WE continue our study in the book Positional Truth by Miles Stanford, defining our Union with Christ and its implications for our daily walk. We’ve two chapters remaining in this section of the book, the one we are currently reviewing titled “Sins and Light” and one more dealing with “Sins and Confession.” Before we proceed to Sins & Light – Part 2, I’d like to us to recall briefly what we looked at in the opening of the current chapter.
OUR author is making the point, that from our initial birth into Christ there is a process where we are progressively taken out of ourselves and into the realities of our new position in Christ. He said in summary:
• The healthy babe in Christ begins well, whether or not he knows anything at all concerning his position.
• He feels that the Lord Jesus is very close to him and is leading him by the hand.
• He is filled with the joy of the Lord, and loves Him with all his heart.
• Although he is looking to the Lord Jesus, he is still self-centered because of ignorance regarding his position in Him.
• He is taken up mainly with what Christ has done, is doing, and will do for him; he is, in turn, seeking to live and work for the Lord.
• For the most part, he is emotionally motivated and therefore affected by his condition rather than his position.
FROM these points he continues in making an important “from condition to position” point:
Later, during the believer’s spiritual adolescence, the Lord begins His reversal of all this. The emphasis in the life is to be shifted from dwelling on what Christ has done to rejoicing in who, what and where He is [in Christ]; ……… to what he is in Christ and what He [Christ] is in the believer. From condition to position—“not I, but Christ. “
Of necessity, the transitional process from a condition-centered to a position-centered life is extremely painful. (Heb. 12:11)
WHEN we look at that last sentence, we should note that there are different ways to define and/or express this. We often hear the parlance “man-centered” vs. “God-centered” as we consider the focus or focal-point of Christian life. Then there is the “putting off the old man and putting on of the new” (Eph. 4:22-24). These various expressions are significant in a believer’s life as they come into a deeper understanding of the growth principle and its’ transitions. One of the fascinations I enjoy is watching children grow, especially as they navigate (most always unknowingly) through the many stages of their development. At times it can be unsettling for them, even confusing, as they learn “that there are others in the room;” that the world does not necessarily revolve around them; and learn that after all, a meaningful life lived out it is really “not about them!”
WE don’t generally enjoy change, changes can be quite frustrating or liberating, depending upon ones’ perspective and vision of what can be if embraced. There is a phrase, “that which doesn’t expand, contracts,” or put another way, “that which doesn’t grow, dies.” In this ATM, “iCulture” society we are living in (i-meaning instant everything), we need to be reminded that the struggles of life never really end, that they are very necessary for growth, and at times extremely painful. To this, our author is going to faithfully continue to point out this truth.
I’M convinced that all of life is a metaphor – thus the title of this blog, Lessons From The Garden. Every aspect of life, material and immaterial, reveals a spiritual reality if given appropriate consideration (Psa. 19:1-4). The author used the analogy of spiritual adolescence, and the realities encountered when that transition point occurs. I have been reminded of this difficulty of adolescence many times while watching my middle-school students interact with one another. I’m reminded of the difficult times of life watching my own children go through their own stage development; and how hard it was for me growing up when I learned the shocking reality that there was more to life then the puny little world that I thought revolved solely around me. You may remember the day of awaking reality when you “came to yourself” in that embarrassing moment of immaturity, only to discover it as a life expanded moment, realizing that indeed, there are others in the room, others more important than you. (Where did they come from? Were they there before? And why am I only now seeing them? Read Eph. 1:18ff)
I BELIEVE this is a great metaphor that our author is conveying here. It can be a painful but most blessed moment when we learn the lessons that take us out of ourselves into a greater reality. There is a higher ground that opens an infinite vista that transcends our mere self; significantly here called our Union in Christ, – our Position in Christ – and all the treasures hidden in Him.
Again, there are other dangers and pitfalls that remain along our path while we remain in the flesh. But our author is going to point those out as well. So think on this a little more for the moment, before we commence further into our continued reading.
IN the joy of the Lord,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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