a lamb, unblemished and spotless, we know that the consciousness before this disruption took place, was one of non-resistance, guiltlessness and innocence; it was one of sonship and relationship with God. This is the consciousness we now have to receive. It will redeem or free us from the sin-consciousness, separation, darkness and ignorance that dwells in natural man. Redemption comes to us through resurrection - through being raised up from one sense of being and realization to another. This is the redemption Christ brings us.
"Who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (v.21) God raised Him from the dead. Sin came into the world through one man, and then death came upon all men. In Adam all die. The Adamic man is in ignorance; he has been deceived and has therefore become the vehicle of sin! That is man's problem right there! That is why we need Christ! He is the man from heaven! He brings us life, for in Christ all are made alive!
"Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." (v.22) That cannot happen until the Holy Spirit begins to show us what love is. Humanity's ideas of love are perverted! They equate human love, like parental love, with God's love. Sexual passions are called love. But natural human love is not like God's love! God's love is illustrated in Jesus Christ! Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." Christ is the exact expression or manifestation of the invisible God! If we want to see what the Father's love is like, we look at Christ; if we want know what the Father is like, we look at Christ!
Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, `an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, "Do not resist him who is evil...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt. 5:38,39,44) Jesus Christ was called the Lamb of God. A lamb does not resist its enemies. Since Christ is the exact expression of His Father, we know that God does not resist His enemies - but He changes them. Can that really be true? Well, it can't be any other way, since Christ is the exact image of the Father! This is what Jesus preached, and He Himself was led as a lamb to the slaughter. There was no resistance on His part! He endured the severest pain from all the evil which men could inflict upon Him, because He knew it was God's will for Him. He never fought anything physically because His kingdom is not of this world! If it were of this world His disciples would have fought to protect Him. He never ordered His disciples to fight against anyone!
Paul said, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:21) However, we are to resist the devil. "...Your adversary the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith..." (1 Pe. 5:8-9) Jesus resisted all the evil with which the devil enticed Him. He did not participate in evil! He overcame all the temptations of the evil one!
We've all made mistakes; we've all been involved in wrong thinking. We all have to learn to think like Christ thinks if we want to grow up in the Spirit! God has given us the mind of Christ so we can learn to think like He does! The love He has poured into our hearts in the Holy Spirit comes from a spirit of non-resistance; we do not retaliate. Evil has its own destruction embedded in its actions!
We will now speak about the seed of which we were born again, and discuss what it is, where it comes from, and how it differs from other seeds. "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God." (1 Pe. 1:23) Then Peter contrasts the frailty of the flesh with the immortality of the word of the Lord. "For, `All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.' And this is the word which was preached to you." (vv.24-25) We have been born again of an incorruptible seed! But do we really believe it? If we do, we won't call ourselves sinners; nor will we be waiting to go to heaven. Being born of an incorruptible seed eventually results in bearing incorruptible fruit!
In 1 Cor. 15 it says that the seed does not look like the tree that grows from the seed; nor does it look like the flower and the fruit. It also says that every seed is given a body as God pleases. Every seed has a body. Not only are we born of incorruptible seed, but we also have a body. Whatever that seed births, that is what we are, and God gives it the body which He wants it to have. We have not been born without a body! We are not waiting to get one some day - we HAVE one!
Let me further explain this principle about the seed. In Matt. 13:37 Jesus begins to explain the parable He had just told them. "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man." When Jesus was on earth, He referred to Himself as the Son of Man. He mentions this approximately 30 times in Matthew alone. The term SON OF MAN is mentioned 61 times in Ezekiel, frequently in the gospels, once in Acts and once in Revelation. In John 3 Jesus said the Son of Man came down from heaven. Who is the Son of Man? This is a question I have asked people since 1956, and I have never found anyone who had a real concept of its meaning. Nor have I heard any preaching about the Son of Man. But we are a part of Him - even while we are living on earth.
The Son of Man sows the good seed. Since this seed is identified as GOOD SEED, obviously there must also be bad seed. In the same way, when Jesus said, "I am the true vine" it indicated that there is also a bad vine.
"And the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels." (vv.3-8-39) The harvest is the end of the age. At this time the fruit is gathered and the tares and the wheat are separated. The good and the bad seeds are easily identified at the time of harvest. This makes the separation of the two an easy task. Some are useful and some are weeds. The wheat and the tares represent the thoughts and words that come to us; some of them are true, and some have no truth in them. The fruit reveals the source!
It is quite pathetic that most Christians don't know the difference between the natural and the spiritual. To them this parable does not have any spiritual significance. It remains a parable of weeds and good grain to them. They do not realize that there is a practical application; they do not understand that the separation of the good and the bad goes on right within us! The Spirit of truth separates the tares from the wheat that grow within us; the truth that is in Christ does away with the lies and delusions of the enemy! So instead of a mixture, we have a true word, a true witness of God.
The field is the world - this does not refer to creation; the two are entirely different. Creation is the universe that God created, and world is a system of rule. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world...God so loved the world." James said, "Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (4:4) So you see, there is more than one world. According to 2 Peter 3, there are actually three worlds. These are different realms of rule.
This world's rule rules through the flesh. "...the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 Jn. 5:19) The seeds sown by the wicked one have their ill-effects on the whole world. Humanity is ruled by the flesh, and it has received the nature of satan. When does the end of the world come to us? When that rule is terminated by the rule of the kingdom of God in us, it spells the end of the world for us! That means it does not come for everyone at the same time; it comes to us individually. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. Without the Spirit of Christ we are none of His. In order to function in His kingdom we need the Spirit of Christ; those who do not have His Spirit are obviously against Him, so they are anti Christ. Merely talking about Jesus, the cross, the Bible, etc., does not make anyone a new creation in Christ. We can only become new creatures in Christ!
Paul said, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Cor. 13:5) If we do not recognize that Christ is in us, we fail the test and are reprobate. Christ in us is our hope of glory! Jesus said, "...but take courage; I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16:33) He overcame the world by the rule of God's Spirit within Him! And that is the only way we can be overcomers as well!
In Romans 9:5 Paul writes, "Whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." In the previous verses Paul talked about Israel, and how he wished they would come into truth! The Israelites saw everything from the natural viewpoint. They couldn't see spiritually! They did not understand that we shall no longer know Christ according to the flesh! (2 Cor. 5:16) Then how can we know Him? We are to know Him by His revelation of Himself by the Spirit!
"But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel." (Rom. 9:6) If all these wonderful promises were for natural Israel, yet had not been fulfilled in everyone, it would seem that God's word had failed; that it had not produced what God said it would. But the problem is not with God's word; it is with us. We did not understand that He was speaking about spiritual Israel, the descendants of Abraham who are people of faith. Not everyone of natural Jewish descent is a Jew; a Jew is one who is one inwardly - one whose heart is circumcised. Circumcision of the flesh has no spiritual value.
"Neither are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: `through Isaac your descendants will be named.'" (v.7) In John 8 Jesus clarifies this by telling some Jews that they were Abraham's natural offspring, but Abraham was not their father because they did not have Abraham's nature; their nature had been fathered by the devil! Jesus made a distinction between the natural seed of Abraham and the spiritual seed. In v.44 He very directly told those who were opposing Him that they were of their father the devil. Their opposition and rejection of Him had been preceded by antichrist thoughts.
"Through Isaac your descendants will be named." Isaac was the son who was promised to Abraham, and he was born miraculously. Even as Isaac was the child of promise, so we who believe are children of promise! Many confirming types and shadows bear witness to this. The seed is named through people of faith. "That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants." (v.8) Those who are generated according to the flesh are not children of God. That is, we cannot pass our salvation on to our children. Only the children who are born of the promise, the promised Holy Spirit, are the children of the seed.
"For this is a word of promise: `At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.'" (v.9) That is what happened. Isaac is a type of sonship, because he was not born of human ability. Abraham received the promise that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed! We know that Jesus was a descendant of the Davidic line of the tribe of Judah, and fulfilled all the prophecies in the natural sense.
In Galatians we read some interesting things on this subject. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, `Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree' - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (3:13-14) The pouring out of the Spirit is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham! After Abraham did not withhold his son from God, God promised to bless him and multiply his descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore. (Gen. 22:17)
"Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, `And to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, `And to your seed,' that is, Christ." (Gal. 3:16) This is an important truth. The seed is Christ, and the promises were given to Christ. So everyone who is born of Christ, is born of that seed. Thus we are all sons - yet in a sense, we are one son. Although we are many, we are one body. This is not a body of flesh; we are the body of Christ, the body of the Anointed One! So Christ is the Seed that came into the earth, to bear spiritual fruit! It is no longer according to the flesh. The children of the flesh are not the sons of God.
In the parable of the sower, seeds are mentioned. Just as there are different kinds of seeds in the natural, so there are different kinds of spiritual seeds. With the right environment seeds germinate, so they must have dormant life within them before they are planted. Each seed produces plants according to its kind - an acorn produces a tree, and a grain of wheat produces wheat. Seeds can lie dormant for ages, yet still germinate when given the right environment. This was proven when some grain, found beside some old Egyptian mummies, was planted and it sprouted and grew! But natural seeds are simply types which help us to understand the parable of the sower in Matt. 13, and its spiritual implications.
The seed fell in four different places. In the first place where it fell, it was snatched away; in the second and third places, it didn't bear fruit. Only on the good ground did the seed grow up to bear fruit. Three out of four times it didn't bear any fruit. These seeds represent spiritual thoughts or understanding that come to us in Christ. These words bear fruit on levels of 30, 60 or a 100-fold. For example, if our concepts or understanding of the cross, Christ, heaven, and the natural and the spiritual, are deepened time after time, those words are bearing fruit. To further explain this, let's look at the word heaven. At first we thought it was a geographical place up in the sky somewhere. Then we heard a word, and began to see that it is a spiritual dwelling place. Gradually our understanding of heaven was enlarged or deepened through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. As we receive what the Spirit is teaching us, the word is bearing fruit.
The appearance of the seed differs from the appearance of its body. For example, an apple seed does not look like an apple. God gives every seed its own body as it pleases Him. The word is the seed, and the Spirit that waters the seed is the water of life. It generates the seed to bear the fruit of Christ. It is a repeat of the Christ!
"My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you." (Gal. 4:19) There are many scriptures that deal with suffering. We don't enjoy sufferings, but they are necessary for Christ to be formed in us. When the Christ is birthed in us we are happy. Jesus said, "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed" (pressed - Concordant) "I am until it is accomplished." (Luke 12:50) Getting rid of old thoughts and giving birth to new thoughts is not easy. The Word of God being formed in us as a conscious spiritual realization is the work of Christ. It is a process - it doesn't just happen suddenly.
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus...So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ...And faith is the substance of things hoped for." (Gal. 3:26; Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:1) It is not the hope - it is the substance or assurance of what is hoped for! If we have faith for the things we hope for, we have the substance; we have the assurance! If we hope for righteousness, we now have the substance of righteousness in the faith that is in us. The substance is the reality.
I would like you to understand that the word of God is the reality. Whatever God creates is not as great as the word that made it. The builder of the house is greater than the house. In Hebrews 11:3 it states that the things that are seen are made of things that are unseen. The reality of life, of God, of Christ and you - this whole new creation - is greater than the seen creation, because everything visible was made from the invisible. The greater reality, the greater truth is in the invisible.
Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." (Jn. 20:29) Those who only live by their sense knowledge and the teachings of people, have not yet reached that realm of living in the unseen, of living by faith, because faith is not necessary for the things we already have or see. Faith is only necessary for the things we do not see. When someone is healed, we don't see the faith that brought the healing into being.
"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22) Believing this does not come automatically; in fact, most people don't even believe they are dead in Adam; they think this only refers to the death of their physical body. But in Adam everyone is dead spiritually. This is an absolute! IN ADAM ALL DIE! But IN CHRIST ALL ARE MADE ALIVE! Everyone is raised from the death in Adam and resurrected into the life in Christ. We are not made alive BY Christ historically; that would mean that we would still be two separate entities. The natural man is not raised into life - he has to die! We are made alive IN Christ. And Christ is the Word of God - the consciousness of God which we receive in our spirit when the Holy Spirit resides in us. When He is IN us, He is our Lord, and He speaks to us! We are one in Him!
"But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming" (correct translation: in His presence). (v.23) There are only two corporate men: Adam and the Son of Man. Every individual is either in one or the other. We are called and chosen and come into spiritual realization individually. But in this passage Paul is speaking of the two corporate men. This becomes evident in v.21. "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead." A MAN does not refer to a group of people, but to ONE. The Adamic man minds or obeys the flesh. Since the natural man cannot receive spiritual understanding, he is separated from God in his consciousness. Redemption brings understanding and submission to the Spirit.
Jesus demonstrated that. For 30 years He lived under the law. During that time no one got angry at Him, no one rejected Him, etc. But after He was baptized in the Jordan River and the Holy Spirit came on Him, God witnessed from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son." After the heavens were opened to Jesus, He received spiritual realization. This caused people's attitude toward Him to change, for their natural minds could not grasp spiritual realities. Therefore they rejected His spiritual witness!
After this His ministry of preaching the gospel of the kingdom began. This gospel does not deal with being saved and going to heaven after one dies. The gospel of the kingdom brings us the good news that we will no longer be ruled by the flesh, but by God! When He rules us, we enter into a life which has no death in it. So we will never die! This does not refer to our flesh, but to the immortality of our consciousness!
After Jesus received the Holy Spirit, He showed us how we should live today. I am not saying that we should be doing all the miracles He did, because Jesus has the pre-eminence over all of us, for He is the Head and we are the body. I am referring to submitting ourselves to Him in whatever way He wants to use us! He has also shown us what our testimony should consist of. We were sinners, but now we are children of God. We do not testify to still being sinners who are saved by grace, and going to heaven some day. Can you imagine sinners entering heaven? That would surely pollute it quickly! We are now the sons of God in this earth, even while we are living in this tabernacle of clay! We are being sustained by the substance of faith that has come to us by the Spirit. Our thinking is now being redeemed so that we may give a true testimony of what the gospel is and how Christ comes to us. This is being a true witness of Christ.
Paul said, "My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you." (Gal. 4:19) Christ comes as the Word of God, and He is then formed in us. "But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's..." (1 Cor. 15:23) A first fruit is someone who has grown from a seed into maturity and is bearing fruit! Christ is the first fruits. In v.20 it says that He is the first fruits of those who were asleep. What sleep? He is the first fruits of those who were sleeping in Adam. The sleep of Adam consists of the lack of true spiritual realization and ignorance in natural man. Although man is physically alive, he is unconscious of spiritual truth. Christ was the first one to receive sonship in the Spirit! Since He was the first fruits of those who were asleep, it is also for us! Even though He was the Son of God, He took on flesh. Now the Spirit of the Son has come into our hearts. (Gal. 4:6)
In the days of Jesus, people speculated as to His identity. They had many ideas, even as people do today. There were also various answers, just as there are today. Because there are so many ideas of Christ, we have many denominations. When Jesus asked His disciples what they thought, Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matt. 16:16) CHRIST and ANOINTED ONE, are translated from the same Greek word. MESSIAH is the Hebrew equivalent. Peter's answer was correct because that understanding had not come from flesh and blood; the Father in heaven had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God! God is the only one who can reveal Him to us, because He is the only one who knows Him! Only as God reveals Him to us can we get to know Him!
How did this revelation affect Peter's life? At that time it didn't seem to make any difference. When Jesus was taken into the judgment hall, Peter stood by the fire warming himself. Upon being asked if he knew Jesus, he even cursed and swore that he did not know the man! How could Peter deny Him after he had received revelation knowledge from the Father? The answer is simple; at that time Peter was still an unregenerate Adamic man who had been called by Christ. But he had not yet received the Holy Spirit (the Christ or the Anointing; the Word of God and the Spirit are one). Jesus Christ is the Word of God!
Instead of recognizing the ONENESS of God, we have been dividing Him. There are many teachings about so many steps to salvation, to freedom, to getting one's prayers answered, etc. The fact is that God is ONE, and every manifestation of who He is - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Word, Jesus - are all manifestations of ONE God. Care must be taken not to divide Him. Too many hear like Peter did; they only hear with their natural mind. They read and say that Jesus is the Son of God, and like Peter, deny Him when the crunch comes. We cannot live the life of God unless the seed of the Word has taken root in us. When we hear the Holy Spirit, He brings this word into life and fruitfulness. This results in Christ, the Son of God, being formed in us. There is no question about Christ being the Son of God! When Jesus received the Holy Spirit at the Jordan, God spoke to Him from heaven and said, "This is My Son." Christ and the Son of God are identified as one. (Matt. 16:16) And they always will be, because they are one!
In the parable of the tares Jesus said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man...and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom..." (Matt. 13:37--38) Notice the identification! The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the good seed - these are the sons of the kingdom! We become sons of the kingdom through the Son of Man! And He came down from heaven! (John 3)
The word MAN in the scriptures means an image of God. It does not refer to the fleshly body. It refers to our representation of God while we are in a physical body. We have an earthy man, Adam, and a spiritual man, the Son of Man. Until Jesus came, the spiritual man was not ruling the flesh. In the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem those who were in bondage to the law, to sin and unworthiness. The law was not bad, but it could not give us righteousness. Jesus said, "I did not come to destroy the law; I came to fulfill it." The law is spiritual when it is fulfilled in Christ - not by self-effort. It's the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets us free from the law of sin and death. Jesus Christ is the Spirit of God. He is the Spirit of the law; He is the Spirit of adoption; He is the Spirit of the new man.
When we are raised from the dead, we come out of our Adamic consciousness and receive a new consciousness. We become a new creation, a new man - and Christ, the Son of Man, is being formed in us. At this present time we are being redeemed. That seed, which has been watered and nurtured by the Spirit, is maturing to bear a true testimony! Christ becomes our consciousness, our understanding, our wisdom, our redemption, and all things to us, because He is our life! Christ, the Anointing, was never born. He Himself is the Anointed One; He is the Spirit and the Anointing of the Spirit!
Jesus said, "Before Abraham was I Am." We say the Old Testament was before Christ. Actually Christ was first - He was before Abraham and before Adam. Even though people talk about B.C. - it is still a misnomer. The people who instituted the calendar did not understand that Christ is the Word of God, nor that He is the Son of God. Christ cannot be measured by years so there is no Before Christ.
In 1 Tim. 6:16 it says, "Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light;ÿwhom no man has seen or can see..." No man has ever seen Him. He lives in a light that no man can approach. That light refers to understanding - it does not refer to natural light.
As we look at how Jesus was birthed in Mary, we receive understanding of how Christ is born in us. Through the word of an angel, God gave Mary a marvellous promise! But she could not understand how it could come to pass, so she asked, "How is this going to happen? I don't know a man." She was then informed that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. That promise was watered by the Holy Spirit, and she brought forth a Son whom she called Jesus, in fulfillment to what she had been told.
After Jesus had lived under the law for 30 years, He approached the Jordan River and repented of living under the law. His repentance was not from sin, for He never sinned. People can repent from sin all their lives and still have it to overflowing. Repentance means an about turn; we have to turn from living in the Adamic consciousness - that earthy representation of God from which we received our natural sense of being - to living in a Christ-consciousness. In order to live in this we have to receive the Christ. At that time we become a new man, a new creature in Christ. We have a new life, a new spirit, a new mind, a new body and a new Father! We become children of God and mature into sons! And this happens now! Christ's coming into us IS His coming again - often referred to as His second coming! He does not come at the same time for everybody in this millenium nor in the next, nor ever.
Neither are the sons manifested at the same time. God alone can reveal the Son because He is hidden to the natural mind. And He only reveals the Son to whom He wills to reveal Him. God did not reveal Jesus to the world, so He is not going to reveal His sons to the world. He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (Jn. 15:18-19) The world hated Jesus, and it will also hate us.
We have been taught a perversion of the gospel. It has left people in sin and condemnation, with a false hope of Jesus coming down to earth as a person, reigning on this earth, correcting everything by instituting morality through the legal system, and by destroying people. He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it! We praise God that the Spirit of truth has taken us out of our false hope, and brought us into truth!
Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding. Amen.