A New Creation - God's Masterpiece


	A New Creation: God's Masterpiece By Joel M. Killion E-mail: joel@innerlifeministries.com Web-site: innerlifeministries.com

	PREFACE Galatians 6:15b, KJV: …What counts is a new creation. …A new nature is everything. (The 20th Century New Testament) …What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. (The Living Bible: Paraphrased (Kenneth Taylor)) …The only thing that counts is new creation! (The New English Bible) True Christianity is about becoming a “new creation;” this is what counts to the Lord. All that was lost by the Fall is now being restored. Adam’s initial relationship with God is being redeemed. But this “new creation” is about the formation of that which has never been before, not just the redemption of the old. “The new creation is for the purpose of revealing the Creator. He did not just come to change our thinking or our behavior - He came to live in us. True Christianity is a journey to intimate fellowship with our Father. If Christianity can be measured at all, it would have to be measured in relation to our intimacy with Him - how well are we abiding in the Vine.” (Rick Joyner) From beginning to end, the walk of the Christian is a process leading to a final end. As one man said, “Spiritual growth denotes change after change after change.” In other words, Salvation is progressive. One experience in Christ will never do it all for you. When we are “born again” we are not born automatically mature, but as newborn babes, we are launched into a new and wonderful voyage. “To be born is just the beginning of our life, and to be born again is but the first step of our spiritual life. When we are born again we become a part of the ‘new creation,’ which greatly transcends the original creation. Now we do not just have fellowship with God, but we have become His dwelling place. God does not just walk with us - He has come to live in us.” (Rick Joyner) But to believe this, we must first see it. Our vision - our perspective - must develop beyond where it is. Habakkuk 2:2-3, AMP: Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by. For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day. In Hosea 4:6 (AMP), the Lord says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” This “knowledge” is not just any knowledge; it is the intimate knowledge of God Himself that can only be received by revelation via personal experience (Hos. 4:1). This kind of “knowledge,” which should not be confused with mere factual information, is the seedbed of heavenly vision, which alone can keep you from perishing (Prov. 29:18). Those who “see” in “this way” - by, seeing as God sees - will automatically be equipped with a Divine vision that will carry them all the way to the finish line (Hos. 4: 6). Remember, if you are faithful to the vision, it will be faithful to you. “Wilt thou be made (become) whole?” (Jn. 5:6, KJV); this is an important question that we would do well to answer for ourselves. Do you want to be sound and healthy in your spirit, soul and body? (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). God has an ultimate purpose for you. Do you want to walk in it? Do you want to grow? Do you want to be and do all that He wants you to be and do? Do you want to increase from “glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3: 18, KJV), from “strength to strength” (Ps. 84:7, KJV) and “faith to faith” (Rom. 1:17, KJV)? Are you willing to be emptied from “vessel to vessel” (Jer. 48:11, KJV) until you’re perfect for the King and His use? (Esther 2:2-17) And if you aren’t, will you not descend from “evil to evil”? (Jer. 9:3, KJV) A wise man once said, “The Christian journey is bestrewn with many tempting parking places.” While this is immensely true, this short treatise is meant to keep us from giving into these subtle temptations. Of course, if we have the vision of God, we will not settle for second best anyway. R. T. Kendall says it like this: “The Christian Life is a continual series of events that lead us out of our comfort zones. These repeated transitions take us from the natural level to that of the Spirit. The Irony is that even the new level of the Spirit will eventually become another comfort zone to us. It too will have to be left behind in some sense…Paul Cain recommends that we first erect ‘no camping allowed” signs at each level of the Spirit to which we move. That will keep us from breaking out of the old mold…but then wanting to stay put at the next level. By doing so, the pioneer becomes a settler – something to which we have not been called” (Quoted from page 186 of The Sensitivity of the Spirit). Jesus said, “In my father’s house are many mansions (KJV) …many abiding places (American Bible Union Version) …many rooms (Goodspeed) …resting places (Rieu) …dwellings (The 20th Century N. T.)” (Jn. 14:2). In other words, “In My Father’s house are many placements, many levels.” Thus, there are many steps to the top. And as Beverly Sills once said, “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” The Seven Day process of the creation of heaven and earth provides us with a weighty, prophetic parallel to our individual growth in grace - wherein we individually move through seven degrees of spiritual development - thereby showing us “how” we progressively mount up from grace to grace into the higher realms of Christ Himself? (1 Jn. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:10). As Madam Guyon once wrote,“…It is very true that man is a little world, in whom everything that is done in the great universe is expressed as in epitome; but the reason we do not perceive it is, that we are not wholly penetrated with the light of Truth.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) The first seven days of human history can be paralleled to our gracious journey toward perfection in our spirit, soul and body (seven is the biblical number for perfection and completion). It would, therefore, be to our advantage to take a serious look at creation so that we can see where we were, are and will be in relation to the full in-working and out-working of God’s perfect will in our lives. In other words, if we take an honest look at where we are, individually with God, we will find ourselves somewhere in this “Genesis Progression.” However, for us to know exactly where we “really are,” we must first be willing to humbly endure an honest evaluation of our lives by the Holy Spirit through the magnifying glass of His Holy Word. Ephesians 2:10, KJV: …We are his workmanship… …We are his handiwork… (Henry Alford) …We are his design… (Ronald Knox) …He has made us… (Edgar J. Goodspeed) Those who are wholly submitted to the purposes of God are becoming His workmanship, His masterpiece. It is He Who works in us “both to will (His will) and to do (His work) of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13, KJV). The Master is forming a people who are taking on His image and likeness in every spiritual (inward) and practical (outward) sense. The masterpiece, therefore, finds its genesis in a piece of the Master. Christ, the Master-builder, is building a people of glory of which the half has not been told (1 Kings 10:7, KJV); those who have eyes to see and ears to hear are fully aware of this present operation. He, Who is the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega (end), is taking His faithful people from the starting line to the finish line…from birth to maturity…from babes to full-grown men (see Eccl. 11:10; 1 Cor. 14:2; Gal. 4:19; Eph. 4:11-16; Heb. 5:11-6:2; 1 Jn. 2:12-14). Let us take a verse-by-verse look at Genesis 1:1 through 2:3. This is by no means exhaustive; it’s simply a summary of the Christian trek. We will go “precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:13, KJV). We will allow the language and heart of Scripture to transform our mindset concerning “the path (walk) of life” (Ps. 16:11, KJV). As we go through this, you will find that there is a holy blueprint, a pattern from the Divine. [Note: As you read through this short commentary, you will notice that I have interspersed a number of excerpts from a commentary on Genesis which was written by a wonderful mystic named Madam Jeanne Guyon who lived from April 18, 1648 to June 9, 1717. As you will see, her insightful revelations - that were born from the deeply intimate relationship, which she shared with the Lord - will aid us tremendously as we seek to know the mind and heart of God on these matters.] Proverbs 15:24, ASV: To the wise the way of life (goeth) upward, that he may depart from Sheol [deaths] beneath. The Christian journey consists of ascending “…the secret places of the stairs” (Song 2:14, KJV), which is also called the “…secret place of the ascent…” (Young's Literal Translation). It is a constant rise and tread…rise and tread…rise and tread until all that we are becomes perfectly united to all that He is. Only God can do this (Zech. 4:6); at this very moment the Lord (by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus) is drawing us up and forward, while everything else (the law of sin and death) is pulling us back and down. But those who lean on the Lord in an endless dependence upon Him will be carried by Him into the heights of His realm of existence, where He lives, moves and has His being. Think of Jacob who, in a dream, “saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven” (Gen. 28:12, NIV). What a picture! It started in the earth (the lower earthly, dust realm of the First Adam) and ended in Heaven (the heavenly dwelling place of the Second Adam, Jesus). So imagine yourself ascending many flights of stairs. How fast are you going or are you even moving at all? Some take the steps and some take the escalator while others take the elevator. Some run and others walk while others are standing still. Which one are you? “There is a path” (Job 28:7-8, KJV); it is “the king’s high way” (Num. 21:22, KJV); it is “the way of holiness” (Isa. 35:8-9, KJV) - an over-pass for over-comers. It takes us out of Egypt (the earthly, worldly system of natural man) through the wilderness (the place of testing and trial) and into the Promised Land (our full inheritance and destiny in Christ). Are you on the path? Do you want to know where you are on the path? Can you see the Finish Line? If you can see it, you can have it! Now let us see…let us begin… DAY ONE Genesis 1:1, KJV: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. “In the beginning…” -- This is the start of everything…a new birth of sorts…born again “of water and of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:3-8, KJV)…“born after the Spirit” (Gal. 4:29, KJV)…born from above…born in Zion (Ps. 87:4-6; Isa. 66:8)…born of God (Jn. 1:13)…“not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet. 1:23, KJV). When we are born into the Kingdom of God through a new and living way, we are brought into that which is alive and not dead; therefore, our natural lives are swallowed up by His Life which opens our eyes and hearts like nothing else can so that we can live like no one else can. This is the first of our seven steps in God - “…He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world…having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself…” (Eph. 1:4-5, KJV). “In the beginning God…” -- This is the key…He is our beginning (Matt. 6:33) and He is our end and He is everything in between. He is the “one thing…” (Ps. 27:4, KJV). He is the sum and substance of our lives, through and through. Our hearts have been given over to the Him Who is the Lord and King of all things in heaven and on earth - He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” all at once without lives (Jn. 1:1; Rev. 1:8). This is the foundation (beginning) of our journey. “God created the heaven and the earth” -- According to Madam Jeanne Guyon, “This marks the two renewals that must be wrought out by penitence, the exterior and interior…As outward conversion must always depend on that of within - that is to say, on that of the heart and spirit, represented by the heaven - it is here said that God created the heaven and the earth. He begins by the heart and spirit [“the heaven”], then He reforms the outer [“the earth”]. The first stroke of conversion is made within. God creates this spirit, drawing it out of the horrible chaos where it lay; then He frees the body from sin. He gives this heart a secret proneness to be in Him who is, and without whom it can never exist; then He leads the exterior to quit the engagements that keep the heart in death and non-being, drawing it away from the sole and sovereign Being, to place it in created nothings.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) It is at this point, in the beginning of our Christian walk, that the Light lights the candle of our spirit- man (Gen. 20:27; Jn. 1:4, 9; 8:12). His life enters in and starts the resurrection process – raising us up (causing us to ascend) from the death of trespasses and sins. This is the true beginning of Divine, Kingdom salvation. But it does not stop there; again, the new birth is only the beginning (1 Pet. 1:3-5). As David Ravenhill once wrote, “We are not saved to stagnate. Conversion is not a goal; it is a gateway…The Christian life is meant to be progressive. Conversion is the starting place, not the stopping place…conversion is merely the beginning…” (Excerpt from For God’s Sake Grow Up by David Ravenhill) Genesis 1:2, KJV: And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. …The earth was waste and void… (American Standard Version) …A formless wasteland… (The New American Bible) …A shapeless, chaotic mass… (The Living Bible: Paraphrased) Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss. (The Message) This is how we are at “the beginning” - formless, shapeless and void of substance; like a newborn child we are helpless, weak and frail. Because of our previous life, which was lived “according to the course of this world”, our hearts know only deep darkness (Eph. 2:1-3, KJV). Nonetheless, while in this pitiful state, the Potter takes us, though we are just a lump of clay, and begins the process of formation without very lives. He, Who is the Source of Life, “moves” over our moral and spiritual decay and forms something out of nothing (Heb. 11:1, 3). The mighty tempestuous wind (breath) of God sweeps, stirs and flutters over us. He draws us out of our darkness (confusion), unto Himself and raises us up for His purposes (Jn. 6:44). He begins to frame our very lives with His Word (Heb. 11:3). In us He sees “treasures of darkness” (Isa. 45:3, KJV) and makes us “children of light” (Lk. 16:8; Jn. 12:36; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:5). He sees His potential in us and gradually brings it to the surface of our lives. “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” -- “The Spirit of God does not cease to move over the waters. What are these waters, if not the tears of penitence, over which grace rests, and is diffused in spite of the darkness of ignorance (which is the remains of sin), and the frightful vacuity of all good.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) Genesis 1:3-5, KJV: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were THE FIRST DAY. “And God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’” -- The Word of God is spoken out and heals all who “hear” the sound of His voice (Ps. 107:20). His Truth speaks light into our darkness, upholding, maintaining, guiding and propelling the universe of our lives by the great power of His Word (2 Sam. 22:29; Heb. 1:3). He goes into the deep recesses of our souls and illuminates everything, flipping the light switch (2 Cor. 4:6). In His Light we are en-light-ened (Ps.36:9). His Light helps us to see what must be done, what needs to be fixed and what needs to be altered. He brings a distinction within us between the light and the darkness in order to deliver us from an unholy mixture which can never please Him. He begins to show us the difference between what is of Him and what is not. He calls us into union with the Light and makes us to hate the darkness (Ps. 97:10; 101:3; 119:104,113, 128, 163; 139:20; Prov. 8:13). He crucifies, through His Cross, that part of us that loves to run and hide from His omniscient (all-knowing) gaze and omnipotent (all-powerful) hand. And He exalts the light, which He is in us (Col. 1:27) and calls it Day; He calls us “the children of the day” (1 Thess. 5:5, KJV) and assures us that, deep down inside, we are not of the night. He sees our heart and judges us righteously as our beloved Judge. Madam Guyon comments on verse one: “…The Word of God is an efficacious word. It is speech, and it is light. For created light is the expression of the Uncreated Word as the Uncreated Word is the source of the light communicated to the creature. This is why the Divine Word is called the splendor of the saints; for He is a word full of light shed abroad on them. Thus God, to create all things out of nothing has but to speak; for His speech is His Word, and His Word is His light. God speaks then in this new creature; and what is the first word He says to it? It is, ‘Let there be light’; and this word is no sooner spoken than ‘there is light’; this darkness of ignorance is changed into a light of truth, which increases little by little, as the rising sun disperses by degrees the darkness of night.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) “And God saw the light, that it was good” -- “…That is to say, that this light having emanated from Himself, and being mixed with no impurity of the creature, was good, and that it was working good effects in this new creature. For it is by its means that the new creature begins to discover its first cause, and to conceive the desire of returning to Him. Thus a light shed abroad in so obscure a place, discovers the place which it leaves – the ray manifesting itself, and at the same time the abode of its original.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) This “First Day” shows us Jesus as our Savior. He brings us up and out (Not just up and not just out, but “up” and “out” - Ex. 1:10; 3:8, 17; 33:1) of the miry clay and sets us up on His wheel (Jer. 18:1-6). Then the Potter makes that which seems good and pleasing to Himself. Through much time and patience, He skillfully works into our lives that which He sees in Himself, so that when He is done, He sees what He is. And why does He do this? Is it because He is egocentric? Absolutely not! He only wants to share, with those He loves, the blueprint of His “goodness” which has proven, since the very beginning, to be the best Life in all eternity. “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” -- These two verses reveal two spiritual classes of people who have inhabited the earth since the beginning of time: One is called “day” while the other is called “night.” Let’s take a deeper look at some other names for these two types of people (two kinds of “believers”): Light Darkness Life Death Born of the Spirit Born of the flesh Sheep Goats (Matt. 25:31-33) Wheat Tares (Matt. 13:24-30) Jews (spiritual) Gentiles (spiritual) Free Bond Christ Antichrist Isaac Ishmael (Gal. 4:22-31) The mark of the Lord The mark of the beast (Ex. 28:36-38; Ps. 37:37; Jer. 3:3; Ezek. 3:8; 9:1-6; Rev. 7:3; 9:4; 14:1; 22:4) New creation Man Old man Permanent Passing Imperishable Perishable Heavenly Man Earthy man (1 Cor. 15:45-49) Heavenly minded Earthly minded Man of the Spirit Man of dust Last Adam First Adam A life-giving Spirit A living soul Holy Nation Heathen Nation (Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9) Body of Christ Body of Anti-Christ These are synonymous terms to describe two spiritual nations in the earth. They are opposites of one another and can never be mixed - God Himself has separated the “day” from the “night.” Nevertheless, each group is maturing at the same time - the wheat and tares are growing up together. A corporate son of Christ is growing into full maturity beside a corporate son of Anti-Christ. This is the day of decision (Joel 3:14) for the Lord is now calling each of us to make a critical choice: “How long halt ye between two opinions?…A double minded man is unstable in all his ways…Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (1 Kings 18:21; James. 1:8; 4:8, KJV). “…Choose you this day whom you will serve…” (Josh. 24:15, KJV). The “day” of the Lord is increasing in its rule over the “night”. But the “night” (wickedness and carnality) must first be purged from those who are of the “day”. This is one of the purposes of the process that we must undergo through the Cross. “…The evening and the morning…” -- Here is a principle to remember: Every spiritual day begins with evening (night). Darkness always proceeds light. Death (to “self”) always proceeds life (in Christ). This is the modus operandi of God’s economy. Therefore, the old saying is true: It’s always darkest before the dawn. This principle alone has encouraged me during my many, morbid dark nights. But let us hear the Lord as He calls us to draw even closer… DAY TWO Genesis 1:6-8, KJV: And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were THE SECOND DAY. It is at this point that the Master Craftsmen begins to bring form to our formless void. He stretches us, expanding us into a shape, namely His shape. At this point, it is not quite clear what we shall “be” (1 Jn. 3:2, KJV). All we know is that God is speaking and something is happening. He is dividing deep waters from deep waters (Ps. 69:2, 14). Our hearts are being dealt with (Prov. 20:5) and something “good” is arising from within our hearts. “The days of penitence being passed, ‘God said, Let the firmament be made in the midst of the waters’ - as much as to say, Let the course of these tears be now stopped, let the heart and spirit be made firm, and let these first tendernesses be separated from the waters, which, although holy, are nevertheless procured by the sensible. Let these ‘waters be divided’ from those of my grace, so that they may be pure, and without mixture.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) Hebrews 4:12, AMP: For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12, the Living Bible: For whatever God says to us is full of living power: it is sharper than the sharpest dagger, cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts, exposing us for what we really are. Hebrews 4:12-13, the Message: God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it — no matter what. The Word makes the distinction, severing soul from spirit and spirit from soul. A deep, inward separation (division) begins between the heavenly (the waters above the firmament) and the earthly (the waters below the firmament), the righteous and the unrighteous, the light and the darkness (Col. 3: 1-3; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Phil. 3:20). “The ‘waters which are above the firmament’ are the waters of grace, all pure, clear, and spotless, which submerge and overflow the soul in such a manner, that they purify it in an abyss of delights. Then the waters of bitterness and grief are placed under, and the superior part, represented by the region above the firmament, finds itself plunged in a torrent of delights; whilst the lower part, the earth, is inundated with the waters of bitterness and grief. And it is these two waters thus divided – the day of consolation and the night of grief – that compose the second spiritual day, which is no other than the second period of the interior Christian.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) DAY THREE Genesis 1:9-13, KJV: And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place [separated], and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were THE THIRD DAY. Again, He speaks and something changes (Heb. 11:3). Everything under Heaven is being brought into alignment. He consolidates and organizes all things as He sees fit, according to His good will; for some, this is difficult to swallow, since many (like children) are deeply in-love with their own will but as the old saying goes, “Father knows best.” The waters (the depths of His Word) are moved and gathered “into one place” (separated) at His Word; as a result, the earth (our natural “self” life) becomes clearly seen. The water (the Word) is shifted into one place, while the land (the earthy, dusty, fleshly realm) is exposed. In this way, a distinction is again made between the holy and the profane (Isa. 5:20; Ezek. 22:26; 42:20; Mal. 3:18) and that which is holy is exalted above all. “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear” -- “These waters of bitterness and griefs which had spread over all the soul are gathered together into one place; they now retire to the limits marked out for them, and these limits surround the heart. Then what is dry appears, and the soul begins to enter into new regions which it had not yet discovered since its conversion. This is when the dry and arid is discovered, and is much more difficult to bear than the waters of bitterness For these waters, which before covered the earth, were still mingled with sweetness.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) It is clear there are three distinct parts to this new world: The earth, the sea and the heavens. It is from heaven that our great God forms the sea (the subjective heart) and the earth (the objective mind) within us, fashioning all things into that which matches His predeterminded pattern (Matt. 6:10; Heb. 8:5; 9:11; 1 Jn. 4:17). The Architect of our souls brings everything we are into alignment with everything He is (Lk. 11:2; Rom. 8:29-30; 2 Cor. 3:17-18; 1 Jn. 3:2), thereby making us one in all things in due time. “God called the dry land Earth” -- At this point, the dry land is given an identity by name. “This signifies, that it is only then [after the separation of water and land] that man begins to enter into the knowledge of himself, and of the vileness and baseness of his origin…the dry and arid must necessarily there be discovered; but this is done in a painful manner, because the waters of bitterness are there also, not to moisten and refresh as formerly, but to communicate their bitterness without any refreshment, except at certain moments when there falls a heavenly dew, which the sun of righteousness dries up almost immediately. Nevertheless this dew fortifies, sustains, and vivifies.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) “God saw that it was good” -- “This is said of all the preceding works - not only to teach us that all the works that God does alone, or without resistance on our part, are always good, and that nothing can be spoiled in His actions but by the mingling of the proprietary creature; but more, that each state or degree in which God places the soul possesses a goodness proper and peculiar to it; and that, nevertheless, all have their times and uses very different. For when God had created the waters, and they had spread over all the earth, He said that it was good. Shortly after, however, He changes things, and still says the same, that it is good. That which was good and necessary for one time becomes useless and dangerous for another. It is good for a time that this dry and arid earth be inundated by the waters of grace; but it is very good for another time that it be deprived of them, and that these waters retire into their place, without which their sojourn upon the earth would corrupt them, and hinder the earth from bearing any fruit. We see, then, the necessity there is of allowing God to operate in souls without mixing therewith the confused and precipitate action of the creature, which generally desires to retain the waters by efforts when God wills to withdraw them; or to dry them up of itself, before God does it, under pretext that the state is purer. Oh almighty hand of God! it is Thine to do all things by Thy Divine Word; Thou sayest, and it is done; Thy saying is doing, and all that Thou doest, Thou doest well. “We must then leave it to God to do; He will do it better than we. Oh poor creatures that we are! We believe ourselves able to do what God does, and often even to do it better than He. This is why we meddle with everything, and desire always to keep everything between our hands; but we never advance in anything; on the contrary, our eagerness hinders it from working. God performs His perfect works only upon nothingness, which does not resist Him.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) Once God has exposed the Earth, after having been covered by the water (His Word), it is then ready to be fruitful. James 5:7 (KJV) says that “…the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” If the earth is united to the Divine River, fruit will grow (Ezek. 47:1-12; Rev. 22:1-2). Likewise, if the Holy Spirit is Lord of all, thereby ruling as the prominent part, then the fruit of the Spirit will grow (Gal. 5:22-23). It is in Him that we live, move and have our being, for He is Life itself and in Him we have life (Jn. 6:35; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1-8; Acts 17:28). As we are united with Him (grafted into Him), we will bear fruit that is after “His kind” - “For it is only in God Himself, and in an eminent manner, that Jesus Christ is communicated and formed in us, which is called the mystic Incarnation” (Madam Guyon). As the Seed of His Word falls on the good ground of our hearts and takes root in our deepest parts, spirit and life will spring forth into a glorious harvest (Jn. 12:24). The likeness and image of that Seed, which is Christ, will come forth and sprinkle the nations (starting first within our imagi-nations and spreading outward to every other heathen nation). In and of ourselves, we are not responsible for this wonderful re-creation. None of it is done on account of our own fidelity. It is, therefore, necessary for us to understand two things: “The first is, that it is by the Word that everything is wrought in it, and that without Him is nothing made; therefore, God employs only His speech, which is nothing but His Word to operate all things; ‘He spake and it was done’…The second thing that this soul must learn is, that these operations of grace are not done by virtue of its merits, but rather with a view to our annihilation, as the divine Mary knew, when, relating to the mercies of God, she said, that they had been given, ‘because God had regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.’ He has looked upon its nothingness and this regard has produced in it the Word, the image of the Father, who is produced in us by His looking upon our nothingness; and in regarding us thus, He begets is us His Word, which is His speech, and in communicating this Word, it is given us to act from Him with speech alone.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) DAY FOUR Genesis 1:14-19, KJV: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were THE FOURTH DAY. “When the third day or degree of the interior is passed, God begins to produce in the soul a new state, which is the fourth step of the interior Christian. This is when the soul, in whom until now everything has passed as in darkness and obscurity, begins to receive the light and diverse interior illustrations.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) A great division comes with the creation of “light.” The darkness becomes darker and the Light becomes lighter – an even clearer distinction is once again made within our lives. The Light, which is Christ, produces many lights (“stars”) within us. He actually discloses the “lights” that have always been there but have lain dormant since the fall of Adam. With this light comes a greater enlightenment (1 Sam. 14:27; Eph. 1:18). This is when we begin to understand and discern the spiritual climate, even the signs of the times (Matt. 16:3). A spiritual, internal clock is wound-up within our hearts. Our eyes are opened to see a different world via a transformed perspective. The Spirit-led (en-light-ened) life is, at this point, birthed and fertilized (Rom. 8:14). This “fourth day” sees the creation of several distinct “lights,” which when compared to the first day, where God said, “Let there be light,” is seen as two special operations: The first day brings the light of salvation while the light(s) of the fourth day brings the light of discernable revelation(s). “The difference between the light of the day (i.e. the sun), that is to say, the most luminous state, and that of the night (i.e. the stars and the moon), is, that by the former, objects are better discerned, whilst it itself is less distinct...This is one of the most important points in the spiritual life; for if the soul is not instructed as to the difference between these two lights, it stops at the latter even to death, and never enters into the open day of faith, where truth is manifested without error or deceit.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) Also, on another note, these “lights” can have a profound impact on our “natural” (earthly) life. To begin with, notice the contrast between the spiritual light (of the “New Birth”) in Genesis 1:3-5 with the natural light of verses 14-18; this reveals an important Kingdom principle: First the spiritual (internal), then the natural (external) - this is God’s eternal order. Personally speaking, if we apply this to our own lives, we can see why God always works from the inside out, dealing first with the heart for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. The Spirit first moves (broods over the depths of our heart) to make alive the indwelling light (through the “New Birth”) while there is yet darkness (sin, sickness, poverty and death) on the outside. But, there is a condition to this spiritual law, which must be met: Those who surrender the entirety of their lives to the development of this inner light will find that it sooner or later “breaks out” upon their earth, into their human soul and then into their physical body. As a result, His peace (His wholeness, His perfection and His soundness) overshadows their frail mortality and transforms their whole life, through and through, until His Life, and eventually immortality itself, is all that flows through their veins (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:53; 1 Thess. 5:23). In addition, since these “two great lights” are formed in our hearts - “the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” - so that the Light rules even in the midst of the night, it is, at this point, that we begin to learn what it really means to be an overcomer in the midst of opposition. By this, He shows us, in no uncertain terms, that He is still strong when we are without strength. When we feel down and out and at the end of our rope (even below the bottom of the barrel) He is still the Light that rules over the night. And He shows us, through an ever-increasing experience, that even unlimited darkness can never dispel an ounce of His Light, no matter what our “senses” tell us. But this understanding must be grasped by a pure revelation in the heart if it is ever to become the source of our peace and joy; a mere mental ascent to these truths will never cause them to “work in the dirt” of lives. So it thus requires that we be tested through much tribulation in order for them to become a component of who we are. “God saw that it was good - that is to say, the advantage the soul derives from His conduct, which makes Him terminate this fourth day or degree, to cause it to pass into another. If the soul was faithful, would it not go on its way until it arrived at the seventh day, the rest of God in Himself?” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) DAY FIVE Genesis 1:20-23, KJV: And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were THE FIFTH DAY. Once a distinction (separation) has been made between the earth, the seas and the heavens (in the 4th Day), Life can then be multiplied, which reveals an important Kingdom principle: Separation always precedes multiplication. The reason for this is that Christ will not personally reproduce that which is unworthy of His blessing; He will only approve what is “good” in His sight (“…And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply…”). In “the Fifth Day,” the waters (the Word - Eph. 5:26) yield Life. Living creatures (Ezek. 1; 3:13), those things that have (possess) life, are produced and “abundantly” (Eph. 3:20) fill the sea of our humanity; in other words, the Word becomes flesh. The many Life-giving qualities of God (His “creatures”) begin to fill the inner depths of our being (the “sea”); the manifold grace (1 Pet. 4:10), mercy (Neh. 9:19, 27) and wisdom (Eph. 3:10) of God fills the deep, inward part of our hearts and minds. Psalm 104:24, KJV: O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. In “the Fifth Day,” the high and lofty realms of our mind (“the open firmament of heaven”) are filled with heavenly thoughts (“winged fowl” - see Col. 3:1-3). The Life of Christ’s mind (1 Cor. 2:16) flies into our consciousness and brings transformation; a veritable paradigm shift. His thoughts become our thoughts - His mind becomes ours. “…God creates in the bottom of the heart, or rather the highest point of the spirit, birds which fly in the consecrated airs of Divinity. These birds are sublime and elevated conceptions…” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) It is at this point that we begin to “fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven,” in an open heaven (Mk. 1:10; Acts 7:56). No, this is not natural, but super-natural. The spiritual man defies and utterly abolishes (Eph. 1:15) the pull of gravity to the earth (Isa. 40:31). The law of Life has made us free (Rom. 8:2). We hear a Voice in the realm of spirit saying, “Come up hither” and we answer with joy (Rev. 4:1). The Heaven-ward revelation is grasped by our hearts: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us…hath quickened us together with Christ…And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places (above the pettiness of the carnal realm) in (not just with) Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-6, KJV). Our Blessed Maker enables us, by the richness of His great love, to be with Him where He is (Jn. 12:26; 14:3; 17:24) above all power, authority and rule. He makes our feet like hinds’ feet (firm and stable) and sets us secure and confident upon the high places (the heights of the Secret Place of the Most High) (2 Sam. 22:34). As we abide within Him and view all things from His perspective, we become detached from every carnal law and ritual; the high-life of pure devotion is seen and experienced. And to this kind of heart Christ says, “…Be fertile and increase…” (Gen. 1:22, The Torah: The 5 Books of Moses). The Father’s nostrils are filled with the sweet savor of Christ-centered prayer, praise and worship (Song 2:12), bringing Divine fellowship to an all-time climax in the day of grace. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, KJV: And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless… (New International Version) May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit… (The Message) …Hallow you completely… (Rotherham) Hebrews 7:25, KJV: …He is able also to save them to the uttermost… …He is able to continue saving to the uttermost… (Helen Barrett Montgomery) …He is able to save absolutely… (The New English Bible) The living (“moving”) creatures fill “the seas” (“the waters” of our soul) and “the open firmament of the heavens” (of our spirit); He replaces our souls with His and fills our unholy spirit with His Holy Spirit. His Life resurrects us from one realm of glory to a higher realm of glory (1 Cor. 3:18) until we are completely whole in all things. As you can see, the entire course of spiritual development consists, very simply, of an ever-increasing ascent into the very Life of God Himself where He leads us into the complete salvation of our whole person (“to the uttermost”), spirit, soul and body. Thus, the nature and substance of our corruption (the curse and condemnation of spiritual and natural death) is replaced through the putting on of incorruption; our mortality puts on immortality (see 1 Cor. 15:53-54; 1 Pet. 1:23). For some, these things may be hard to comprehend but the process is not complete. (Great is the mystery of godliness) DAY SIX Genesis 1:24-31, KJV: And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were THE SIXTH DAY. Everything that God creates is good but in the eyes of God, the finished product of a new creation man is “very good”! “The Sixth Day” is the day of man’s creation (“…Let us make man…”) and ordination (“…Let them have dominion…”). Now, let’s re-read Genesis 1:26-27 in the Message: “God spoke: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature…God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female.’” When we read verse 24 - “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind” - we see that, at this point in “the Genesis Progression,” the “earth” (our natural life) is filled with the Life of God (“the living creature”); hence, what was once formless now has form in Christ. Since day one - the “First Day” - we have seen and experienced a God who truly delights (“good”) in bringing life to “the sea” (our natural souls) and “the earth” (our natural bodies - Divine healing, Divine health). But now, in “the Sixth Day,” we come face to face with One Who takes even more delight (“very good”) in forming us into His exact likeness and image (Divine Life), where we live even as He lives by walking in the Light as He is in the Light (Rom. 8:29-30; 2 Cor. 3:18). In short, the Lord receives great pleasure in joining Heaven to earth in us; He takes pleasure in making “…in Himself of twain (two worlds) one new man, so making peace” (bringing “rest,” Strong’s #1515) (Eph 2:15, KJV). Our Creator joins Himself to us and empowers us, making us to be fruitful, reflecting His very persona in the earth. “And God said, Let…man…have dominion…” -- When the nature of Christ is fully worked into a man or woman (“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”), they are automatically entrusted with the authority of the One they represent (“…and let them have dominion…”), based upon the level of their ability to be responsible. Thus, the quality of the “making” (“Let us make man”) of a son of God proportionately determines the degree of dominion given to that son; needless to say, the “making” (in the these 7 days of processing) is the most important part of all. Therefore, one is only entrusted with the level of power they can rightfully steward. So you see, there is a correlation between “the love of God,” which is the heart of His “image and likeness,” and “the power of the age to come.” But how does the correlation technically work? Well, the answer is very simple: His “ability” (His power) is inherent within His “nature.” Those who reach this degree of salvation will be consummately assigned power over “all flesh” for the purpose of giving eternal life to as many as they have been given (Jn. 17:2). But there is one condition: The Lord must first have complete dominion over the entire life of the one who is called to rule and reign with Him. In other words, “the husbandman…must be first partaker” (2 Tim. 2:6, KJV); those who are destined to rule must first be ruled. Nevertheless, those who do meet this condition will be made “…stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem” (1 Chron. 28:1, KJV). In Matthew 24:45, Jesus asked a profound question: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” The answer is - Those who have “faithfully” submitted themselves to the full dealings (“makings”) of God and have, therefore, been fashioned, within and without, into His exact image and likeness so that they are, in fact, “after his kind.” “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” -- “When man has arrived at this point, then the image of His God is truly renewed in Him; this image that had been spoiled and disfigured by sin is found perfectly re-established. What is this image of God? It is none other than Jesus Christ, who, being the living image of His Father, delights to retrace Himself in man, and to fully express Himself there. Thence we can see the design of the creation, and also that of the redemption. God, at the creation, made all things for man, but man He made for Himself. And as He created him after all the other creatures, as their crown and end; so there was only God before and after man, that he might tend to no other conclusion than Him. Man was the end of all the rest, but he had no other end than God. God then ‘created man in His image’ – that is to say, He retraced in him His image, which is His Son and Word, impressing upon him His Spirit; and as His delights were to dwell with the children of men, and His Son being the only object of His regards, seeing that He can take pleasure in no other than Him (for if He delights in some creature, it is only in His Son), it was necessary that, before taking man into His delights, He should make him ‘in His image’, imprinting upon him the character of His Word, without which He could not take pleasure in him. This was, then, the end of creation, to make images of the Word in all men, in whom the Divinity would be expressed, and who might represent it, as a spotless mirror represents the object exposed to it…I know that that image of God is graven so deeply in man that he can never lose it, although sin may cover it, and infinitely disfigure and sully it; and it is this that causes God’s sorrow for the loss of men, and which renders Him so desirous of their salvation. All that is wrought in the soul is but to discover and renew this image; and its restoration is no sooner achieved, than man is replaced in his state of innocence.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) As the image of Jesus Christ is perfectly revived within us, we become totally subservient to His power to the point that we not longer resist His will which so overwhelms our soul that we are not only cleansed of rebellion but of any and all repugnance toward His will. Everything that resides within our self-will is found no more, for we only “will” what He “wills” as His will has become our will. “…Be fruitful, and multiply…” -- Many things have been and are even now being multiplied in the earth and world – good, bad and ugly. However, the heart of God desires to see His image increased and spread throughout the earth and world through those who bear the image and likeness of His Word. And this must happen so that as He looks upon mankind, He finds no place that the impression of His Person has not been made. “Oh Grandeur! – Oh power of Jesus Christ in man, and of man in Jesus Christ, how admirable you are, but how little are you known! We all bear the name of Christians, and yet we are anything but that, since we do not know even what it is to be such. Christians, bearing the most beautiful name that ever was, learn to become Christians, and ye shall learn your greatness and your nobleness; you shall enter into a just ambition to do nothing unworthy of your birth. Oh chivalrous Christians, shedding so much blood for a false point of honor! If you would comprehend what it is to be Christians, how many lives would ye not give (if you had them) to preserve this glorious quality, and to do nothing unworthy of it? But, alas! People are ignorant…they stop only at the superficial, without fathoming its essential, and thus they lose advantages without end. Ah, man is created king, and he would be a king infinitely happy, if he would allow to be renewed in him the image of Jesus Christ.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’ s Commentary on Genesis) “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…” -- “…There is nothing better for man than to see in him the image of his God; nor more glorious for God, out of Himself, than to see Himself expressed in man.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) DAY SEVEN - THE END Genesis 2:1-3, KJV: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Now let’s re-read this passage in… The Message: Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail. By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done. The Septuagint: Thus were finished the heaven and the earth and all the arrangement of them. Knox (A translation from the Latin Vulgate): …And all the furniture of them. The Living Bible: Paraphrase: Now at last the heavens and the earth were successfully complete, with all that they contained. “The Seventh Day” is the day “it is finished.” The heavens (the spirit first) and the earth (the soul & body second) are “successfully completed.” In “six days,” with great patience and lovingkindness, God changes “our vile body [our lives, spirit, soul and body], that it may be fashioned [formed, created] like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:21, KJV). You see, this “creation,” is actually a progressive resurrection (revealing) of the Life of the Lord within our lives, where His “body” arises, over time, out from our lives, thereby swallowing up the former creation of our old selves. But this is not something that any man can do for only “the God of peace” can “make you perfect” (Heb. 13:20-21, KJV); only He can make you to “…stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12, KJV); only He can “perfect” that which concerns you (Ps. 138:8, AMP). It is only “in Him” - in our “Head” - that we (His Body) are “complete” (whole) (Col. 2:10, KJV). This is where our strength for the Seven-Day journey must come from - “Being confident of (strengthened by) this very thing, that he which hath begun (started) a good work in you will perform (finish) it…” (Phil. 1:6 KJV). This must be the source of our confidence, for while we are, without a doubt, unable to change ourselves in any way, shape or form, “he is able…to subdue all things unto himself” according to His will and purpose (Phil. 3:21, KJV). This is good news! He Who is the Alpha (Author) of our faith is also the Omega (Finisher) of our faith (Heb. 12:2; Rev 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13). And once He is finished (done) with His work (“His workmanship,” Eph. 2:10), He sits back and rests (Heb. 4:4), looking at what His hands have made. He abides in His Sabbath (Heb. 4:11) and gazes at His perfect creation. This is the day that He sanctifies as blessed because His work is done…ended…complete…“it is finished.” Madam Guyon adds some insight to these verses from her commentary on Genesis: “God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, because on this very day He had ceased to make all His work, absorbing the soul into Himself, into His divine life, where there is nothing now but repose…there is nothing now but to remain in this Divine repose in God Himself. There, the work is finished as to the agitation that carried it to its termination; but not as to the activity of enjoyment, which is continued in the repose, and which will endure eternally.” The path of the uncompromisingly righteous is as the shining light (the sun) that shines more and more, day by day, “morning by morning”, unto the perfect day (“the Seventh Day”) (Prov. 4:18; Isa. 50:4). But this kind of “perfection” is reserved for “the uncompromisingly righteous” as this “path” is not just any path; it is straight and narrow, contracted by pressure, leading to Life (Matt. 7:13-14; Lk. 13:22- 24). Those who walk with God on “His path” will grow more and more virtuous, in honor, glory, understanding (“light”) and power until the sun (Son) floods their lives with the full light of day where no “shadow” can survive (Song 2:17; Jam. 1:17; Ps. 23:4; 107:14 Isa. 9:2). “The Seventh Day” - according to the writer of Hebrews - speaks prophetically of “rest” for “God did rest the seventh day from all his works” (Heb. 4:4, KJV). But how does this consummately relate to us? Well, Hebrews 4:10 (AMP) holds the answer: “For he who has once entered [God’s] rest [the Seventh Day] also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors [natural efforts], just as God rested from those labors [efforts] peculiarly [particularly] His own. [Gen 2:2.]” Those who enter into the rest of God do so when they turn aside from every work (“human labor”) that is not “peculiarly” the Lord’s. Like Jesus, they only live as they see the Father living (“Divine labors”) and only do (in life and ministry) those things that please the Father (see John 5:19, 30; 8:18-19, 26-29, 38; 12:49-50; 14:10, 24, 31). This is the true rest of God - living the life of another - where we yoke ourselves to the Lord and work with Him in all things. “It is said that God finished his work. What was the fulfillment and perfection of all His works? It was the work of the perfect image of His Word, after which He rests in Himself, and causes the soul to rest in Him, where it remains hid with Jesus Christ, its divine original.” (From Madam Jeanne Guyon’s Commentary on Genesis) EPILOGUE God has “many things to say” that He wants to share with His beloved but He cannot because they are “dull of hearing.” He would love to make them teachers and imparters of His Eternal Word but He cannot because they have not grown up and thus need someone to teach them over again “the first principles of the oracles of God.” They cannot handle “strong meat” so they settle for and survive on “milk,” whether they know it or not. But these poor souls fail to understand that “one that useth milk is unskillful in the Word of Righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (see Heb. 5:11-14, KJV). Therefore, it would behoove us to “go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity.” And, “let us not again be laying the foundation…” for the first [foundational] principles are matters of which we “should have been fully aware…long, long ago” (see Heb. 6:1-2, AMP). This is very important as it shows the vital necessity of our personal spiritual growth. Those who do not “grow” are those who do not “change;” when it’s time to graduate from 5th grade to 6th grade or High School to College, they refuse because they are comfortable in their “sameness.” Therefore, when the “cloud” of God moves, they will not move with Him and will thus be “left behind” (Num. 9:16-23). But in the Kingdom of God, this is intolerable since “advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity” is a requirement. This reminds me of something I recently read by Rick Joyner: “When the Lord said ‘…Woe to those who nurse babes in those days’ (Matthew 24:19), I think this could be interpreted as ‘Woe to those who keep their people in immaturity in these days.’ Regardless of our own concepts or even what we have been taught, we will not all be the same in heaven. Scripture is clear that there are levels and positions in heaven, and we are establishing our eternal place and position right here. One of the most destructive deceptions in the church is that once you are saved there is nothing else to work for.” This confirms what Maximus said to Marcus Aurelius’ army in the opening scene of the movie Gladiator: “What we do here, echoes in eternity.” In other words, the choices we make in this life - good and bad alike - have the inherent capability to qualify us for eternal positions of honor or dishonor in the life to come. This is why the Lord is constantly calling His people, on every level of spiritual maturity, to “Come up higher” – so that they can live honorably in this life and the life to come. Now, for clarity, let’s re-read Hebrews 5:11 through 6:3 in the Message Bible: I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one – baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; Solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. So come on, let’ s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; Baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment.God helping us, we'll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it! Today, very few are maturing once they are “born again;” thus, they are stunted from the very beginning. Still others live the first year (or the first couple of years) of their spiritual life, over and over again, for the rest of their lives; therefore, while their physical bodies grow older and grayer, their spiritual lives remain young and feeble. This sad, repetitious cycle must be broken. It is time for the regular cycles of growth to be restored to normalcy within the Body of Christ so that “the Body” can come into the same proportions of its “Head;” until this happens, the “Head” will never be able to fully function as it should in the earth. In First John 2:12-14 (KJV), the apostle speaks to three classes of “Christian” - Can you identify them? I write unto you, little children…I write unto you, fathers…I write unto you, young men…I write unto you, little children…I have written unto you, fathers…I have written unto you, young men… Little children, young men and fathers; these are the three stages of growth - three levels of maturity. Concerning “little children” and “young men,” Ecclesiastes 11:10 (KJV) says, …Childhood (“little children”) and youth (“young men”) are vanity. …Youth and the dawn of life are vanity. (Revised Standard Version) If you are a child or youth in Christ, you are not “lost,” but it is all in vain if you do not grow up. In fact, if you are not growing, you are dying; like the old Japanese Proverb says, “When a bonsai stops growing, you know it's dead.” In an excerpt from his book “For God’s Sake GROW UP,” David Ravenhill relays a poignant thought: “Babyhood is a delightful thing; perpetual babyhood is deplorable. The perpetual spiritual infant is an embarrassment to God. God wants us rich in spiritual things. Unless we are grown-up in Christ, we will be a liability - childish and petty, wanting attention all the time, and wanting to be amused.” Here are some other quotes that are very compelling; take your time as you read through them – they are full of wisdom: “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” - Abraham Lincoln “The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.” - Thomas Henry Huxley “Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.” - Johann von Goethe “There was that law of life, so cruel and so just, that one must grow or else pay more for remaining the same.” - Norman Mailer “When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow.” - Anais Nin “Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.” - J.R.R. Tolkien Selah…Pause and think on these things. The following Scriptures are crystal clear…… 1 Corinthians 14:20, KJV: …Be not children…but…men. Galatians 4:3, KJV: Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. …When we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. (New International Version) Ephesians 4:14-15, KJV: …Be no more children…but…grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Galatians 4:19, KJV: My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ's life becomes visible in your lives? Like a mother in the pain of childbirth. (The Message) There is an apostolic burden in the hearts of an apostolic people crying out, travailing in pain, desiring that Christ be formed in His people, His little children and young men. Through many fathers in the faith, the Father is calling an immature church into full maturity. He is pouring out His grace (His power and favor) on a broken, contrite people who desire to grow in all things. He is enabling them with His strength so that they can endure to the end of their salvation (Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Mk. 13:13; 1 Pet. 1:9). “He destroys that He might build, for when He is about to rear His sacred temple in us, He first totally razes that vain and pompous edifice that human art and power had erected, and from its horrible ruins a new structure is formed by His power only” (Madam Guyon) How long is the process? Well, Israel was in the wilderness forty years while Jesus was in the wilderness forty days; the length of time is up to you. But here’s the key: “Christian maturity does not come with the passage of time, but by the right responses to the dealings of God.” - Paul Cain If the “right responses” are consistently exercised at every moment-of-decision (big and small alike), the same fruit will always sprout and progress will be made, without fail. But, like a well-trained Olympic athlete, we must be so focused on the prize, that we are willing to divorce ourselves from anything and everything that distracts, in any way, shape or form, from our purpose. Therefore, our thoughts, feelings and desires must be wholly obsessed with only those things that are entirely profitable for our spiritual development. If we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the Land. But if we refuse and rebel, we will be devoured (Isa. 1:19-20). Faith and obedience, therefore, are the keys to the fulfillment of the High Calling of the Seventh Day of Rest (Heb. 3:7-4:11; Phil. 3:8-14); those who “believe” do enter into Rest while those who do not believe, do not enter (Heb 4:3, 6). Understand, it is possible to cross the finish line of the Seventh Day on this side of Heaven, but it is only possible for the righteous according to Proverbs 11:31 (KJV): “The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth.” In Mark 10:29-30 (AMP), Jesus makes a remarkable statement that defies traditional thought: “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time - houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions - and in the age to come, eternal life.” Did you catch that? Jesus said that those who sacrifice all for Him will receive “a hundred times as much now in this time…and in the age to come.” This is contrary to popular religious thought since many put their inheritance off into the distant sweet-by-n-by. But the Word of God is clear: Those who sacrifice all for the Lord and His Gospel will come into all that Jesus purchased for them, in this life and the next. Those who “believe” will come into “the impossible.” Those who embrace the Cross of Christ will reach the “fullness” of the maturity of Christ in the earth (see Eph. 3:16-20; 4:11-16; Matt. 19:26; Mk. 14:26; Lk. 18:27; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 1:5). And, unlike man, God is faithful; what He starts, He finishes because He is thorough. Therefore, on the basis of this truth, Paul prayed, “…May the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless…” (1 Thess. 5:23, AMP). Again, the Lord is meticulous; He keeps His Word. He is not a man that He should lie for He watches over His Word to perform it. Thus, He doesn’t treat us like abused dogs by hanging steaks in our faces and then snatching them away. In her commentary on Genesis, Madam Guyon says that the Lord “takes man from the beginning of the road, and does not leave him for a moment until He has brought him with him into God, provided that we are willing wholly to abandon ourselves to His amiable conduct.” It is the mercy of God that shows us the end result but it is the grace (power, ability and might) of God that causes us to be saved “to the uttermost” (Heb. 7:25, KJV). Many believe it is impossible to become “just like Jesus,” and will fight to the death for their position, even though they claim to be “full Gospel;” and while, in one sense, they are right, since, “with man,” this is impossible; nevertheless, “with God,” nothing is impossible. Now may the God of peace and perfection, Who is the first and the last, Who has “seven horns” (all authority) and “seven eyes” (all vision), Who loves you more than anything, restore you to the soundness of His very own Life in Christ Jesus in “the Seventh Day” (Rev 5:6).