Jesus said
that in order to enter the Kingdom of God one had to be born again, or born
from above (John 3:7). To be born again
means to have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. To be regenerated means, inter alia, that we have been enabled to
live effectively in the realm of the spirit.
In John 4:14 Jesus states that God is
Spirit. The regenerated individual has now been enabled to interact with God -
who exists in a unity of three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in the realm of
God, i.e. the spiritual realm.
Religion,
the pursuit of the unregenerate, is wholly natural and devoid of the true
Spirit of God. It is therefore impossible for those trapped in religious
effort, custom, tradition, etc., as a means of pleasing God, to have a living
relationship with the God who is spirit. The solely natural has no means to
enter the realm of the spirit with a view of forming a relationship with the
living God (Romans 14:17).
Religion is
any system that demands that individuals change their behaviour in order to
please God (Jeremiah 31:33&34;
Ezekiel 36:26&27). So, anything that looks like righteousness, peace or
joy without the Holy Spirit is merely counterfeit.
It is of
paramount importance to remember that Jesus has nothing in common with
religion, nothing at all. He did not come to give us the strength to keep the
Ten Commandments (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus did
not call upon us to modify our behaviour. Quite the contrary in fact, He
promised us a new life with which God is already pleased (John 10:10).
The word
‘life’ as employed here is translated from the Koine Greek ‘zōē’ which means, “... life
in the absolute sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in
Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself ...” [i]
(John 1:4; Acts 3:15).
Life, in
this context must not be seen as length of days, so to speak, but as a quality
and intensity (cf. I John 1:1&2). This should be
considered in connection with the creation of man who, by design, partook of
the very life of God (Genesis 2:7).
Adam
literally lived and moved in the life of God that indwelt him (cf. Acts
17:28). He and Eve, i.e. mankind, were separated from the Tree of Life and
thus had their link with the God, who is spirit, severed. This was evidenced by
their loss of eternal life and the darkening of their understanding (Ephesians 4:18). All of this has been reversed
in Christ (John 11:25, 14:6; Revelation 22:1-5).
With all of
this in mind, we who are believers in Jesus Christ need to take note, afresh,
of the following:
John 3:15&16 – “... that whoever believes may in Him have
eternal zōē.”
John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has eternal zōē; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see zōē.
John 4:14 - “... but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of
water springing up to eternal zōē.”
John 8:12
– “I am the light of the world; he who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of zōē.”
Religion will fight tooth and nail to prevent such a truth
becoming accessible to those who are in search of it (John 5:40).
So,
salvation is a participation in God’s life. There is no law that could produce
the nature of God in an individual. This new life flows spontaneously out of
the gift of Life given in Christ. Jesus came to begin a new race of people who
shared in His life (zōē). How did He achieve this? The answer is found in John 12:24.
Central to
all of this is the fact of Jesus’ physical resurrection (John 11:25). His resurrection was proof positive that the sin that
stood between man and the ‘zōē’ of God had been dealt with – we were justified.
Therefore the following became valid in the life of the believer:
Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ ...”
Colossians 3:4 – “... Christ who is our life (zōē) ...”
Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; and it
is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered
Himself up for me.”
II Peter 1:4 – “... that by them you might become partakers
of the divine nature ...”.
Religion
will call upon us to imitate Christ in our natural ability instead of through
the life that indwells the believer (cf. I Corinthians 11:1). The ‘zōē life’ now
represents the life that is in those who believe. Christ now lives within thus
making the idea of the believer as a puppet a nonsense. In fact, Jesus has
restored the believer to true freedom.
The life in Christ is 100% supernatural.
Therefore,
the fruits of the spirit as listed by Paul in Galatians 5:22&23 are just that: Fruits sourced in the Holy
Spirit dwelling within each believer, not the effort of every believer seeking
to grow them. The regenerated child of God cannot be explained outside of the
Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).
Religion
causes people to burn out in their quest to please God. The life of God does
not consume that which it indwells (Exodus
3:2).
[i]
Vine, W.E. An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Old Tappen. Fleming
H. Revell. 1966. Pg. 336.
