Sin and righteousness, structurally explained
Dec 25, 2013 1:59:35 GMT
Post by Colossians on Dec 25, 2013 1:59:35 GMT
This material is for the teaching of the Body of Christ, however the author reserves copyright over it.
Forward
One of the main things which interferes with a Christian’s understanding on spiritual matters such as righteousness, sin, and the law, is his not understanding how he is constructed. That is, his metaphysical structure.
Because of such deficiency, modern bible ‘translators’ who suffer from the same problem, have too often substituted their own ideas for true translation - they interpret rather than translate - which is to imply that God could have said it better, and that they will in fact do so on His behalf.
One such instance is their rendering of John’s:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ... and he cannot sin” 1 John 3:9
as
“A Christian does not practice sinning ... and cannot practice sinning”.
They do this because John also says earlier:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ...” 1 John 1:8.
That is, rather than have an apparent contradiction in the bible, these translators alter the text in order to make things agree.
They should instead, however, understand that not all scripture is pitted at the same causal level, and that often scriptures on the same broad topic, are coming from very different angles. Such scriptures are therefore not reconciled by cheating (altering the text), but by understanding their variant positions in the causal hierarchy of God’s scheme of things.
Subsumed within such (better) hermeneutic, is the requirement that we understand the metaphysical structure of the human being, and most particularly, the metaphysical structure of the Christian.
_________________________________________________
SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, STRUCTURALLY EXPLAINED
The structure of the human being
A human being comprises a body, and a spirit internal to that body: although Adam was fully formed (from the earth) with regard to appearance and physical structure, he was not alive until God breathed into him the breath of life, which is to say, until God gave him a spirit.
And so we read at Heb 12:9 that God is “the Father of spirits”, and not “the Father of the flesh”, for God is not death, but life.
This is not to say that the spirit is a ‘free and independent agent’ in the body (which idea would lend itself to the false doctrine of ‘adoptionism’ in which it is said that Christ’s spirit adopted a body in order to live among men), but simply that the spirit is that which makes a human being physically alive, and also that part of the human being which is eternal and therefore which relates to God.
But/and it is also not to agree with the usually-held flesh-glorifying doctrine in which man’s structure might be likened to salt (analogous to his spirit) being dissolved in fresh water (analogous to his flesh) producing salt water (analogous to his entire human being), in which neither the salt (the spirit) nor the water (the flesh) can be thought of as being distinct from each other. (Such idea in fact paves the way for the errant teaching which declares that the flesh will be resurrected in the end.)
For if such structure were the case, then the apostle Paul, in whose body Christ’s spirit dwelt, would not have been able to say: “(...in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom 7:18), for such [fleshspirit] entity would necessitate that the flesh itself, being indistinct from the spirit, share in the status of the righteousness of the in-dwelling Christ – that the flesh itself partake of spiritual things. But rather, the same apostle has also informed us: “if Christ be in you, the body is [(spiritually)] dead because of sin” (Rom 8:10).
Rather and instead then we declare that a human being consists of a physical body in which resides a control mechanism (the spirit within) which is in effect ‘sewn’ to each and every part of the body, so that operationally, each part of the body has an analogue in the spirit: the body’s hands are controlled by the spirit’s ‘hands’; the body’s feet are controlled by the spirit’s ‘feet’ etc.
An “analogue” we say, and not a literal component, for a spirit has no form or shape or corporeality about it: we are simply describing it this way because the visual paradigm is most effective when teaching.
Accordingly, we shall be asking you the reader to imagine the spirit as having the same shape as the body, and as sitting just inside the perimeter of the body, so that it ‘shadows’ the body’s form and in this sense, ‘looks’ like the body.
And we shall then also say that the spirit has that which is analogous to the brain - that which we refer to as the mind. That is, the mind is to the spirit, what the brain is to the body.
So the mind is not the brain, and the brain not the mind, but rather, the mind is the ‘brain’ of the spirit and so is ‘sewn’ to the brain of the body.1
1 This is why schizophrenics cannot be cured with medication, but only moderated, for drugs only work on the brain, and thoughts do not come from the brain, but to the brain, from the mind: the brain is merely the interface to the corporeal world.
And so we read:
“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” 1 Cor 2:11.
So the spirit is where our volition and thought life, indeed our very life itself, begins. And the spirit is distinct from the flesh, and spoken of as so throughout the New Testament.
You might now begin to see that, if anything goes wrong between the human being and God, it is not the fault of his body, but his (eternal) spirit within.
The structure of the old man
The old man is simply the name given to one’s own personal spirit when not in communion with Christ.
This definition is the most productive, in that it relates all non-Christians without exception, as well as Christians when they are not living in faith.
The structure of the New Man
The New Man, is the Spirit of Christ Himself.
And by “the Spirit of Christ” we intend the Jesus Christ of Revelation (His glorified person), rather than the Jesus Christ of the gospels (His pre-glorified person).
That is, whereas Christ as He walked on earth might be thought of as the husband coming to redeem His bride, the glorified Christ is that same person who has redeemed His bride, so that the Bride and Groom are then one, and so that Paul could say: “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor 6:17).
Accordingly in our referring to the New Man, we shall intend “Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ” - a (composite) married couple with “Christ” the husband being the descriptor of such couple, He being the Head of the Body.2
2 This accords with 1 Cor 11:7 wherein it is said that the woman is the “glory” of the man. That is, what we are saying here is that Christ has been glorified by being joined to the woman whom He redeemed, and that she herself is therefore the “glorious body” in which the scripture says He now resides.
But going even further, we point out that although for practical reasons a man and his wife are more often physically (sexually) separate than together, the relationship internal to the New Man (Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ) is always in its consummate state, so that, whereas the “one flesh” declaration pertaining to a man and his wife is more by virtue of covenantal implication than actuality, the “one spirit” that is Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ is indeed perpetual.
And so when we refer to the New Man, we shall intend not merely the marriage covenant between God and the saved, but that which is analogous to the sexual union in a husband-wife relationship. For again it is said: “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”.
It is this actual metaphysical join, formed via the avenue of the faith of our Head, that is the basis for our righteousness, and which goes hand in hand with our being set free from the dominion of the law.
And thus we are each a completely “new creature” and yet at the same time still possess our own individual personality: we (our own personal spirit) are still just as much present and accounted for as ever, only being accounted for no longer by ourselves but by Him to whom we are joined, and therefore (also) identified no longer by our own head but by Him to whom we are joined.
The structure of the Christian
The Christian is a human being in whom resides both the New Man (that which is in ‘sexual’ union with Christ) and the old man (that which is not in ‘sexual’ union with Christ).
That is, just as a man and his wife are not perpetually in the sexual union, so too the Christian is not perpetually in ‘sexual’ union with Christ.
And so Paul declares:
“For we know in part ... But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” 1 Cor 13:9,10.
The Christian then is in a state of flux with regard to the New Man and the old man: when the New Man situation is in force, no sin occurs, for the Christian is then necessarily operating with the mind of Christ. For Christ is the Head of the New Man, and the mind pertains to the head, not the body.
And when the old man situation is in force, the Christian will necessarily sin.
That is, whether it be a spiritual or earthly marriage, memories are not enough, which is why Paul tells husbands and wives to come together regularly lest Satan tempt them to infidelity. And we see the same problem with the children of Israel under Moses: no matter how spectacular the miracles they had witnessed, their next state of mind was just as unbelieving as their previous.
Now as the Christian comes to know Christ more, the New Man becomes more common than the old man; that is, we are more often together in the ‘bedroom’ with Christ, than apart and doing our chores: we are more often Mary than Martha.
But we might better express such the other way around: as the New Man situation becomes more common, the Christian necessarily comes to know Christ more.
That is, and in accord with Calvinism, it is all of Christ, and none of ourselves, which is why Paul in his address to the Galatians, after just having referred to their knowing of God (which might suggest that it was they and not God who had initiated their relationship with Him), immediately re-orientates the same to declare the more accurate passive scenario: “or rather, are known of God” (Gal 4:9). For it was Adam, we are told in Genesis, who knew Eve, and not vice versa.
That all said, in declaring the Christian to be in a state of flux between the New Man and the old man, we do not intend an intermittent marriage to Christ (as though Christ comes and goes from the Christian), but rather, a perpetual marriage covenant (which ensures His permanent residence within the Christian) with an intermittent ‘sexual’ union: just as a man and his wife are not always sexually one (they are not always in the bedroom relationship), so also Christ and the Christian, for the duration of the Christian’s natural life.
Justification vs Sanctfication
We have indicated that the ‘sexual’ union with Christ is manifested at those times in which we are operating with the mind of Christ: it is when the Word of God is effective in our lives, and being effective, that which brings forth the Man Child (aka “the fruits of the Spirit”) which is our justification (see Luke 7:35, Gal 4:19, Rev 12:5). This is the directly experiential aspect of our faith.
We have also indicated that the ‘sexual’ union with Christ is shown to be absent at those times when we are acting not in accord with the fruits of the Spirit but are rather attempting to play the part of Husband rather than Wife. It is at such unfruitful times that we are necessarily set apart (sanctified) from judgement by virtue our marriage covenant with Christ. Thus we read: “the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the [believing] husband” (1 Cor 7:14), and yet further: “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (1 Ti 2:13).
Contrary to conventional teaching then, there is no such thing as imputed righteousness3: we are either operating righteously, and/or if not, set apart from judgement.
3 But see our work: "Our monergistic justification".
The scriptures we began with:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin” 1 John 3:9.
This scripture is talking about the New Man. It has nothing to do with degrees or the regularity of sinning (nothing to do with “practising sin” or otherwise), but speaks to state according to the law of first/primary mention: the “whosoever” is primarily referring to Him who is firstborn of God, our Head the Lord God Jesus Christ, and then by extension, the composite person that is Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ, which is the New Man.
So it is not talking about the Christian (in whom dwells both the New Man and the old man), but only the New Man.
___
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ...” 1 John 1:8.
In declaring that sin exists in us, this scripture is simply speaking of the old man in the Christian. It is therefore speaking of the opposite man to the man of which 1 John 3:9 speaks, and therefore should not be made to reconcile with such scripture at the same level in the causal scheme of things.
The scripture we will sum up with:
“Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” Rom 7:20.
This scripture speaks of the Christian by virtue of its speaking of both the old man and the New Man in the same person.
The first “I” in the sentence is the old man, and the “sin that dwelleth in me” the pragmatic of the same.
The second “I” and the third “I” in the sentence is the New Man.
The point of it all
“that in all things He might have the pre-eminence” Col 1:18.
Amen.
Forward
One of the main things which interferes with a Christian’s understanding on spiritual matters such as righteousness, sin, and the law, is his not understanding how he is constructed. That is, his metaphysical structure.
Because of such deficiency, modern bible ‘translators’ who suffer from the same problem, have too often substituted their own ideas for true translation - they interpret rather than translate - which is to imply that God could have said it better, and that they will in fact do so on His behalf.
One such instance is their rendering of John’s:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ... and he cannot sin” 1 John 3:9
as
“A Christian does not practice sinning ... and cannot practice sinning”.
They do this because John also says earlier:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ...” 1 John 1:8.
That is, rather than have an apparent contradiction in the bible, these translators alter the text in order to make things agree.
They should instead, however, understand that not all scripture is pitted at the same causal level, and that often scriptures on the same broad topic, are coming from very different angles. Such scriptures are therefore not reconciled by cheating (altering the text), but by understanding their variant positions in the causal hierarchy of God’s scheme of things.
Subsumed within such (better) hermeneutic, is the requirement that we understand the metaphysical structure of the human being, and most particularly, the metaphysical structure of the Christian.
_________________________________________________
SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, STRUCTURALLY EXPLAINED
The structure of the human being
A human being comprises a body, and a spirit internal to that body: although Adam was fully formed (from the earth) with regard to appearance and physical structure, he was not alive until God breathed into him the breath of life, which is to say, until God gave him a spirit.
And so we read at Heb 12:9 that God is “the Father of spirits”, and not “the Father of the flesh”, for God is not death, but life.
This is not to say that the spirit is a ‘free and independent agent’ in the body (which idea would lend itself to the false doctrine of ‘adoptionism’ in which it is said that Christ’s spirit adopted a body in order to live among men), but simply that the spirit is that which makes a human being physically alive, and also that part of the human being which is eternal and therefore which relates to God.
But/and it is also not to agree with the usually-held flesh-glorifying doctrine in which man’s structure might be likened to salt (analogous to his spirit) being dissolved in fresh water (analogous to his flesh) producing salt water (analogous to his entire human being), in which neither the salt (the spirit) nor the water (the flesh) can be thought of as being distinct from each other. (Such idea in fact paves the way for the errant teaching which declares that the flesh will be resurrected in the end.)
For if such structure were the case, then the apostle Paul, in whose body Christ’s spirit dwelt, would not have been able to say: “(...in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom 7:18), for such [fleshspirit] entity would necessitate that the flesh itself, being indistinct from the spirit, share in the status of the righteousness of the in-dwelling Christ – that the flesh itself partake of spiritual things. But rather, the same apostle has also informed us: “if Christ be in you, the body is [(spiritually)] dead because of sin” (Rom 8:10).
Rather and instead then we declare that a human being consists of a physical body in which resides a control mechanism (the spirit within) which is in effect ‘sewn’ to each and every part of the body, so that operationally, each part of the body has an analogue in the spirit: the body’s hands are controlled by the spirit’s ‘hands’; the body’s feet are controlled by the spirit’s ‘feet’ etc.
An “analogue” we say, and not a literal component, for a spirit has no form or shape or corporeality about it: we are simply describing it this way because the visual paradigm is most effective when teaching.
Accordingly, we shall be asking you the reader to imagine the spirit as having the same shape as the body, and as sitting just inside the perimeter of the body, so that it ‘shadows’ the body’s form and in this sense, ‘looks’ like the body.
And we shall then also say that the spirit has that which is analogous to the brain - that which we refer to as the mind. That is, the mind is to the spirit, what the brain is to the body.
So the mind is not the brain, and the brain not the mind, but rather, the mind is the ‘brain’ of the spirit and so is ‘sewn’ to the brain of the body.1
1 This is why schizophrenics cannot be cured with medication, but only moderated, for drugs only work on the brain, and thoughts do not come from the brain, but to the brain, from the mind: the brain is merely the interface to the corporeal world.
And so we read:
“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” 1 Cor 2:11.
So the spirit is where our volition and thought life, indeed our very life itself, begins. And the spirit is distinct from the flesh, and spoken of as so throughout the New Testament.
You might now begin to see that, if anything goes wrong between the human being and God, it is not the fault of his body, but his (eternal) spirit within.
The structure of the old man
The old man is simply the name given to one’s own personal spirit when not in communion with Christ.
This definition is the most productive, in that it relates all non-Christians without exception, as well as Christians when they are not living in faith.
The structure of the New Man
The New Man, is the Spirit of Christ Himself.
And by “the Spirit of Christ” we intend the Jesus Christ of Revelation (His glorified person), rather than the Jesus Christ of the gospels (His pre-glorified person).
That is, whereas Christ as He walked on earth might be thought of as the husband coming to redeem His bride, the glorified Christ is that same person who has redeemed His bride, so that the Bride and Groom are then one, and so that Paul could say: “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor 6:17).
Accordingly in our referring to the New Man, we shall intend “Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ” - a (composite) married couple with “Christ” the husband being the descriptor of such couple, He being the Head of the Body.2
2 This accords with 1 Cor 11:7 wherein it is said that the woman is the “glory” of the man. That is, what we are saying here is that Christ has been glorified by being joined to the woman whom He redeemed, and that she herself is therefore the “glorious body” in which the scripture says He now resides.
But going even further, we point out that although for practical reasons a man and his wife are more often physically (sexually) separate than together, the relationship internal to the New Man (Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ) is always in its consummate state, so that, whereas the “one flesh” declaration pertaining to a man and his wife is more by virtue of covenantal implication than actuality, the “one spirit” that is Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ is indeed perpetual.
And so when we refer to the New Man, we shall intend not merely the marriage covenant between God and the saved, but that which is analogous to the sexual union in a husband-wife relationship. For again it is said: “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”.
It is this actual metaphysical join, formed via the avenue of the faith of our Head, that is the basis for our righteousness, and which goes hand in hand with our being set free from the dominion of the law.
And thus we are each a completely “new creature” and yet at the same time still possess our own individual personality: we (our own personal spirit) are still just as much present and accounted for as ever, only being accounted for no longer by ourselves but by Him to whom we are joined, and therefore (also) identified no longer by our own head but by Him to whom we are joined.
The structure of the Christian
The Christian is a human being in whom resides both the New Man (that which is in ‘sexual’ union with Christ) and the old man (that which is not in ‘sexual’ union with Christ).
That is, just as a man and his wife are not perpetually in the sexual union, so too the Christian is not perpetually in ‘sexual’ union with Christ.
And so Paul declares:
“For we know in part ... But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” 1 Cor 13:9,10.
The Christian then is in a state of flux with regard to the New Man and the old man: when the New Man situation is in force, no sin occurs, for the Christian is then necessarily operating with the mind of Christ. For Christ is the Head of the New Man, and the mind pertains to the head, not the body.
And when the old man situation is in force, the Christian will necessarily sin.
That is, whether it be a spiritual or earthly marriage, memories are not enough, which is why Paul tells husbands and wives to come together regularly lest Satan tempt them to infidelity. And we see the same problem with the children of Israel under Moses: no matter how spectacular the miracles they had witnessed, their next state of mind was just as unbelieving as their previous.
Now as the Christian comes to know Christ more, the New Man becomes more common than the old man; that is, we are more often together in the ‘bedroom’ with Christ, than apart and doing our chores: we are more often Mary than Martha.
But we might better express such the other way around: as the New Man situation becomes more common, the Christian necessarily comes to know Christ more.
That is, and in accord with Calvinism, it is all of Christ, and none of ourselves, which is why Paul in his address to the Galatians, after just having referred to their knowing of God (which might suggest that it was they and not God who had initiated their relationship with Him), immediately re-orientates the same to declare the more accurate passive scenario: “or rather, are known of God” (Gal 4:9). For it was Adam, we are told in Genesis, who knew Eve, and not vice versa.
That all said, in declaring the Christian to be in a state of flux between the New Man and the old man, we do not intend an intermittent marriage to Christ (as though Christ comes and goes from the Christian), but rather, a perpetual marriage covenant (which ensures His permanent residence within the Christian) with an intermittent ‘sexual’ union: just as a man and his wife are not always sexually one (they are not always in the bedroom relationship), so also Christ and the Christian, for the duration of the Christian’s natural life.
Justification vs Sanctfication
We have indicated that the ‘sexual’ union with Christ is manifested at those times in which we are operating with the mind of Christ: it is when the Word of God is effective in our lives, and being effective, that which brings forth the Man Child (aka “the fruits of the Spirit”) which is our justification (see Luke 7:35, Gal 4:19, Rev 12:5). This is the directly experiential aspect of our faith.
We have also indicated that the ‘sexual’ union with Christ is shown to be absent at those times when we are acting not in accord with the fruits of the Spirit but are rather attempting to play the part of Husband rather than Wife. It is at such unfruitful times that we are necessarily set apart (sanctified) from judgement by virtue our marriage covenant with Christ. Thus we read: “the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the [believing] husband” (1 Cor 7:14), and yet further: “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (1 Ti 2:13).
Contrary to conventional teaching then, there is no such thing as imputed righteousness3: we are either operating righteously, and/or if not, set apart from judgement.
3 But see our work: "Our monergistic justification".
The scriptures we began with:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin” 1 John 3:9.
This scripture is talking about the New Man. It has nothing to do with degrees or the regularity of sinning (nothing to do with “practising sin” or otherwise), but speaks to state according to the law of first/primary mention: the “whosoever” is primarily referring to Him who is firstborn of God, our Head the Lord God Jesus Christ, and then by extension, the composite person that is Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ, which is the New Man.
So it is not talking about the Christian (in whom dwells both the New Man and the old man), but only the New Man.
___
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves ...” 1 John 1:8.
In declaring that sin exists in us, this scripture is simply speaking of the old man in the Christian. It is therefore speaking of the opposite man to the man of which 1 John 3:9 speaks, and therefore should not be made to reconcile with such scripture at the same level in the causal scheme of things.
The scripture we will sum up with:
“Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” Rom 7:20.
This scripture speaks of the Christian by virtue of its speaking of both the old man and the New Man in the same person.
The first “I” in the sentence is the old man, and the “sin that dwelleth in me” the pragmatic of the same.
The second “I” and the third “I” in the sentence is the New Man.
The point of it all
“that in all things He might have the pre-eminence” Col 1:18.
Amen.