Moving forward towards our new history

OK. We have kind of a pivotal topic here. We said moving forward towards a new history. Next month, we'll be talking about growth in the church body, which is different from the individual spiritual growth. So next month, it'll all be about the church body. But this particular one is kind of pulling together some thoughts from recent months Each of us has a history. We start off here.

In the world terms, that typically means a genealogical history. By the way, anybody interested in genealogical stuff, is that, I mean, for me, it's kind of fascinating. Some parts of the family have been able to go farther back than others. But, I mean, it is amazing and interesting. Two different parts of my family. You've got people coming over from Europe basically because of persecution. Religious persecution in Europe bringing family members over here.

Anyway, so genealogical history. Personal history. This happened to me, this didn't happen to me, I did this, I didn't do that, etc. Medical history. Of course we've got all sorts of laws about keeping that secret. I'm not sure how good they do, but anyway. Among other aspects of earthly history.

Some of these things are interesting, some of them are fascinating, some are disappointing, and some are intriguing, including some unknowns that may be difficult, if not impossible, to uncover. One time Nancy and I were talking to my grandparents, and they were kind of talking about people who used to be around, and there was one guy, his name was Elmer Jennison, and as soon as the name came up, both my grandparents just busted up in laughter. Apparently, this guy would come into town unannounced on a wagon, and he'd come in, he'd tell a bunch of stories, and the stories would have everybody laughing, and then he'd leave unannounced. And so he was sort of this ghostly figure that, as far as I know, somehow related to, but I can't find him in the family tree, so I don't know.

So there's some of that. We had another part of the family tree where there was a guy during the Civil War who was in the family and he was actually sort of a terrorist. He fought on the side of the North, the Union, but he would actually do horrible things. So anyway, all sorts of backgrounds. Intriguing. Including some unknowns that may be difficult if not impossible to uncover. Things that you just can't find out about.

So we have all sorts of earthly history don't we? We have genealogical history, personal history, family history, medical history, all sorts of that. So while God's Word does not set aside the worldly aspects of our history, it reveals that everyone has a spiritual history in Adam, and those who have believed in Christ for salvation have a spiritual history in Christ that has replaced that Adamic history. The Adamic spiritual history was because we were identified with Adam, and our new history in Christ is because we were identified with Christ by God's own doing when we believed. Okay, so we as believers have a new history, a replacement history. Now, how is it possible for you to have a history that's replaced?

Boy, that's kind of wild. How can that be? Yeah. To die. Ah, okay, yeah. In other words, we had that old history in Adam, right? And what cut us off from it that we can have a replacement history? What death are we talking about? Our death with Christ cuts us off from the old history. Now, when somebody dies, how do they develop a new history? How is that possible? And why is it that we can have a new history? What took place?

We died with Christ. We were raised with him and so that's how we can have a new life and a new history. So that's the reason why we can have a new and replacement history where the original history has been put aside. We died. So that's how we can have this new history.

But now one of the things that I kind of put it here, born with amnesia. Ever have any kids born and they come out and boy they're just spewing their family history and telling everything about what happened to their parents and all sorts of things like that. You ever hear that? Not so much. Once in a while you hear about some kid born with teeth. And kids quite often make a bunch of noise. But they don't usually come out just, you know, Telling everybody their family history.

Telling about other things, but not their family history, right? So when kids are born, how do they find out about their personal history? Yeah, basically they learn from people around them. Oh this happened and you know your dad did this and your mom did that and your sister and brother was there and they did this and your aunts and uncles. So that they find out from everybody else what their history is. They aren't born with the knowledge of their history.

And so spiritually the same thing is true, isn't it? We believe we're saved, and in fact God does a whole bunch of things to us at the moment that we're saved in the spiritual realm, but we don't know any of it automatically, do we? And we don't remember it by experience. I mean, none of us goes and says, boy, I remember when I was crucified with Christ. Boy, those nails hurt, you know? But it was okay. After a few hours, it was all over. And then they wrapped me up, and man, it was dark in there. And then they sealed up the tomb, and boy, I couldn't get out. Nobody talks like that, right?

Because why? We don't remember it by experience. It was something that happened because we were born again, identified with Christ in these things. But just like the kid who is just born has to catch up with their history, we, when we are born again, have to catch up with our spiritual history too. We have to find out from the outside. It's not because we remember. Right? Make sense? Yes.

It's interesting that even that is revealed to you typically by your father, Say that again? It's typical that your history is revealed to you by your father through words. The same way our spiritual history is revealed to us by God through His Word. So we have a revelation, right? We have a revelation to us. That's how we know. And that's how we find out what our spiritual history is.

Now, is it possible that someone is born and they don't know their history? I mean, physically. They never find out their history. Can that happen? Yeah. How does that happen? I don't know if anybody's found this out in their families, but this generation of young people, they don't ask. They don't ask about, you know, There's frequently a disconnect. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So one thing is they just don't get it. They don't get it. Yeah. All right. So that can be one thing is they're just not interested or just it doesn't happen. Okay.

How else might it be that someone doesn't know their history? The history is sealed. That's right. The history is often sealed and they can't get to the information and so by being adopted in they are essentially cut off from a lot of their history. So that can happen in this realm.

Now spiritually speaking, does it happen that Christians have a spiritual history they never learn about? Yeah, it most certainly can. And in fact, unfortunately, a great many churches don't see it as a key part of what they're communicating, that the people who are believers need to learn their spiritual history. And when you think of history, you know, it's who am I?

Where did I come from? Now, how did I get here? All those things are things we tend to ask about in the physical realm, and they are the same kinds of things in the spiritual realm. Who am I? How did I get here? So those kinds of questions, those are the questions in the spiritual realm that need to be addressed. And what happens when somebody doesn't know what their history is? Just in the physical realm, what happens when they don't know what their history is? Is that a problem?

It's difficult to set goals. It's difficult to set goals. And grow. And grow. Yeah, if I haven't answered the questions, who am I and where did I come from, it makes it tough to know where am I going, right? don't know your medical history. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, I don't know my medical history. All of a sudden I find myself running into this or that problem. With medical history I would have had a better idea of what kind of risks am I looking at, right? So that's there. And then even picking a path, here's how do I deal with it, right? The same thing in life.

Spiritually we need to know our history Because knowing our history and knowing who we are has a lot to do with where we're headed and what's going to happen next. If I don't know where I came from, I don't know who I am now, I don't really have a good idea where I'm going. Yeah. And what's interesting, if you really think about it, Paul's letters is actually a revelation of that in his life being revealed to him through the Spirit and through Christ. their process as well.

Okay, and what's Dan talking about here? Here's Paul, who is one who talks about his history. Here's the interesting thing. Paul talks about his history before he was saved, and what terms does he talk about with that? He talks about his history in Judaism quite a bit, doesn't he? And then he talks about his history in Christ. Even being personal, I have been crucified with Christ, right? So he makes it quite personal.

How is it that Paul can say, you know, I did this and I did that before I was a Christian, and then he turns around and says, I've been crucified with Christ? Yeah, in other words, here it was before he was a believer in Christ, he was in Adam. A Jew in Adam, right? And yet, when he believed, he was in Christ. So it's that continuing person is why Paul could say, as a believer, having been a believer for years, he can talk about that guy Saul and say, I was, I did. And so here is this new history that Paul is recognizing. He has come to know it. And let's ask the question, how did Paul know these things? Did it just suddenly ding? The lights came on and he just suddenly knew them? Or how did Paul find out about these things, about his spiritual history?

It's a continuing process and it was revealed initially, supposedly, by Christ and the Holy Spirit. So here is the Lord Himself teaching Paul. Paul said, you know, I was taught these things, not from somebody, but by the Lord himself. And the Holy Spirit revealed things to him. So he was taught from God himself about these things after they occurred. after they occurred. On Thursday night, Bible study, we're going through the book of Acts, and we just a week ago studied about how Saul came from this rabid anti-Christian guy to becoming a believer himself.

So he was a guy who was an adult and then born again, and then from there the Lord had to teach him. Well, we're in that same mode We have to be taught, like Paul was taught obviously in a very special and miraculous way, but we have to be taught by what God has revealed.

So we have here in Romans 6, 3-9, bottom half of page 1 there, Romans 6, 3-9, verses 3, 6, and 9 each talk about knowing. And the first one is, or do you not know, and the implication, especially as we look at Romans 7 and 1, is do you not know is not doubting that you know. It's asking, and you know, don't you? Right? You know, don't you? And I'm talking about those who do.

And then verse 6 and verse 9 confirm it. This is knowing this in a lot of our translations, but literally it means because you know or since you know in both verses 6 and 9. because you know or since you know. And so these things, and what in Romans 6, you know, 3 through 9, what's the thing that they know? What is it that they know? been baptized into Christ, into his death, burial, in this case, it doesn't talk about his ascension and seeding, but death, burial, and resurrection. We've been identified with Christ in those three things.

And you ought to know, because you know, then you make conclusions. The whole history that we have in Christ, when we put together all the passages, Romans 6 is only one of them, is that we're identified with Christ's crucifixion, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, and seating in the heavenlies. Now, you remember when you were seated in the heavenlies, right? That chair was really cool. I mean, it was major cool. Let's just say it. It was really cool.

Remember that, don't you? You don't. No. Why not? Because it was something that happened, it is a part of our spiritual history, but we know it only by faith. Faith in the revealed facts. Right? Faith in the revealed facts. It's because we've been told about it, just like a little kid that's been born. Oh, do you realize that you have this heritage and you come out of royal lineage, or you come from a bunch of scoundrels, or whatever the history is, we tell this kid. Here as believers, we share this history with Christ. We have already been seated in the heavenlies spiritually.

Not because we remember it, but because it's been revealed to us. Why is it important that you know that you're seated in the heavenlies? Why does that matter? I mean, couldn't they just kind of wait until you get there and then let you know? Hey, did you know that? Why is it important that you know now? Yeah?

Assurance of salvation. Assurance. Yeah, one thing is that you're already there, and one thing, you have already been seated, no threat of, you know, you better watch your P's and Q's or you're going to get unseated. None of that. It's not like Paul writes to Timothy and says, you know, these three guys, I'm real sorry to tell you, but they got unseated from the heavenlies. Right? None of that, right?

So it's assurance. That's one reason to know. Okay, why else is it important that we know that we're seated in the heavenlies? Whose side you're on. Whose side you're on? Okay, alright. No question about that. That's where I'm seated. I'm not just kind of visiting.

I don't have a visitor's pass, right? What's my position in the heavenlies? Am I operating on the basis of a visitor's pass? A provisional, probationary visitor's pass? What's the difference here? Where's my citizenship? It's there. And am I waiting to get my citizenship? No. You see, here's one of the things that's really amazing.

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi. He wrote to the church at Ephesus. These were places where there was significant Roman And the Roman soldiers would work, and if they lived this long, they'd work until age 35, at which point in time they would retire from the Roman military, or they could. And one of the things that were granted at that stage was Roman citizenship.

You worked for your Roman citizenship. You got it by grace? No, you got it by works. But in scripture, you have a citizenship in heaven, and did you work for it? No. You were born into it. You were born into this citizenship. So in contrast, here's all these people reading this, and they say, man, I've been working for years to gain this citizenship, and now I find I have a heavenly citizenship, and it was grace given to me.

So here's the place where I'm seated. Here's the place where I have my citizenship. It's also the place where I'm blessed. So I'm not working for blessings. I'm not, like under law, performing and then I get my blessings. It's the place where I already have them. I already have my citizenship, I already have my seating, I already have my blessings. There. There with Him. Okay.

So the bottom line there in page one, because these five aspects of our history take place at the point when we believe, but we do not experience those facts or history at that time or even later, from then on we are catching up to The facts of our identification with Christ in these five things. Here we are years later from the time when we believe and we find out, oh that happened. So the facts of our identification is something we catch up to later.

The next one is that death means separation. Now is death meaning separation, is that a good thing or a bad thing? It's a good thing in relation to my sin. Yeah, in other words, it's a true thing, and depending on what you're talking about having died to, depending on what you're talking about having died to, it can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Here's the Apostle Paul, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1.

You're dead in your trespasses and sins. What does he mean by dead? I can't be dead, I'm still walking around, right? It even says right there in the passage, walk. It even says live. And by that, that Greek word means interaction. I'm still walking around and I'm still interacting? What do you mean I'm dead? What does he mean by dead? Separated, right? You are separated from who and where? You're separated from God in your trespasses and sins.

So here's the unbeliever and they're still walking. They're still talking. They're still interacting with other people. They're doing stuff. They're going places. They've got, you know, looking down at their watch and they've got things on their schedule and they've got things on their calendar. Stuff's happening, right? But they're dead. The dead is not that they're, you know, totally out on a slab, cold, unable to respond. The dead is they're separated.

So that's a key truth. It's bad news or good news, depending on where you stand and where you look at it. Yes. Extremely important to understanding the scriptures. Yeah. Because if you don't understand separation, it's real difficult. Yeah. Quite frankly, During the Reformation, John Calvin wrote his Institutes, which is a commentary on most of the New Testament. He did not understand death and separation. And all of his theology after that has a corrupt thread through the whole thing, because he didn't understand that. Everything else gets misunderstood because he didn't understand that. That one principle. So it's a principle of insight that for some means bad news, but for others it's good news. How is death and separation good news for us as Christians? Why is that a good thing?

Yeah, in other words, being dead to, what have we been made dead to when we died with Christ? Three things. One is dead to the sin source, dead to the sin nature. When I was in Uganda, the term that I used with them, I called the sin nature the sin source. That would help them understand, where is this coming from? With nature, what does that mean? But when I say, do you sin? Yeah. Do unbelievers sin? Yeah. Where does that come from? It's the sin source.

So you're dead to sin, you're dead to, how about the law of Moses? Romans 7, Galatians 2, you died to the law. And then the third thing, Galatians and Colossians, Galatians 6 and Colossians, you died to the world. So three things you died to, and it's a good thing. So for the unbeliever to be dead in his trespasses and sins is bad. But for us as believers to be dead to the sin source, the sin nature, to be dead to the law of Moses, and to be dead to the world, that's a good thing.

And so what God did when he crucified us with Christ was a gracious thing. It was a good thing. And it was the first thing he did. I mean, you think, here's God, He loves me, what's the first thing He's going to do? Oh, He's going to identify you with Christ and His death, and that's good. It is?

Yeah. It's real good. To the unbeliever, death means cease to exist. I mean, to a lot of... Yes. Yeah, they misunderstand. To the believer, separation. Yeah. Internal life, a whole lot of... Well, let's ask this question. When you die, does that mean you cease to exist?

No. Your body and the spiritual aspect of you, your soul and spirit, part ways. Death is separation. Death is separation. So, death is not the cessation of existence. Sorry, atheists. Death is not the cessation of existence. Death is the separation of the physical aspect of a person and the spiritual aspect of a person. That's what death is. Death is separation. In the Bible, death is separation, and so it's a key principle.

Let's look at the next one. What we are separated from and who we are joined to. We are separated from in death, when we died with Christ, to the sin nature, the sin source, to the law, the law of Moses, and to the world. But we were joined to Christ, Romans 7, 4-6, to be joined to another. Whenever we are joined to something, we are separated from something else. Whenever we are separated from something, we're joined to something else. What is the unbeliever joined to? He's separated from God, but what is the unbeliever joined to? Joined to the sin nature. He's joined to the world, and frankly, he's joined to the law, which is going to do what for him?

Condemn him. You like a ministry of death? There it is. Okay? Joined to the law. And all it's going to do is condemn him. He's joined to the sin nature. He's got no other choice. He's going to sin or sin or sin. Take your pick. Right? So he's joined to the sin nature. He is joined to the law. And all it's going to do is condemn him. And he is joined to the world. The unbeliever is separated from the sin nature, the law, and the world and joined to Christ.

So there's always a separated from and joined to in every position, spiritually speaking. The next one, the spiritual consequences of each aspect of our identification in this present life and what that means for how we live, walk, etc. One of the things that we sat down with Hassan and explained, because Hassan was struggling with some things, and we said, guess what? By telling yourself the rules, you will have no victory. Forget it. You will not have victory by telling yourself the rules.

Don't do this. And the example I gave him is, I said, Hassan, let me be emphatic with you. Do not I'm telling you, I want you to listen. Do not think of a pink hippopotamus. Do not. I'm talking about that. You know that pink hippopotamus? Don't think of it. I'm telling you. Do not ever think of a pink hippopotamus. Pink hippopotamuses are not to be in your thoughts. Do you understand me? Now what are you thinking about?

So this is the problem with the law, is it always has us in focus on the wrong thing. As a matter of fact, it's emphatically in focus on the wrong thing. And so, the law is not going to be any helper in dealing with sin. It's there to condemn you, but not much else.

So the spiritual consequences are that we, having been separated from the sin nature, are joined to Christ. Now, there's two things, and this is the last thing I told them when I was teaching there in Uganda. I said, you are in Christ, and what's the other truth that is parallel with that? Christ is in you. You in Christ, and Christ in you. So your dealing with the sin has to do with you being in Christ, in which case you died to the sin source, and Christ in you, which is the empowerment and the life for living the way life is intended to be lived. You in Christ and Christ in you.

It's the combination that we need to understand. The next one, the decisions and choices we're called upon to make in view of these truths. Is the choice, do not think of a pink hippopotamus? Is that really the choice? No. The choice is, where's my dependence? In what or in who do I find life? How is the life that God desires for me going to get lived out?

How's that going to happen? Is that going to happen because I try really hard? I go to retreats and seminars and conferences and make a lot of promises and get together with other people who also help me make promises and keep them? Is that how it works? No. That's not how it works here.

It's understanding what it means for me to be in Christ and for Christ to be in me. where and how we are blessed and have our citizenship. It's real common for us to say, God bless you, right? Let me ask this question. Has he? Yes. Has he already blessed us? Yes. How?

I mean, I've got all four tires on my car worked. Is that blessings? He's given us all sorts of blessings and that. He's given us, yeah, every, and it's not, you know, he's given you kind of a significant assortment No. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places where? In Christ. So here I have these blessings already. Do I have the Jewish mindset of, well, I better do things right or God's not going to bless me? Or do I have the mindset of the New Testament believer that I've already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places?

And, he tells them that in the third verse of chapter one. He waits until the last half of chapter four to say, okay, now that we've talked about your blessings and your empowerment and you're already seated in the heavenlies and God's going to spend eternity showing you his grace, now that we've talked about those things, now let's talk about your stealing problem.

And your lying problem. And your not forgiving problem. But not until we've talked about the other things first. So he doesn't say, you know what, if you guys would quit lying to one another, you'll be blessed. If you guys quit stealing from each other, you'll be blessed. And boy, if you really want to be forgiven, you'd better forgive. Is that what he says? No. He tells them first everything that they have, and even the forgiveness, unlike the Sermon on the Mount, Even the forgiveness is forgive because you've been forgiven.

Not in order to be, but because. Whole different deal. And what these things mean for eternity. I am not trying to make sure that I stay saved. I'm not trying to make sure that I earn a lot of brownie points. It means that my forever is guaranteed. It means that my place there, my citizenship there, I already have it. And it means that the rewards are not my efforts to please the Lord, but His life through me. Remember, it's you in Christ and Christ in you. The life that he wants from us, the life that's rewardable comes from his life lived through me, not my best efforts and not my keeping my promises. It's my depending on him keeping his.

Anybody been to a secular counselor ever? Secular marriage counselor, secular personal counselor? What you might have observed if you've been through that, or talked to somebody who's been through it, is the tendency is to talk, you know, tell me your history. And the tendency is to look at your earthly and personal history. But while that may be of some interest, the truth is that for believers, what is really of value in making a difference is what is your spiritual history in Christ. That's what biblical counseling ought to focus on. It's growing out of your personal history into your spiritual history in Christ. When we look at life in terms of our history in Christ, whether we are examining our own life or coming alongside another believer, or whether another believer is coming alongside one or more of us, the encouragement of God's Word, the exhortation of God's Word, and the insight from God's Word about our life is going to substantially include our new history in Christ. Did Paul in Romans 6 say that you need to understand that you died with Christ and were buried with Him and raised with Him because that's awfully nice to know?

And did he just leave it at that? Why didn't he just leave it with that? Because there's a practical part of it, right, that has to do with this life The reality of, am I ever going to have a place of having victory over sin, and how does that happen? And that's exactly why he zeroes in on these truths.

It's what I told the guys in Uganda. I said, I hear them telling these guys who are pastor trainees, I said, when you get out there in the village, I said, I understand that this group of churches here is having blowouts out in the village. Why? Because they don't know this. Guys who are blowing out in terms of their sexual life. Guys who are blowing out in terms of their finances. Those are the two big areas. And the reason is they don't know about what's here in Romans 6.

They don't know about Galatians 2.20. So these things are not just, boy it would be nice to know, or isn't that exhilarating or scintillating or some positive term.

But the reality is, it's very practical for how we live now. It's why I say, in order to be any earthly good, you've got to be heavenly minded. So being at the middle of page two, being conformed and transformed, growing to maturity and being sanctified.

We have said that Christ is the direction of each one of these processes that God has in progress in our hearts. But these processes are not just toward Christ as the eternal Son of God as He was in eternity past. It is Christ who deliberately and according to God's plan entered time as a child of Mary. Why is it important that Christ entered time as a child of Mary? Why couldn't we just say Okay, here's Christ. He's the eternal Son of God.

He's the second person of the Trinity. And that's good. That's it. We're done. I mean, isn't that good by itself? What? Why? What the Institute buy. Yeah? He had to come in the likeness of man so that he knew the sufferings of man. Yeah. And the things that we go through so he could be our high priest, which is Hebrews.

Yeah, now how come, why couldn't, you know, Christ had to die for our sins, right? Why couldn't I just say, you know, here is a nice solid rock, it weighs maybe a hundred pounds or something like that, it's got no cracks, a good chunk of rock. Why can't I have that chunk of rock pay for my sins? Alright, so it had to be an equivalent to man, not just, I'm going to take this rock and just beat the wadden out of this rock. Just beat this rock and just... that doesn't do it, does it?

It needs to be a man paying the price for man, right? So he had to come as a man. That's necessary. He had to come from humble beginnings too. He had to be humble as servant to each man. about, you know, that. You have to humble yourself, you know, and serve. And that's what you did when you came to him.

Why, you know, here's Christ, he's the second person of the Trinity, he is God, and there's no question, he claimed that. Why did he go around saying, I do what the Father sent me to do, and I rely on the Spirit empowering me? Why did he have to do that?

Well, that's the Trinity, and that's because of the total unity and oneness of the Trinity, which is our goal. We're supposed to do the same thing in the Church. That's our goal. Is Christ God? Is He deity? Yes. Is He all of deity? How many persons are there of the Trinity? Is He all free? No. So what he did, he did as deity, but in dependence upon, in different roles, the other two persons of the Trinity. So this was, Christ coming was an act of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit all together, even though it was personally Christ, the other two persons of the Trinity weren't folding their arms and saying, well let me know when you're done.

So Christ had to come and then this God-man who took, because it took a man, a righteous, fully righteous man to take our penalty upon himself, that's the one that we're identified with. It took our sharing his history the one who was fully man. It took Him going through this death and burial and resurrection, ascension and seeding and our sharing the history with Him for God to do all of what He accomplished. And so our growing, our being sanctified, our being conformed, our being transformed are not just into Christ as the eternal Son of God, who was never born of Mary, but Christ the Son of God, who, though fully God, became fully man. That's the one that we're growing into. That's the one we're being conformed to. And Paul even writes about it. We quote here Philippians 3, 7 through 11.

But for whatever things were gained to me, and that's about his personal earthly history, right? These things I have counted loss. for the sake of Christ. And by the way, that accounted loss is an accounting term. I chalk it up as a loss. Write it off. All that stuff I valued, he says, I write it off. More than that, I count all things to be lost.

I write it all off in view of the surpassing value, that's the overthrown value, the overtop value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And count them as rubbish, that word there is skubalon, means actually sewage. counted as pure trash and rubbish and sewage, so that I may gain Christ, here's the accounting term again, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed, say that word, to his death in order that I may have attained the resurrection from the dead. We in our being conformed, in our being transformed, in our growing to maturity, we in our being set apart as those processes continue are all in terms of Christ with his history and us sharing his history. conformed to his death, and to his burial, and to his resurrection, and to his ascension, and his seating.

Positionally, they're already there, right? Are you seated in the heavenlies right now? Yep. And it is all of who you are in Christ that is seated right there in the heavenlies. Done deal. Spiritually, it's true. 100%. It is that continuing person that is growing into, catching up with, that new spiritual history that we have. Yeah. And didn't he also come as man, backtracking a little bit, because he was the second one, because Adam was the first. Yeah.

And so you either have Adam's history or you have Christ's history. Yeah, and there is no percentage deal. You know, I'm not in a deal where, you know, I've got 30% Adam's history and 70% Christ, and I'm working on trying to increase the percentage. That's no way it works, is it? You're either one or the other.

You have one history in Adam or you have a replaced history that is now entirely 100% in Christ. You have one or the other, not both, no mixtures. And that's how God pulls it off. He takes all those who were in Adam and believe and places them in Christ and Christ in them.

Well, we're running out of time. I see people pressing notes up against the window. That's why the top of page three here. So sharing Christ's history is something that we are to learn about, not just academically. Not because, you know, it's kind of encouraging or it's kind of cool.

No. It's something we're to live out by faith in the facts that God has revealed. The knowing of Christ and the conforming process that God is carrying out include our shared history with Him. I have been and in my position identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. My growing, my being conformed, my being transformed, my being sanctified, that process that is going on in my continuing person is in the direction of Christ's history. that I share with him already.

All right, that second buzzer, that means we're really out of time. I'm seeing more noses getting close to the glass. So, we're going to read 1 John 3, 2, and then I'll break. Beloved, now we are children of God. We are, statement of fact. And it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him. because we will see him just as he is. You will be conformed. It's predestined. So we have a process going on, the end of which is certain. And that's a good thing. Let's break.

Lord, we thank you as we look at this passage, as we look at the passages that back it here. We just thank you for the wonderful thing you did before we even knew it was wonderful. and that is so graciously provided for us. And we just pray that our eyes, having been opened, we might increasingly see what you have already accomplished. And we just thank you for these things, for these precious truths. In Jesus' name, Amen.