The Nature of Christ

Galatians 5:16-18 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Have You Received The Nature Of Christ?

When the early Church began to grow, and Peter along with the other Apostles went out with the glorious Gospel of Christ, the Church reached out to the Jews, but spent little reaching to the Gentiles. All preaching was on Solomon’s Porch in Jerusalem. All of the Gospel was shared where it was comfortable. We all have that problem within us. We like to stay with the familiar.

It is true that on the Day of Pentecost that God gave Peter and the Apostles the ability to speak in other languages so as to share the Gospel. But the Bible tells us that these people that heard the Gospel on Pentecost were jews:

Acts 2:5 (ESV) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem JEWS, DEVOUT MEN FROM EVERY NATION under heaven.

These were Jews, not Gentiles. These were Jews who had been living in other countries so long that they had adopted the language of those countries. God gave the 120 from the upper room the ability to share the Gospel in the language these Jews were speaking:

Acts 2:6-8 (ESV) And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that WE HEAR, EACH OF US IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE?

The Holy Spirit empowered the 120 to preach the Gospel. The barriers that God erected at the Tower of Babel were removed – temporarily – so the Gospel could go forth. But listen – the Gospel was being preached to the Jews, not the Gentiles. The languages that they were preaching the Gospel in was the language of “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, Cretans and Arabians” (Acts 2:9-11). Could Gentiles have been hearing the Gospel? Certainly, but the target was the Jews. Though Phillip did witness to the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:27-39), the target audience of the Gospel was the Jews, not the Gentiles.

Then God sent Peter to Cornelius, a Centurion of the Italian Cohort. Cornelius was a man saved by Grace. Though a Gentile, he feared God, gave generously, and prayed continually to God (Acts 10:2). God sent Peter to Cornelius. Peter said,

Acts 10:28 (ESV) And {Peter} said to {Cornelius, and those Gentiles with him}, You yourselves know how UNLAWFUL IT IS FOR A JEW TO ASSOCIATE WITH OR TO VISIT ANYONE OF ANOTHER NATION, but GOD HAS SHOWN ME that I should not call any person common or unclean.

Peter and the Jewish Church did not reach out to the Gentiles, because the Pharisees had so twisted the Law of God that he had been taught that it was UNLAWFUL to reach out to the Gentiles.

It was never UNLAWFUL to reach out to the Gentiles. God told Israel:

Isaiah 60:3 (NKJV) The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Yet Israel had allowed religion to twist the Law. They were NOT the Light of the World. But God corrected this. He sent Peter to Cornelius, and Peter shared the Gospel of salvation with Cornelius and his household:

Acts 10:34-36 (ESV) So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY, 35 but in EVERY NATION anyone who FEARS HIM and DOES WHAT IS RIGHT IS ACCEPTABLE TO HIM. 36 As for the Word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all).

Peter shared the Whole Gospel with Cornelius and his household, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah sent from God. The Bible says that as Peter ended with his presentation,

Acts 10:44-47 (ESV) While Peter was still saying these things, THE HOLY SPIRIT FELL ON ALL WHO HEARD THE WORD. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS POURED OUT even on the Gentiles. 46 For THEY WERE HEARING THEM SPEAK IN TONGUES AND EXTOL GOD. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT just as we have?

On the Day of Pentecost, the 120 were enabled by God to speak the Gospel and glorify God in other earth languages. In order to teach Peter, the Lord enabled the Gentiles to speak probably Aramaic or Hebrew, languages that Peter and the other Jews would understand. It was not gibberish, because they were “SPEAKING IN TONGUES AND EXTOLLING OR GLORIFYING GOD”. It was evident that the Holy Spirit did this. He was present, and had imparted the same God given ability to the Gentiles in the home of Cornelius that He gave to the 120 on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible tells us that:

“The Holy Spirit fell on them”
“The gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on them”
“They received the Holy Spirit”

Beloved, the Holy Spirit MUST come to you, and MUST work in your life if you are indeed saved. I’m not talking about the Gift of Tongues. When the Holy Spirit comes to you,

You are INDWELT of the Spirit (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
You are BORN AGAIN of the Spirit (John 3:3-7)
You are SEALED of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
You are ASSISTED IN PRAYER by the Spirit (Jude 20)
You are EMPOWERED by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
You are GIFTED by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4)
You become the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit (Ephesians 2:10)

Being the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit means to WALK in the Spirit. A non-believer cannot walk in the Spirit.

I was talking to a fellow today who stopped by my office, and told me how he went to a Church that relied heavily on symbology – lighting of candles, etc. This fellow was impressed by all the pageantry that he saw. Many “churches” practice smoke and mirrors, chants and incantation, worship of leaders (Popes, Cardinals, etc), but this is not walking in the Spirit. Other “churches” practice “speaking in tongues”, something not tied to the proclamation of the Gospel nor earthly languages. That is not walking in the Spirit.

To walk in the Spirit is the normal way of life for the born again believer. Walking in the Spirit is the fulfillment of what God promised Israel as the New Covenant. God told His people:

Ezekiel 11:19-21 (NKJV) Then I will give them one heart, and I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN THEM, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and GIVE THEM A HEART OF FLESH, 20 that they may WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND KEEP MY JUDGMENTS, AND DO THEM; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But [as for those] whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

And again,

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NKJV) I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH. 27 I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU, AND CAUSE YOU TO WALK IN MY STATUTES, and you will keep My judgments and do [them].

God called this “the NEW COVENANT” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is Jesus Christ Who brought us the New Covenant. At the Lord’s Table Jesus took the Cup and said:

Matthew 26:28 (NKJV) For this is MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:24 (NKJV) And He said to them, This is MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, which is shed for many.

Those who are born again are:

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NKJV) who also made us sufficient as MINISTERS OF THE NEW COVENANT, NOT OF THE LETTER BUT OF THE SPIRIT; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

We share the Gospel of Christ, the fact that Christ suffered and died for all. We share what Jesus shared, “REPENT, for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus preached:

Mark 1:15 (NKJV) … The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.

Faith in Jesus Christ leads us out of Egypt, and into the Christian way of life.

If You Have Not Walked OUT Of Egypt,
You Cannot Walk IN The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-17 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

To “Walk in the Spirit” has nothing to do with
speaking in tongues.

It has to do with WHO you are walking with. The world walks in darkness. The world walks in the flesh. The world walks with a heart of stone to God, satisfying itself. It walks with an eye to satisfying SELF without regard to God. The Bible says:

Proverbs 4:19 (NKJV) THE WAY OF THE WICKED IS LIKE DARKNESS; They do not know what makes them stumble.

The lost think their way is right. They “LEAVE THE PATHS OF UPRIGHTNESS to WALK IN THE WAYS OF DARKNESS” (Proverbs 2:13). When Jesus came into the world, how did He come? Herod sought to kill Him, and killed many babies in Bethlehem. The Pharisees plotted to kill Him. The Chief Priests and religious crowd hated Him. Why? Jesus said:

John 3:19-21 (ESV) … Light has come into the world, and PEOPLE LOVED THE DARKNESS rather than the light because THEIR WORKS WERE EVIL. 20 For EVERYONE WHO DOES WICKED THINGS HATES THE LIGHT and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But WHOEVER DOES WHAT IS TRUE comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Illustrate: Those who are Christ’s have received the nature of Christ. I’ve seen junk yards, and in those junk yards people have cast off all manner of things to be recycled. In junkyards they have these large electromagnets that pass over scraps. If it is metal like iron or steel, the magnet will draw it up, and that which is unsuitable will fall to the earth. That which has the same nature as the magnet will RISE UP and be SEPARATE. This is a picture of the believer in Christ. The believer in Christ is well acquainted with the Holy Spirit. The believer is INDWELT, BORN AGAIN, SEALED, ASSISTED IN PRAYER, EMPOWERED and GIFTED by the Spirit. The believer is the WORKMANSHIP of the Spirit. God passes over the believer’s life each day. Though we may stumble, though we may fail at times, falling under the flesh, the Holy Spirit like a magnet will draw us back to God.

I know, because I’ve fallen many times. Yet even when fallen, the Spirit like a magnet draws me back toward God.

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, WALK IN THE SPIRIT, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

When you are BORN AGAIN, your nature changes. You are not as you were. This is the intent of what Jesus did on the Cross.

Romans 8:1-9 (ESV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the Law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

When you come to Christ repenting and receiving Him, the Holy Spirit sets you free from the Law of Moses, and Indwells you. Now the Law of God is written in your hearts. The Christ follower does not live according to the flesh, according to what WE want, but according to the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible tells us that “THOSE WHO ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD”. But we who believe are not in the flesh. We are “IN THE SPIRIT, IF IN FACT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU”. If the Spirit of God does not indwell you, then you are NOT SAVED.

The Bible is clear, though. We are under the Law of God, or we are under the Spirit of God. The word “LAW” appears 498 times in the Scripture. The LAW of Moses cannot make us right with God. That was not the Law’s intent. The Bible says:

Romans 3:28 (ESV) For we hold that ONE IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH APART FROM WORKS OF THE LAW.

The animal sacrifices, the Levitical Priesthood, the Holy of Holies in the Temple could not justify you, make you right with God. The sacrifices had to be done over and over and over again because they were but shadows, temporary, until Christ came. “WE UPHOLD THE LAW” (Romans 3:31) as Christ followers, not following the letter, but the Spirit of God. Because salvation is a supernatural event, the saved die to their old man, and are given the nature of Christ. Paul wrote:

Romans 7:4-6 (ESV) Likewise, my brothers, YOU ALSO HAVE DIED TO THE LAW THROUGH THE BODY OF CHRIST, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may BEAR FRUIT FOR GOD. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now WE ARE RELEASED FROM THE LAW, having died to that which held us captive, so that WE SERVE IN THE NEW WAY OF THE SPIRIT and not in the old way of the written code.

God changes us when we are saved. God the Holy Spirit effects us, moves us, works in us. We are in partnership with the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. So, IS THE LAW GONE?

Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

If you are saved by Grace, God has sent
His Spirit to live in your heart.

Galatians 4:6 (ESV) And because you are sons, GOD HAS SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS, crying, “Abba! Father!”

We know Whose we are. We belong to the family of God, and the Holy Spirit works in our hearts. Though we still have sinful desires and selfishness, the Holy Spirit guides us to love the Father and love others. While we are walking selflessly, in the Spirit, we are not under the Law. But if we become lawless, the Bible says:

1 Timothy 1:9-11 (NKJV) knowing this: that THE LAW IS NOT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS PERSON, BUT FOR THE LAWLESS and insubordinate, for [the] ungodly and for sinners, for [the] unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

If you claim to be a “Christian Homosexual” or a “Christian” who lives in sexual sin, then the Law is still for you. You live by the Spirit, or you live by the Law.

The Law is not eradicated by any means. It is the Law – written by God Himself – that will be read out before the Great White Throne. The Cross of Calvary did not apply whiteout to the Old Testament Law. On the contrary. Every person on planet earth is EITHER UNDER THE LAW – OR UNDER THE SPIRIT.

If that which leads you through this life is the “WORKS OF THE FLESH”, then the Bible is very clear “YOU WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD”. Let’s look at that Scripture:

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the WORKS OF THE FLESH ARE MANIFEST {phaneros, easily recognized}, which are these; Adultery {violation of one man one woman marriage}, fornication {porneia, illicit sexual intercourse}, uncleanness {akatharsia, vile sexuality, Romans 1:24}, lasciviousness {aselgeia, wanton behavior}, 20 Idolatry {eidōlolatria}, witchcraft {pharmakeia, drug use, sorcery}, hatred {echthra, hostility}, variance {eris, contentiousness, trouble making}, emulations {zēlos, envy, covetousness}, wrath {thymos}, strife {eritheia, power seeking}, seditions {dichostasia, little clique or factions}, heresies {hairesis, those who follow their own doctrine}, 21 Envyings {phthonos}, murders {phonos, to slaughter}, drunkenness {methē}, revellings {kōmos, rioting}, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that THEY WHICH DO SUCH THINGS SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

It is very clear that those who desire to follow the “WORKS OF THE FLESH” are not believers in Christ, and have not been born again of the Spirit. Believers may fall into these things, and desire these things. But if you are indwelt of the Spirit, you cannot comfortably stay in the works of the flesh. Pastor John MacArthur said:

“The only legitimate evidence of real salvation is a transformed life. That’s it. That’s the only evidence. If it’s not there, then there’s no salvation. … You would expect an unregenerate, unredeemed, unbelieving sinner to behave that way … and that’s because it’s consistent with his nature. But if you have a new nature, if you have been begotten by the Spirit of God, you are a new creation. … that is manifestly evidenced because of your new creation. Transformation is the only test of true salvation. It’s not perfect. I sometimes say it’s not perfection, but it is direction. It’s the way your life goes toward obedience. … that’s what Jesus said in John 8. Whoever continues in My Word is My true disciple, the real thing.”

The Christian is not perfect, and will, at times, fall into the flesh. But we will not stay there. I had to break down the works of the flesh into their composite Greek words – a very tedious and hard chore. Why? Because the works of the flesh are all SELF driven, SELF focused, SELF exalting. There are very many works of the flesh. But compare this with the works of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Those words practically define themselves. They are outside of selfishness. They are outside of pettiness. These words are seen in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. In short, if you are saved, you will have the nature of Christ. Not the world, but Christ.

We end with:

Galatians 5:24-26 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Salvation begins with self denial, a willing crucifixion of the flesh with its affections and lusts. We daily deny ourselves, pick up the Cross, and follow our Lord. One day we will follow Him into glory. I can hardly wait. I sure hope I see you all there. And I will, if you are saved by Grace, born again of the Spirit – if you have the nature of Christ.