The Normal Christian Life part 4

This life in Christ is to be lived from the inside out, not the outside in.

 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13

The exchanged life IS NOT a matter of trying but being, believing and claiming what Christ has done for us

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:12-17

Now God’s plan from all eternity was and still is the Exchanged Life.  You can tell a Christian’s theology by where they begin in the Bible and where you start makes All the Difference.

Some Christians Start at The Fall in Genesis 3:6-7.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:6-7

When you start at the Fall you see Christianity and history as redemptive, with man at the center.  The main point is to get a person “Saved” because they are lost and separated from God.  Now while this is true to a point, we must go back even further than Genesis 3.

Some Christians Start at The Creation of man in Genesis 1:28

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Genesis 1:28

When you start here you theology often carries a dominion aspect, that we were meant to rule over the earth.  This theology too is man centered.  Now while this is true to a point, we must go back even further than Genesis 1:28.

There are those who begin at Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
It is here that God is at the center and history = His Story.  All is seen as God’s sovereign work.  This also is true and closer to the truth, because it places God at the center (He is ALWAYS at the center of everything).

But believe it or not we need to go further back than Genesis 1:1.  You might be asking yourself how is that possible.  Consider what the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. Ephesians 1:3-10

It is at this starting point that God is at the center and we discover that God’s Ultimate Purpose is His Fatherhood to us as followers of Jesus.  And it is from here that we discover what the Father has in store for us as His children.