Wednesday, May 30, 2012

“The Believer’s Self Perception” Part 6

     How dependent on God are human beings?

     Completely.  Totally.  Altogether.  Fully.  Utterly.

     “It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3)
      “In Him, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
      “He giveth to all life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25).
      “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

     The “low view” of ourselves begins with the most basic fact of our existence, namely, God is God and we are not.  The Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist unite to reveal this most basic of all truths.

      “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
     “And John confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ” (John 1:20). 

    While we might think this to be the most obvious of truths, the fact of the matter is that from Eden onward, the flesh of humanity bears the devilish deception, “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5).  Left to ourselves, we believe ourselves worthy and capable of navigating the course of our own lives.  Evidence to the contrary is overwhelming, but the deception remains until salvation in the Lord Jesus begins deliverance from the delusion of our divinity.

    From the most wicked to the most godly, the next breath comes as the gift of God, as do “all things,” and “every good gift and every perfect gift.”  The believer’s low view begins here, at the altar of, “Thou art God alone” (Psalm 86:10).  We know this in principle and doctrine, but we will be tempted throughout our lifetime to live as if self autonomy and self sufficiency are possible for beings who did not originate themselves, and who do not sustain themselves.  Thus, we do well to often bow at the simple, but vital altar whereupon we yet again view the ashes of the most basic of sacrifices:  “Thou art… I am not.”

“It is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works.”
(Psalm 73:28)
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.”
(Proverbs 28:26)

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