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“The Doctrine of Positional Truth, In Christ” # 1 1/9/2022
As we go forward into a brand new year, 2022, we just want to ”renew our minds,” of The Doctrine of Positional Truth. Positional Truth, is our position, or our “Identity in Christ that we received the moment we trusted Christ to be our personal Savior.” Our Identity is three-fold: JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, & EXALTATION. Briefly, let us review the 3 components of our Justification,
A. As we already know, as we have been taught, the key that unlocks living a successful, functioning, Grace life depends upon if we truly understand and appreciate who God has made us to be in Christ Jesus. In other words, understanding our moniker/spiritual handle, our identity of righteousness, in Christ. (That’s who we really are! And our faithfulness to our Identity-in Christ will be evaluated at the BEMA where we all shall appear). 2 Cor. 5:21 teaches us “For we were made the righteousness of God, in Christ,” the moment we trusted Him to be our Substitute Redeemer! (To God be the glory!)
B. Now that we are saved, justified unto eternal life & sealed, baptized, ID through the cross work of our Substitute Redeemer, we can now have a deeper understanding and a greater appreciation of the three (3 components (lngredients) of our Justification. (Let us examine briefly the 3 ingredients)
*Ist Component (Ingredient) of Justification: “Forgiveness of Sins”
(1) “Forgiveness of (ALL) Sins:” past, present & future sins. The moment we trusted Christ as our Substitute Redeemer, Eph. 1:7 teaches us that: “we have redemption through his blood, according to the riches of his grace;” Col. 2:13 is clear: “And you (being twice dead Gentiles) God has quickened us (made us alive) together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses (ALL TRESPASSES/SINS).”
*2nd Ingredient of Justification: “Imputed Righteousness”
The same moment we were forgiven All our sins of commission & omission, we were granted: (2) “Imputed Righteousness,” in other words, God has credited our account with His righteousness. 2 Cor. 5:21: “For He (God) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).” (When God looks down from heaven, first He sees His Son & then He sees you & me, we are clothed in His righteousness alone!)
*3rd Ingredient of Justification: “Atonement”
(3) “Atonement,” Now that we have been given {a)Total Forgiveness for ALL our sins; and have (b) God’s righteousness imputed/credited to our account, now (c) we have received the atonement (the 3rd ingredient of our Justification) We are now reconciled (restored) to harmony/fellowship to God, through the sacrificial death of J.C. & we have received the atonement. At-one-ment: (we are at one with God). NOW, we are AT PEACE WITH GOD!
Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(9) “Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.) (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (we are reconciled/ restored to fellowship & are at perfect peace with God). ***OUR JUSTIFICTION: (1. Forgiveness of Sins; 2. Imputed Righteousness; 3. Atonement). And my prayer is, that we allow God to live through our Identity, producing the life of Christ, in 2022.
“The Doctrine of Positional Truth, In Christ” - Sanctification # 2 1/16/22
Last week we started “renewing our minds” of the “Doctrine of Positional Truth.” In other words, remembering our moniker (DNA) of righteousness, our new “Identity-in-Christ, “that we received the moment we trusted Christ to be our Substitute Redeemer. As we already know, our Identity-in-Christ consists of: “JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, & EXALTATION (GLORIFICATION).
(1). We examined the 3 components (ingredients) that came with the 1st judicial transaction of Justification (Rom. 3:24). 1.“Forgiveness of (ALL) sins;” (Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13). 2. “Imputed (credited) Righteousness (Rom 3:22) ;” 3. “Atonement (at one/peace w/ God” (Rom. 5:11). And as we have studied, Justification is the First Cornerstone of our establishment in the doctrine of grace through faith. “Let us rededicate our “ambassadorships” to the complete knowledge of our perfect judicial standing before God, and the total assurance in the eternal nature of that judicial standing. We are justified, declared righteous, unto eternal life. And we can’t be lost! Why? Because we are SEALED!
a. The moment you trusted in Christ, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of the grace of God, (which contains your salvation today): after you heard that gospel, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption of the purchased possession (Eph. 1:12-14). You were purchased by His blood & justified (declared righteous) unto eternal life; sanctified, (set apart, made holy unto God), you were cleansed and purified and sealed. OUR IDENTIFICATION!
b. Christ, and His cross-work is the object of our faith, & the moment we trusted Christ as our Substitute Redeemer, we became the children of God by faith (Gal. 3:26), sanctified in Christ & called to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2). But how? It was by mechanical (automatic) means by which this identification took place. It was by the operation of God (Col. 2:12-13), the baptism of the Holy Spirit, (not water) which identified us “in Christ,” according to Romans 6:1-4. We were baptized, (identified, cleansed, purified), into (Christ, into his death, into his burial and resurrection, so that we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and enabled to walk in the newness of life now. Rom. 7:6 says: “That we should serve in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter/law.
(2). But Now that we understand the mechanical agency by which we are put “in Christ, (our ID),” now we are instructed to “put on Christ” (our practical Sanctification). In other words, live like you know who you are “in Christ.” Your Identity is on display! Sanctification is the 2nd Judicial transaction, & it is also the 2nd Cornerstone of our foundational establishment in the doctrine of grace through faith. Complete knowledge of our sanctified standing before God “in Christ,” enables us to live unto God.
a. At the same time God justified you, he also sanctified you. Saints, you cannot be sanctified w/o first being Justified, but you can be Justified w/o being Sanctified (that is functional death). God put us in a position, in Christ, that equipped us to now live unto Him, & then God gave us an infallible book, 2 Tim.2:15 “STUDY”. Rom. 6:1-2 describes our sanctified position in Christ. “We are dead to sin, and should no longer live unto sin, but live unto God. Now that we are dead to sin; we are free from the mastership of sin in our bodies, we are now alive unto God & enabled to live a sanctified (holy) life. b. We are to Reckon ourselves dead to sin & alive unto God, in Christ. In the details of our lives, we do not have to let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer. We are “dead to sin” and “alive from the dead” in Christ, and we should yield our members as instruments of righteousness unto God. We are now servants of righteousness, with fruit unto holiness. We are dead to the law & have the glorious freedom of walking after the Spirit & not after the flesh under the law in 2022 (Rom. 6:1-8:39).
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