Leaves of Gold

A Call To Return To The Teaching Of The Bible

A ministry of Evangelist James A. Nelson   jan23@cox.net

Year III, No. 3                                                             March 2008

 

Master Outline Number Twenty-six

 

Taken from  "The Christian Life Bible", Porter L. Barrington

As a Man Thinks

            To help overcome the fear that results from an inferior feeling due to sin and to develop a positive, godly mental attitude, study this lesson every day until it becomes part of your daily thinking. It will motivate a change in your attitude from fear to faith. In order to apply these principles to yourself, personally, the following is written in the first person: God said, "As he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).

·Therefore, today I will think like a dynamic servant of God because I am what I think.

·I am not always what I think I am; I am what I think.

·I am not what I eat; I am what I think.

·Clothes do not make the man; thinking makes the man.

·Therefore, I will keep my thought processes active and open to the voice of God.

·God did not call me to a life of failure, but to a life of success.

·This being so, I cannot fail as long as I do His will, allowing Him to work in and through me, motivating my every thought.

·Because my God is a great God, I will think with confidence, knowing my thoughts can never be greater than my God. Today I will think like the apostle Paul, when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

 

26-A. Think like a Dynamic Servant of God (Proverbs 23:7)-A dynamic servant of God thinks by faith, not by fear. Fear says, "God can't," but faith says, "God can." Fear doubts God's Word, but faith believes every word of God. Fear leads to certain defeat, but faith leads to sure victory. Faith believes God's promise: "I will never leave you nor forsake you," so that we may boldly say, "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:5, 6; Deut. 31 :1-8). Believers do not think as unbelievers think. Believers are justified by faith; therefore they live and walk by faith, because, as dynamic servants of God, they think by faith. They know that if they draw back from this life of faith, the Lord will be displeased (Heb. 10:38, 39). For "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6).

(1) A dynamic servant of God thinks by faith and is thus victorious over this world system, because he is not in love with the things of this world (1 John 2:15-17).

(2) A dynamic servant of God thinks by faith and can sing with David, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1-5).       .           .

(3) A dynamic servant of God thinks by faith and boldly evangelizes without fear of man (Phil. 1 :12-14).

(4) A dynamic servant of God thinks in terms of God's power, and not of his own weakness (Acts 1:8).             .

(5) A dynamic servant of God thinks thoughts of forgiveness, not of guilt (Eph. 1 :7).

(6) A dynamic servant of God thinks thoughts of love, not of hate (1 John 4:7-11).

(7) A dynamic servant of God thinks, "I can," not "I can't." He thinks like the apostle Paul, who said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

(8) A dynamic servant of God is unafraid of natural weakness, because God says, "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).

 

26-B. You Are What You Think (Romans 12:3)-You are not always what you think you are, you are what ybu think. As a child of God you must not think too lowly of yourself because you are a "new creation" in"' Christ, an ambassador for Christ. You have become "the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Don't you know that you belong to the aristocracy of heaven? So think like the spiritual aristocrat that you are. You are a part of God's nobility (1 John 3:2).

            However, you have an old sinful nature. Therefore, Paul tells us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think (v. 3). He also said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" (Rom. 7:18). Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). In other words, the New Birth in itself does not change or perfect the flesh. The flesh is carnal and there is no escaping it until death (Ps. 51 :5), or until the rapture of the redeemed, when we shall be changed "in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52). Therefore, if you are to be an effective child of God in this sin-cursed world, you must keep the fleshly nature under control and bring it into subjection to the will of God, or else be disqualified as Christ's ambassador (1 Cor. 9:27).

            One of the most important things you do is think. Your thinking can be profitable or futile. You are the master of your thoughts; you think by choice. You can think good or you can think evil-the choice is yours. You cannot think both good and evil simultaneously anymore than you .can travel east and west at the same time.  Every thought must be brought into subjection to the mind of Christ. Studying God's Word with the Spirit's illumination forms the mind of Christ in you.

             How do you choose to think? You can think the following kind of thoughts (Phil. 4:8):

(1) righteous or unrighteous

(2) clean or unclean

(3) moral or immoral

(4) honest or dishonest

(5) pure or impure

(6) true or untrue

(7) noble or ignoble

(8) just or unjust

(9) lovely or ugly

(10) good or bad

(11) virtuous or corrupt

(12) praiseworthy or unworthy

            Accept God's great invitation: "Come now, and let us reason together: says the LORD; 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Is. 1:18). Think with the Lord, and hide God's Word in your heart, so that you do not sin against Him in thought, word, or deed (Ps. 119:11). You always sin in thought before you sin in word or deed. Remember, you are what you think.

 

26-C. Thinking Makes the Person (Isaiah 55:7-9)-"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts" (v. 7). There are only two ways to think: the righteous way or the unrighteous way. Tell me what you think and I will tell you what you are, because you are what you think. You cannot live a righteous life and think unrighteous thoughts. Jesus said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" (Matt. 7:18-20). A person who thinks good thoughts cannot live a bad life. James said, "Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh" (James 3:11, 12). No one can live a righteous and unrighteous life at the same time. You can, however, forsake your unrighteous thoughts and return to the Lord, and "He will abundantly pardon" (v. 7). A thief is a thief because he thinks like a thief. A liar is a liar because he thinks like a liar. An adulterer is an adulterer because he thinks like an adulterer (Matt. 5:28). "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).

Someone once said, "You are what you eat," but this is not entirely so. You are also what you think. Man is "spirit, soul, and body" (1 Thess. 5:23). Your body is affected by what you eat, but your body is not all of you. It is only the temporary house in which you live. "The things which are seen [such as your body] are temporary, but the things which are not seen [such as your spirit and soul] are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).

At the resurrection, we will have bodies of flesh and bone, but without sin, like the glorified body of our risen lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:39; 1 John 3:2). Until the Lord releases us from these houses of clay, we are to present our bodies as "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is [our] reasonable service." This cannot be accomplished apart from "the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:1,2). To renew your mind means to forsake unrighteous thoughts, and become righteous in all of your thinking. By applying our hearts and minds to the Scriptures with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our hearts and minds become renewed, and begin to think God's thoughts, and to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5). If you have been saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8), the Holy Spirit indwells you (1 Cor. 6:19, 20). Therefore, let the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit motivate your every thought. Remember, thinking makes the person!

 

26-D. Keep Your Thought Processes Active and Open to the Voice of God (Hebrews 3:7)-"Today, if you will hear His voice" (v. 7). God continues to speak to man. Are you listening? If you will keep your thought processes active and open to the voice of God, you will grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible is filled with evidence that God does speak to man. He spoke to:

(1) Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8-19)

(2) Cain (Gen. 4:9-15)

(3) Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3)

(4) Hagar (Gen 16:7-13)

(5) Moses (Ex. 3:1-14)

(6) Joshua (Josh. 1:1-9)

(7) Samuel (1 Sam. 16:1-7)

            There are many more to whom the Lord spoke in both the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes He speaks to man

(1) face to face; not in His essence, but by manifestation (Judg. 13:1-23);

(2) through His creation (Ps; 19:1-6);

(3) through His written Word (Ps. 19:7-14).

He is speaking today to the whole world through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-3), as revealed in the Scriptures.

Now when you think unhealthy or unrighteous thoughts, you need to repent and forsake your wicked thoughts, and return to the Lord. How should you do this?

(1) Repent (Is. 55:7), and "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." This is a positive act.

(2) "And do not be conformed to this world." This is a negative act.

(3) "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind." This is a positive act.

It takes both the positive and negative to produce positive results. The positive results are "that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:1, 2). Heed the voice of God when He speaks to you through His Spirit, using His Word. Are your thought processes active and open to the voice of God? He is speaking; are you listening?

 

26 E  Ephesians 3:20: Think Great Thoughts, Because You Serve a Great God.

             Think Great Thoughts, Because You Serve a Great God (Ephesians 3:20)-Our God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [of the Holy Spirit] that works in us" (v. 20). Because God is a great God, think great thoughts with confidence, knowing that your thoughts can never be greater than God. As we study the Bible and read of His mighty acts, we marvel at His greatness and claim to believe that He can do anything. But when it comes to a spiritual crisis, some believers (by thinking small thoughts) reduce Him in dignity and power and act as though God is no longer all-powerful. We forget that He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), that He created everything in this universe (Gen. 1:1), and sustains all things in His universe (Heb. 1:3). We forget that He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). His universal authority and power have not diminished. Therefore, think great thoughts, because you serve a great God who does great things. He is immutable; ie., He does not change (Mal. 3:6); He is infallible (James 1:13).

            How great is your God in your

(1) Thinking? Tell me what you think about your God and I will tell you how great He is in your thinking.

(2) Vision? (Prov. 29:18).

(3) Faith? No faith, no God. Small faith, a small God. Great faith, a great God.

(4) Service? Can you do all things through Christ? (Phil. 4:13).

            How great is your God? Is He greater than

(1) Your personal problems? If He is, why do you worry? (Phil. 1:12-14).

(2) All your enemies? If He is, why live in fear? (Is. 54:17).

(3) All the obstacles of your life? If He is, why give up? (1 John 4:4).

            Don't be an unbelieving believer.

(1) Israel made their God look small at Kadesh Barnea, because they believed the evil report brought back by ten of the twelve spies. Only Joshua and Caleb believed their God was more powerful than the giants of Canaan. The people chose to follow the unbelieving spies, and God sent them back into the wilderness for thirty-eight additional years. Their unbelief made God look small. They said, "We saw the giants ... and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (Num. 13:33). Grasshopper Christians always make their God look small in the eyes of the world (Num. 13 and 14; cf. Deut. 1:1-46; cf. Heb. 3:7-12).

(2) Israel's God was great in their eyes when they crossed Jordan thirty-eight years later; God caused the water to pile up and Israel crossed over on dry ground (Josh. 3:1-17). Their God was a great God to them at Jericho where, by faith, the walls came tumbling down (Josh. 6:1-20).

Pray that God will motivate a change in your attitude from fear to unlimited faith. Remember, our God is a great God; so think great thoughts with confidence to the glory of God (1 Cor. 1:31; cf. Jer. 9:23, 24).

(These studies will continue next month)

 

 

 

Rightly Dividing The Word,  from the book written by Clarence Larkins

 

XXIII

The Reciprocal Indwelling of Christ and the Believer

 

            The thoughtful and observing reader of the New Testament will notice a number of paradoxical state­ments that clearly teach a "Reciprocal Indwelling." First of the Father and Jesus. "I am in the Father and the Father in Me." John 14: 8-11. "The Father in Me, and I in Him." John 10: 38. "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee." John 17: 21. Secondly as to Christ and the Believer. "He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him." John 6: 56. In the Parable of "The Vine" we read-"Abide in Me, and I in you. . He that abideth in Me, and I in him. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you." John 15: 4, 5, 7. It is botanically true that the branches abide in the vine, and the vine in the branches. As the two grow they grow into each other. Any attempt to separate them will tear the fibres that interlock with each other and mutilate both. This "Reciprocal Indwelling" is beautifully illus­trated in nature. Take the four elements, earth, air, water and fire. The plant is in the soil, and the soil is in the plant. The bird is in the air, and the air is in the bird. The fish is in the water, and the water is in the fish. The iron is in the fire, and the fire is in the iron. The mutual interrelation of the plant to the soil, the bird to the air, and the fish to the water, is necessary to their life. So the mutual indwelling of Christ and the Believer is necessary to the Spiritual life of the Believer. When Jesus was about to depart He said-"Because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." John 14: 19-20. Let us look at these two "Cardinal Facts" of the mutual indwelling of Christ and the Believer.

I. IN CHRIST

            This is the position of the soul that has accepted Christ as its personal Saviour, and has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This particular phrase with its equivalent "In Christ Jesus," or "In Him," or "In Whom," etc., occurs over 130 times in the New Testa­ment, and means organic union with Christ, as the vine to the branches, and the head to the body. In the Diagram, page 240, this union is illustrated in concentric circles, but a better illustration would be that of a sphere. If you should draw a circle on the floor and step within it, it would surround you, but only on one plane, but if you were to take a position in the centre of a spherically shaped room you would be surrounded on all· sides, and equally protected in every direction from all external foes and perils, and dependent upon the atmosphere of that spherical room for your life and safety. To illustrate, the unborn infant is encompassed within the mother, and is protected from all outside perils, and its life is sus­tained from the mother's life, as her life blood flows through it, and it can be said of it that it is in the mother and the mother in it.

            This phrase, "In Christ," is the "Key" that the "Heavenly Interpreter" uses to unlock every separate book in the New Testament, from Matthew to Revela­tion. For illustration take the Epistles of Paul, counting the Epistles to the Corinthians as one, and the Epistles to the Thessalonians as one:

            Romans-"In Christ JUSTIFIED." Rom. 3: 24.

            Corinthians-"In Christ SANCTIFIED." 1 Cor. 1: 2.

            Galatians-"In Christ CRUCIFIED." Gal. 2: 20.

            Ephesians-"In Christ ASCENDED." Eph. 1: 3.

            Philippians-"In Christ SATISFIED." Phil. 1: 11.

            Colossians-"In Christ COMPLETE." Col. 2: 10.

            Thessalonians-"In Christ GLORIFIED." 2 Thess. 1: 10-12.

            The Believer's POSITION "in Christ" is the same as that of Christ Himself. Believers "In Christ" are-

1.      CRUCIFIED together "with Him." Rom. 6: 6.

2.      BURIED together "with Him." Col. 2: 12.

  3.   QUICKENED together "with Him." Eph. 2: 5.

  4.   RISEN together "with Him." Col. 3: 1-3.

       5.   HEIRS together "with Him." Rom. 8: 17.

         6.   SUFFERERS together "with Him." Rom. 8: 17.

        7.     GLORIFIED together "with Him." Rom. 8: 17.

       This does not mean that when Christ was crucified, like one of the thieves, I was crucified on a separate cross with Him, or that when He rose from the grave I also arose from a nearby grave, but it means that when He was crucified and arose I was so identified as a Believer in His Crucifixion and Resurrection as to be said to be crucified, etc., with Him. When Adam sinned he died to God, and as I am by nature the child of Adam, I died "in Adam" to God. But the very moment I accept Christ as my personal Saviour I am born into the family of the Second Adam (Christ), and thus become a partaker of the Christ life, and it follows that whatever was done by Christ was done in and for me, so that when He died on the Cross I died with Him, when He was buried I was buried with Him, when He arose from the grave I arose with Him, when He ascended I ascended with Him, when He was glorified I was glorified with Him, and when He shall come again I will come with Him.

            When a child is born into a family the law of heredity entitles that child to all the past history, tendencies (good or bad), social and political rights and privileges of the family as far back as the lineage can be traced. And there is another law, the law of inheritance that guarantees to that child the future possession of the family inheritance. So the person who is born by the Holy Spirit into the family of God, and thus becomes a "partaker of the Divine Nature," is not only entitled to the future inheritance of a Child of God, but to all the past experiences of Christ.

            Christian experience is the making real in our life of what is true as to our standing in Christ, and means that we are to make actual in practice that which we in the Scriptures are declared to be. That is, we are to act in accordance with our standing. A king will act like a king, a millionaire like a millionaire, a beggar like a beggar, and a child of God like a child of God. When our Lord arose and came out of the tomb He had no further use for grave-clothes and so He left them behind. They would have been unbecoming and hindering to the risen body of Christ. But He went not forth naked, He was clothed upon with garments befitting His Resurrection state. Have you been crucified, buried and risen with Christ? Then leave in the grave the garments of the "Old Man." "PUT OFF all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing ye have PUT OFF THE OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS .. and PUT ON therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meek­ness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiv­ing one another, . . . and above all these things PUT ON CHARITY (love) which is the bond of per­fectness." Col. 3: 8-14.

How am I to get into this "Sphere of Life" in Christ Jesus? By regeneration. But it is not enough to get into this sphere, I must have capacity to live and breathe in its atmosphere. Every form of life has its sphere for which it is adapted, as the bird to the air, the fish to the water. To live in these spheres there must be conformity to their laws. To pass from one to the other needs a new creation. So if I am to pass from the Natural to the Spiritual I must be recreated. "Therefore if any man be 'in Christ' he is a NEW CREATURE." 2 Cor. 5: 17. It is a great privilege to be "Insphered in Christ"-to have the security that position insures to the Believer, and to be sure of the glorious inheritance that awaits us in Christ, and to know that "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him IN GLORY .• ! Col. 3: 4.

II. CHRIST IN YOU

While the "New Life" is conditioned on our being "In Christ," the manifestation of that "Life" is dependent on "Christ being in us." The only way we can manifest life is by activity or fruitfulness. The test of true Dis­cipleship is FRUITBEARING. "By their 'FRUITS' ye shall know them." Matt. 7: 16, 20. To illustrate this Jesus spake His last and Master Parable of "The Vine." John 15: 1-8. As much as to say-"What that vine is in the 'Vegetable World,' I am in the SPIRITUAL WORLD." The first thing that the vine suggests is UNITY, not mechanical unity but organic unity. From the lowest root to the tip of the highest branch, the root, the. trunk, the branches, the leaves, the blossoms, and the fruit are ONE. Jesus said-"I am THE VINE, YE are THE BRANCHES ... WITHOUT ME (apart from me) ye can do NOTHING." The mission of the vine is to bring forth fruit. The mission of the child of God is the same. Here we must distinguish between "Works" and "Fruit." "Works" are external, such as Christian service of various kinds. "Fruit" is internal and is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer. "The 'Fruit of the Spirit' is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Gal. 5: 22-23. Here we have nine kinds of "fruit" that the "Child of God" is expected to bear. To some of God's dear children the effort to be good and fruitful is a con­tinuous strain, but they have not learned the secret; it is not trying to be good, but it is to let the Holy Spirit have His way with us. It is His business to bring forth fruit in our lives if we will let Him. The branch is not responsible for fruitbearing, that is the work of the Vine. It is the "sap" that produces fruit. All the branch has to do is to let the "sap" flow through it and do its office work and fruit will of necessity follow. But if some­thing prevents the proper flow of the sap then there is little or no fruit. So the obstruction of worldliness, pride, covetousness or other things may prevent a child of God from bearing much fruit. This leads to the use of the "Pruning iKnife." "Every branch that beareth fruit, He PURGETH (pruneth) IT, that it may bring forth more fruit." Vs. 2. Here we have the secret of chastisement. Notice that the pruning is not because the branch bears no fruit, but that it may bear MORE fruit.

There are two things peculiar to the vine. (1) It has the largest capacity for producing SAP, and (2) the largest capacity for producing WOOD. 1f you would have fruit, then you must prevent the sap from producing wood, and compel it to produce fruit. This is done by pruning. That is, pinching off the end of the stem back to the bud. So the "Divine Husbandman" when He would produce "More Fruit" in our lives, pinches off by chastisement the excess of woody growth of riches, undue love of worldly things, etc. This is a very precious thought, that while our fruitfulness depends on our abid­ing in the vine, the AMOUNT of our fruitfulness is largely due to the careful pruning of the "Divine Husbandman."           .

            But not only is our "Fruit-bearing" dependent on "Christ being in us," but also our "Prayer Life." "If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15 :7. Here are two conditions of prayer and one promise. The conditions are-"If ye abide in me," and "My words abide in you." The Promise is-"Ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." Here is the "Magna Charta" of prayer. The first condition then of answered prayer is that we be IN CHRIST-"If ye abide in Me." The second is that "CHRIST BE IN US"-"My words abide in you." The Apostle John tells us-"That if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL He heareth us." 1 John 5: 14. Now how can we know the "Will of God" or the "Mind of Christ," or the "Mind of the Spirit" unless we know the "Word of God," the Holy Scriptures. We cannot pray for a certainty unless we, know what God has promised to give. Jesus promised His Disciples that after His Ascension He would send the "Holy Spirit" to them and that He would bring all things to their remembrance. That is He would recall to their memory all the sayings and promises of Christ. Then they would be able to pray with certainty and whatsoever they should ask the Father in "Christ'8 Name" at that Day (the Day of Pentecost), He would give unto them. John 16: 23-26. So we not only have the Scriptures .to tell us what we may ask for with cer­tainty, but we have the "Spirit of Christ" (the Holy Spirit) to make intercession for us. In Rom. 8: 26 (R. V.), we read-"The Spirit (Holy Spirit) also helpeth our infirmity; for we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that search­eth the hearts knoweth the 'MIND OF THE SPIRIT,' because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the 'WILL OF GOD.''' "Now we know that if we ask anything according to HIS (God's) WILL, HE HEARETH US, and if we know that He hears us, what­soever we ask, we know THAT WE HAVE the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5: 14-15. To pray the "Prayer of Faith" then it is necessary that not only shall we be IN CHRIST, but that CHRIST SHALL BE IN US.

There is a promise that all Christians love to quote for their assurance in prayer-"If TWO of you shall AGREE ON EARTH as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 18: 19. The common opinion of this promise is, that when two or three persons mutually agree to pray for a certain person or object, that their prayer will be answered. But that is not the idea at all. The word here translated "AGREE" is a very suggestive one. It is the Greek word from which our word "SYMPHONY" comes. The thought is, if two shall "ACCORD" or "Symphonize" in what they ask they have the promise. Ananias and Sapphira "agreed to­gether" to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. Acts 5: 9. There was mutual accord, but guilty DISCORD with the Holy Spirit, for as in tuning a musical instrument all the notes must be keyed to the standard pitch, else harmony were impossible, so in prayer, it is not enough that two persons agree with each other, they must accord with a third­: THE LORD, and the Holy Spirit the "Divine Tuner" must put them in accord. The "key" to the promise is found in the next verse-"For where two or three are gathered together IN MY NAME, there am I in the MIDST OF THEM." Matt. 18: 20. That is to say, if there are two persons present and praying, there is also a third, if there are three persons present, there is a fourth. But this fourth person is invisible and is no others than the Lord Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit, who causes the supplicants without previous agreement to symphonize and thus accord with the "Divine Will" and the condition of "My Words abide in you" being fulfilled the prayer is answered.

When Jesus said-"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father 'IN MY NAME: He will give it you" (John 16:23), and the expression "IN MY NAME" is six times repeated, it was a new teaching. No one in Old Testament times asked in "JESUS' NAME," neither had the Disciples up to that time, because the unity of Jesus with His Disciples had not yet been revealed, and it was not until Jesus spake the "Parable of the Vine" that the Disciples understood their union with Him. When I ask anything in another's name, not I, but they are the Asker. It follows then that when I ask in "Jesus' Name" He is the suppliant and not I. But Jesus is not supposed to ask anything that is not according to the "Will of God," therefore to have my prayers answered when I ask in "Jesus' Name" I must not only be "In Christ," but He must be "In Me," or our wills will not be in accord. To illustrate, if I am to paint like Raphael, it is not enough for me to copy his paintings and try to imitate him, I must have him in me and it must be he who uses my brains and hands. And if I am to pray as Christ would pray I must have Christ in me to enlighten me how to pray as He would pray, otherwise my prayer in "His Name" will be of no avail.   (These studies will continue next month)

 

 

Evangelist James A. Nelson and his wife of 57 years, Janet, are members of the Village Bible Church, Salina, Kansas.  This page is sponsored by David R. Pickett (dr_pickett@hotmail.com) and our Webmaster is Martin Gutzmer (mrgutzmer@gmail.com).