The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Heavenly and Earthly"
Part 1
Since His miraculous conception in the womb of Mary, the Lord Jesus Christ has existed as both a Heavenly and an earthly being.
"Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16).
The Lord Jesus is the God who became man, and the man who remains God. Great indeed is the mystery of how an infinite, eternal being can take upon Himself the constraints of time and space. Only God could make such a glorious reality possible, and the case can be made that the greatest miracle that has ever happened, or ever will happen, is "God… manifest in the flesh."
Interestingly, believers in the Lord Jesus share in the miracle as it concerns our own being. We are spiritually born again, that is, Heavenly "new creatures" who dwell in earthly temples (II Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirits - "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" - but "we have this Treasure in earthen vessels" (I Corinthians 6:17; II Corinthians 4:7). Of course, a vast difference remains between our Lord and ourselves. We are not God, and never will be. He is God, and always will be despite also being human. It remains true, however, that His presence within us constitutes us as both Heavenly and earthly, with the former being the greatest characteristic of who and what we are in Christ.
"That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).
"Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:9).
We presently live upon the earth, and must negotiate its paths no less than those who have not been born again into spiritual life and vitality. However, in the essence of our being and identity, we are not of this world. "Our conversation (citizenship) is in Heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). We are spiritual beings, united to the Spirit of Christ, who dwell in "natural bodies" originally made from the dust of the ground (I Corinthians 15:44). Our spirit is who we are, as confirmed by the Lord's words recorded above. Our natural (soulical) body is the temple wherein we dwell, and wherein the Holy Spirit dwells in our spiritual union with Him. "Ye are the temple of the living God" (I Corinthians 3:16).
Why is this truth of the Heavenly and the earthly important to know? First, because it is true, and "the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). To know the Lord Jesus rightly, we must know that He dwells forevermore as both God and man. To know ourselves rightly, we must know that we are spirits united to the Spirit of God, dwelling in our earthly vessels composed of our unique soul and body. The implications of such truth are vast, certainly for eternity, but also for time. Our Heavenly Father calls us to "walk in the Spirit" even as we tread the pathways of earth (Galatians 5:25). If we do not know and consistently consider the reality of both Heaven and earth as they constitute our being and existence, we will find it especially difficult to heed the command to "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
We will further consider the truth of the Heavenly and the earthly in our next message, addressing its impact on our fellowship with the Lord and walk with Him in faith and faithfulness.
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
(Romans 8:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.(Proverbs 30:5)
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