LIVING FROM ABOVE: THE HIGHER LIFE
I pray you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and it was filled with peace, health, and laughter. Today’s blog is written to shed light on the struggles we have internally as we discern the many voices, emotions, and thoughts bombarding us each day.
Isaiah Chapter 55, verse 9 came to my heart this week, and I want to explore its meaning considering our relationship with our Father. The Lord said:
“For as the heavens are HIGHER than the earth, so are My ways HIGHER than your ways and My thoughts are HIGHER than your thoughts.
When I read this scripture, the word ‘higher’ means lofty, soar, and above everything else. So, the conclusion is that the way I see life and how I think about life and myself are different from God’s point of view. For me to walk with my Lord and understand His thoughts, I must be transformed or brought to the same place where He dwells to see all things from His perspective. Guess what? Those who put their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ have been brought HOME into the Kingdom of God where He lives!
Look at these scriptures from the Amplified Bible:
John 3:3 – Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, 2 who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
I Corinthians 15:2 – By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].
Galatians 3:26 – For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.
We are NEW, born again from above, recreated in Christ Jesus, seated in a heavenly place with Him. So, if this is true, why do I feel, think, or act evil, fleshly, or sinful? I am so glad you asked. This illustration below may help.
You may recall from our previous blogs we are created with three parts.
Spirit (NEW Man, perfect, complete, whole)
Soul (mind, will, emotions, personality – being renewed and brought into conformity with our New Man in Christ)
Body (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching – we will receive a new body when we leave this life).
We live in a body where Sin still dwells. Also, in trying to manage life without depending on or trusting God, we have learned many ways and techniques to get what we want and to control our environment, called the flesh. Moment by moment, we make choices with our mind and will whether we will get our answers and needs met from Christ our Life in the Kingdom of God or experience death when we turn to the flesh or Sin who rules in the Kingdom of Darkness.
In the Book of Colossians, Chapter 3 explains the illustration much clearer.
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ [to a NEW LIFE, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].
3 For you died [to this world], and your [NEW, REAL] life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, you will also appear with Him in glory.
5 So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].
6 Because of these [sinful] things the [divine] wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience [those who fail to listen and who routinely and obstinately disregard God’s precepts],
7 and in these [sinful things] you also once walked, when you were habitually living in them [without the knowledge of Christ].
8 But now rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene (abusive, filthy, vulgar) language from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices,
10 and have put on the NEW [spiritual] SELF who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the NEW SELF,
11 a renewal in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [nor between nations whether] barbarian or Scythian, [nor in status whether] slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction].
Because we have a NEW SELF/ NEW LIFE which is perfect, complete, and whole; with our wills, we can choose to live and abide in the pure love and life that is ours FOREVER in the Kingdom of God within us or live a defeated life riding an emotional rollercoaster… the choice is ours.
Enjoy Christ, Enjoy Life!
COMING SOON – One of the greatest enemies to keep us from experiencing the fullness of Christ’s life in the Kingdom of God within us is not “Sin” but the flesh. In our following blogs, we will expose the monster we created to ward off rejection and fear to get our needs met instead of receiving and resting in God’s love for us. It’s going to be eye opening.