Greetings friends, wherever you are on this earth, I hope the word I share with you today will be helpful to make your day as purposeful as it is a step toward your destiny in life!

The word sanctification maybe as far-fetched and puzzling as a foreign language for many. Yet, in Christian thought, its basic meaning is as vital to a believer’s salvation, as material sustenance is to his physical body. It simply means an act of regeneration or renewal of something or someone for a specific purpose or design. In Christian thought the work of regeneration cannot begin in the life of the believer until the death of the “false self” and all its dreams and aspirations. Thereby, it means the birth of the “new self” in Christ with all of God’s blessing of a newfound relationship. In the “new self” the believer is set apart for a divine purpose. So, sanctification means death and rebirth. Jesus said it like this, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ‘Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:5-7).

Baptism of Jesus, Depiction of Spiritual Regeneration, Artist: Grigory Gaagarin (Wiki Commons)

It is natural for humans to be afraid of death. Death is the reality of our human existence. From the day we were born, we are set on a path to the epitaph on our grave stones. But God did not create man for death, but for immortality. He is our Father, and we are His children. He is immortal, therefore we are destined for immortality. Christ, who is the personification of immortality for man, came and changed death to life. (Matt.1:23) Paul tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). He pointed man upwards to the promise of eternal life from our heavenly Father. In place of the grave stone, we hear our Father say, “I am not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Luk.20:38). He sent His Son, who says to us, “I am the way, the truth, and The Life” (John 14:6; John 11:25b-26). And isn’t that what life is about…to have someone show us the way to a life that’s true and authentic? The immortalized passage from John rings out clear through time, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (death) but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Paul said, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death itself… Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? …But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:26, 54-56). God’s promise of immortality gives us hope in life, for it brings victory over death. Jesus never minced words when He said, “I am the resurrection” (John 11:25a) That, in essence, is the meaning of sanctification. We lose our fear of death when we live in hope of what the Father has promised, and what Jesus has already done and made death redundant and made us live as conquerors. The key words are ‘living as conquerors’ – that’s to say the life of regeneration in the Spirit puts to death the “false self” so the “true self” with the seed of immortality may live and regenerate us.

So, the underlying meaning of sanctification is the work of regeneration of the Spirit in man to not allow death to be the final answer to man’s destiny, but immortality through Christ. The Spirit’s work of regeneration is encapsulated in Paul’s words, “As it is written, ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep for the slaughter.’ But no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom.8:36-37). There is an ongoing death that is the work of sanctification and renewal the Spirit is doing in our lives to prepare us for eternal life. Like seeds, we must first die before true life can be restored. But unlike nature which is hardwired by God to have this divine attribute, man has to use his mind under the Spirit’s move to make a deliberate decision to live out the meaning of sanctification.

Death – not Man’s Lot. Immortality is God’s Gift. Old St Peters Church, UK (Wiki Commons) 

Sanctification means the death relating to the demise and final death-knell of the “false self.” Yes, this is like living the crucifixion of Jesus, but on a personal level: “For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know our old self (“false self”) was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should be no longer slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him (“true self”). For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom.6:5-11) So, the work of sanctification is about the removal of sin from our lives – that is what facing death every day means, so we can enter immortality.

False Self:

Author Michael Murphree, in a rather succinct and honest appraisal of the “false self,” says, “In our fragmented world, we human beings tend to cluster into homogenous cultural, racial, or economic groups, building relationships on our commonality rather than Love (God is Love). Self-centered rather than other-centered, we limit relationships to ones that require no sacrifice on our part. Then we protect these artificial relationships, created for our convenience, while we play at being persons. Too selfish to Love those who are different from us, we settle for synthetic relationships and shallow personhood.” (The Trinity and Human Personality, Pg.60) In our fallen depraved nature we live this way of life which ultimately leads to emptiness and not life. There is only one solution: death! Yes, every day when we live life we are putting to death this old “false self” and come out more than conquerors in our “true self.”

True Self:

Murphree goes on, “A healthy relationship with God requires two qualities found in the Trinity. The first is a recognition of our distinct individuality (personhood). The other (is) God is Love.” (The Trinity and Human Personality, Pg.49). But here is the wonder of our respective gift and calling, not only do we see and relate with the Triune God through them, but through Christ we relate with one another in a true sense of friendship as the Father designed. The Bible tells us that in all our gifts, we form the very “Body of Christ.” (1Cor.12:12-14) Just as in the Trinity they find fulfillment not in themselves but in each other, so we find our fulfillment in Jesus through the power of the Spirit. Thus, Paul says, “You are complete in Christ.” (Col.2:10)

 Immortality-God’s Gift to Man. Fountain of Eternal Life, downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA (Wiki Commons)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

Kiang,                                                                                                                                                   

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I appreciate any donation you feel content in your heart to give in our effort to further the Lord’s work throughout the world. The Bibles says that it is of the spirit if we’re going to save the flesh (man) (Rom.8:13). So, your support to help the spiritually needy and impoverished will always be treasured!

He reminds us as He inspired Paul to write, “God is not unjust. He doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown Him by helping the needy, and that you keep at it.” (Heb.6:10-11) Thank you for your generosity. May the Lord bless you in your giving.

Please click the “Donate” button at the top to complete your online giving. You can also donate on my web site at: www.bulamanriver.com, Thank You!

Kiang

* Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information

Greetings friends! As I mentioned in the close of my last post, the rebellious heart of man cannot be overcome and changed without a surrendered heart.

Most people see surrender through the human eyes to mean defeat and subjugation. It means to ‘give in’ one’s right and freedom, like democratic liberty, the freedom of expression, freedom of worship, the freedom to live as one chooses. But with God, surrender does not carry the same imagery. With God, rather than subjugation, it is about ‘owning up,’ while not sacrificing our liberties. It is about conceding to a deficiency in our lives. It is about seeing the answer to this inadequacy as something only God can supply. So, within this context, surrender is a good thing, not a bad thing. Another word we can use is ‘concede’ – we make concession because we see our failures, and desire to change the status quo to one of success. Many don’t see surrender as a process of Love from a God who is Father to us. Ironically, surrender does not carry a singular meaning. In short, God’s call to surrender brings freedom.

WWII German Surrender Documents (WIKI COMMONS). Germany ‘Gave In’ But Did She ‘Own Up.’? In the Words of the Shakespearean Play, “To be, or, Not To Be” – That’s the Question.

We are talking of divine surrender to the Love of God, not to the will or whims of man. Surrender is in fact an act of self-evaluation, where the believer’s life is stacked up side by side with God and what He offers us in His promises, and we come to a logical conclusion about what it means to surrender because we are helpless. But it is not by any means a form of subjugation, but because He Loves us. Over time the self-evaluation process will make us see that to surrender to His Loving will is to pave a way forward for the better, with a purposeful and happy life. Most of all, surrender saves us from our natural, fallen, and self-destructive ways which bring human sufferings upon ourselves and others. (Eph.6:12; Jer.17:9; Isa.59:9,10,12) The opposite of Godly surrender is stubborness and obstinacy. It keeps us stuck in a time warp where we are actually surrendering to our own flaws and failings. When we have an objective view of surrender we will realize that whichever path in life we take, we are surrendering to something or someone – the question is, to whom?

I will touch on a human situation with which we are all familiar to further expound the meaning of Godly surrender. Think of the institution of marriage in our times, as an example. It is a sad fact that 40-50% of marriages end in divorce. (American Psychological Assn.) Imagine, half of our couples who pledge a lifetime of love and dedication to each other, only ends in the divorce courts. Yet, the most common ingredient missing in today’s marriages which would put it on autopilot to success is the attitude of surrender. Surrender liberates marriages. Surrender in marriage is not about subjugation to one partner’s selfish motives. It is not about defeat and giving up one’s freedom. It is about concession, where each partner finds completeness in each other through through surrender of their strength and gifts for each other’s well-being. Surrender is not about one being better than the other, but rather they find common ground in each other to make the marriage work. That common ground is their love for each other – but we are stepping ahead of ourselves. We must realize surrender is the foundation of love. Each partner is a free person in the marriage union, that is sacrosanct. Each partner freely sacrifice or surrender themselves to each other to make love work. Love has to be made to work through sacrifice and surrender.  Love is not some magic potion which makes everything magically okeydokey for both partners.

God’s Love Documents Reveal the Surrender of His Son for Our Salvation. The Gutenberg Bible Printed in 15th Century (Wiki Commons). God is not about ‘giving in,’ but about ‘owning up.’

This attitude of sacrifice is based upon the Tri-Personal nature of God. But each partner in marriage must make this decision about surrender (concession, not subjugation) so love can thrive in the union. Until we do that, our divorce rate in the US, supposedly the most Christian nation, will not come down from 40-50% currently. God’s Love is about sacrificing self (surrender) for the good of the other. It is about being other-centered, not self-centered. God saw man lacked something He had and wanted to share, and willingly surrendered His Son to make it possible for mankind. Do you think by of surrendering His Son to an ignominious death at the hands of man, God was subjugating Himself to man’s will? That’s unthinkable! His eternal sovereignty and power over all creation is unquestionable! But this is what Love does – for “God is Love” (1John 4:8). God would not ask man to do something unless He is first prepared to do it Himself. That’s what Love does. Love sacrifices one’s self for the good of another. God gave His Son so man can have a more complete Love-relationship with Him. God does not hold man in subjugation, He gives man complete freedom, even to rebel against Him, if he so wishes, like Adam and Eve. But He admonishes us – in your freedom, choose wisely. In fact, He points us to the right direction and says, choose Him. (Deut. 30:19) Marriage calls for surrender on both partners in the relationship. Human love is about the self-centeredness and self-gratification. Godly Love is about self-giving and surrender.

I hope we can see that through surrender we can overcome the rebellious  heart, and enter the divine union so God’s divine Love can flow into our lives. You may read my posts, “God’s Divine Love – How Does It Enter Human Life?” (published 1/22/15),  and, “What Prevents God’s Love From Entering Human Life?” (published 2/14/15).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

Kiang,                                                                                                                                                          (Your Servant in Christ)                                                                                                                                   

* Bulamanriver is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information.

Greetings again, friends everywhere!

In my blog post on January 22, 2015 entitled, “God’s Love – How Does It Enter Human Life?’” I unambiguously laid out the answer to the question I posed in the title. What I would like to do in this post is ask, what prevents God’s Love from entering human life? In that post, I said that from eternity before anything came into being in our material universe and world, God’s one activity was the Father Loving His Son. When everything in our physical universe as we know is discounted and brought back to the original estate of physical nothingness, only one thing remains eternal and never fades – God’s Love which exists in relationship between the Father and Son in the fellowship with the Spirit. Jesus mentioned this in His prayer to the Father before He was crucified, saying, “You, Father, have Loved Me from the foundation of the world” (John 17:24b). Jesus told the disciples, “As the Father has Love Me, so have I Loved you. Now remain in My Love” (John 15:9). So, by remaining in Jesus’ Love, we are organically embedded into the Love relationship He has with His Father from eternity, and remain for all eternity. Jesus further said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). Love’s fruits is cataloged in 1 Corinthians 13 and other places in the Bible.

The Love-Bond of Family, Replicated after The Divine Love of the Eternal Father and Son, Which Humans are Privileged to Share (Wiki Commons)

To make this life possible for humans, the Father gave up His Son to become human (Immanuel – ‘God with us’) to die and make restitution for man’s sins, so humans can enter this holy Love-relationship of the Father and Son on a continual basis. (Matt.1;23; Isa.7;14) This has always been God’s plan for man from the start. (Gen.1:26-27). After His resurrection and ascension back to the Father, this time in His glorified humanity, Jesus kept His promise of sending the Holy Spirit, who is the manifestation of God’s Love in man. (John 14:16, 26; 15:7). Two passage of scripture comes to mind which we are all familar. Jesus Himself proclaimed this plan of God to give His Love to man, saying, “For God (the Father) so Love the world, that He one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). By ‘eternal life’ it conveys the Love relationship of the Father and Son which exists in their  eternal existence before the created world and universe. Yes, Jesus is the doorway into this eternal Love-relationship between the Father and the Son. Paul tells us how God’s Love is embedded into human life, “For we know how dearly God Love us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His Love” (Rom.5:5). The Love of God (the Love relationship of the Father and Son) has been poured in our hearts through the Spirit who has made the human body a temple in which to live. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor.16:9).

Let me now explain what has holds back the Love of God from manifesting in man. The prophet tells us what the devil has done to the heart of man when he deceived Adam and Eve. He made man adversarial and rebellious toward God as he himself is. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked (rebellious). Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer.17:9) The prophet says, “We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows…we are like the dead… Our sins testify against us.” (Isa.59:9, 10, 12) That is the first base we have to pass when we are dealing with God’s Love – rebellion! Rebellion is the door which shuts God’s Love from man.

The Bible says that “rebellion is the sin of divination.” (1Sam.15:23) Divination has to do with evil fallen angels whose sin before man’s creation on earth was the sin of rebellion against God. (Isa.14:12-15; Ezek.28:13-15; Jude 1:6) Rebellion is part of man’s nature who has been held captive by the devil since Adam’s fall. Paul tells us, “Our struggle (with rebellion) is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph.6:12). Hence, when the Spirit rested upon Jesus after His baptism in the Jordan by John, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to enter into a titanic battle with Satan, and once and for all defeat rebellion at the very heart and core of rebellion itself – the devil himself! (Matt.4:1-11) The evil spirits of this dark world, the powers and authorities of rebellion which held sway over mankind, was defeated and Jesus sets mankind free forever.

Defeat of Rebellious Angels. John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” by Gustave Dore (Wiki Commons)

Man’s only hope is Jesus through whom we receive the Spirit who brings the Love of God to replace the rebellious heart. (Rom.5:5) Lets’ be clear about one thing, Love and rebellion are domains of the spirit world, not our physical world. What we see in our world is the result or output of the engines of Love and rebellion we can’t see, but feel their manifestations everyday in every way in our visible world. I hope we have the eyes to see that in life there are just two choices, we will always have a choice between Love and rebellion. The circumstance, nuance, and dynamics of life maybe different, but ultimately they rests upon these two major spiritual engines of life. We may call our decisions by myriads of name, but they originate from two trees: we must decipher our actions and answer from one of the two trees will we eat: the tree of life (Love), or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (rebellion). (Gen.2:9)

As long as we are humans, rebellion is an intrinsic part of our human nature. But God gives us His Love in His Spirit to nullify and overcome its influence. How does the Spirit does His work of dealing with man’s rebellion? Jesus succinctly utilizes a meaningful metaphor to convey this. He calls man a river, saying “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in Me. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit.” (John 7:37-38) The river has two parts, the riverbed (man), and its waters which flow through it (Spirit/Love). Jesus said if we believe in Him as Savior who delivers us from the clutches of the devil, He will replace the rebellious spirit with the gift of the Spirit whose Love will flow in us like “living waters” (John 7:38). The rebellious spirit had “deathly waters” in us, is now replaced by the Spirit’s “living waters” in man, the riverbed. Our calling and destiny is the way God has charted the river to flow in a prescribed course through the valley and community assigned to each of us. Rivers don’t change course, meaning God has given us a unchanging destiny that begins and ends with Him. He is the mountain from which rivers flow, and the ocean where all rivers gather. Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 22:13). All the putrid, disgusting, smelly odor of the riverbed (man’s rebellious heart) is flushed out and now completely covered by the Spirit so it can’t be seen or felt. All that’s seen is the Spirit covering man in the cloak of “living waters.” That is how God removes the darkness of man’s rebellious mind. When you think about it, that is exactly the way the devil has covered man in his foul “deathly waters” since Adam. Now God our Father, in His Love and compassion has reversed the condition to make His Spirit flow in man’s riverbed.

Dove, Symbol of Holy Spirit, Power of God’s Love in Man

Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” (brainyquote.com) Man must understand without any shadow of doubt where he stands, and why he needs saving. Man’s nature is bound to his rebellious heart, so much so, the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer.17:9). How can human life be lived in Love from this level of consciousness? If we will not change, Paul says, “Because of your stubbornness (rebellion) and your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom.2:5). Think of rebellion as the spirit that’s always lying beneath us in our riverbed, and becomes exposed for all its putrid features when the “living waters” of the Spirit subsides to a dangerously low level. Hence, we are admonished, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1Thes.5:19). So, the Spirit can be quenched. We do not live a life of animals, immovable in our instincts, we are humans made in the image of God who walks and lives in freedom, like the Tri-Personal Being of God does. So, our only hope is to be filled to our river banks with the “living waters” (Spirit). We must always be on our guard against this uncovering decline in the “living waters” of Love. Realize rebellion and Love can never co-exist. And if at times we may slide, we have a Savior and High Priest in heaven, Jesus, to restore us in the Spirit’s Love. Be thankful because God’s work of sanctification in the Spirit will remove all rebellion.

If the answer to rebellion is Love, then Christ alone brings deliverance and is the full expression of the Father’s Love in and to man. But we have answered that in the first post mentioned in my introduction. 

So, the answer to rebellion is the death of the old self, the “false self,” and the birth of the new self, the “true self” in Christ’s deliverance. So we read Paul’s affirmation in this regard, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live (“false self”), but Christ lives in me (“true  self”).” (Gal.2:20a) This passage is clear about one thing, an incarnation has taken place and the believer has morphed from his old self to his new self in Christ. This is the reality which exist in God’s divine realm, as man is reincarnated from who he was in his rebellious nature, into who he is in Christ’s Loving nature. He’s a new man natured in the Love of God. So, Paul continues, “The life I now live in the body, I live by the faith of Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal.2:20b) Yes, it’s a rebirth, it’s deliverance! Jesus Himself said “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.” (John 3:6-7). We are given new birth to experience the Love of the Father and the Son from and into all eternity.

In my next blog post I will discuss the subject of surrender. Without surrender, defeating rebellion is not possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

Kiang,                                                                                                                                                                  (Your Servant in Christ)    

* The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

 

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information.