WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle (2)

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This is part 2 of my review of Martyn Isles’s book WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle. If you have not read my first post I suggest you do. It refers to the serious error of all humans being immortal.

This post will deal with the serious omission from Martyn’s book and that is the role the Holy Spirit played in Adam’s life and now plays in believers’ lives.

When God breathed life into Adam he became a living creature.

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7

Proverbs 20:27 tells us that the “spirit of a man” is the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil to function. The Holy Spirit is the oil required to make the lamp of the Lord function. Hence, Adam received from God the Holy Spirit so Adam’s spirit could function as the lamp of the Lord. Adam was then able to function in the spiritual dimension and communicate with God as he did in the Garden of Eden.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

What was immediately lost in The Fall is the Holy Spirit departed Adam and Eve’s spirits so they and we as their descendants are no longer able to communicate directly with God.

The good news is that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour our Heavenly Father will send the Holy Spirit to once again indwell our spirit to be our helper, our counselor, teacher, and comforter.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.“ John 14:26

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.“ John 16:7

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15

“Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20

The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. He is also the one who provides the gifts for ministry.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ Galatians 5:22-23

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Jesus told His disciples not to do anything until the Holy Spirit came to indwell their spirits at Pentecost. It was only then that they were empowered to live the Christian life. Likewise for us, unless we have received the Holy Spirit we cannot live the Christian life, it is impossible.

WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle (1)

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I have just finished reading Martyn Isles’s book Who Am I? Solving the identity puzzle. It is a good book to make Jesus known and reveal more about God. Martyn makes the good point that we all like to think that we are made in God’s image but the reality is that while Adam was created in God’s image, as a result of the Fall, we are no longer in God’s image, we are in Adam’s image.

Now that I have finished the book, from my standpoint there is one major error and one significant omission. The error is that God made humans eternal. Martyn says that when God breathed into Adam He made him eternal, in essence immortal, yet all the Bible says is that he became a living creature.

“breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7

Eternal/immortal means not subject to death. The Bible says God alone has immortality.

“Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no person has seen or can see.” 1 Timothy 6:16

In this passage, we see that immortality is something that is part and parcel of the nature of God. He alone has it. The Scripture teaches that only God has life in Himself.

“For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.” John 5:26

The New Testament also says that God grants immortality to humans who trust in Him.

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

From the following passage we discover three things about immortality.

“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” 1 Corinthians 15:53-53

1. Immortality is given only to believers, there is no mention of unbelievers receiving it.

2. It is a gift from God that believers will receive in the future at Christ’s coming.

3. Immortality refers not only to the soul or spirit but the body is also included. Believers become immortal when this mortal body puts on an immortal one.

The Biblical error of an immortal soul leads directly to a second error the fate of unbelievers. Despite Jesus making it clear that the wages of sin is death and unbelievers perish much of the church teaches unbelievers suffer conscious torment for eternity.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“ John 3:16

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Matthew 7:13

“Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.” Proverbs 11:19

“Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:15

Note that sin ultimately brings forth death not life in everlasting conscious torment. Four times in Revelation we learn the fate of unbelievers is a second death.

“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8

I like to keep my posts relatively short so they can be read in 5 to 10 minutes. Hence, I will cover in my next post, what I believe is a serious omission. Martyn makes no mention of the fact Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to be our helper. He is our Counsellor, Teacher, and Comforter. He produces the fruit of the spirit (all nine) in our lives and He provides the gifts of the spirit for ministry (all nine). Without Him, it would be impossible to live a Christian life.

HUMAN BEINGS WERE MADE TO “IMAGE” GOD

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This life-changing truth comes from Martyn Isle’s book WHO AM I? Solving the identity puzzle.

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

When we read that verse we learn that mankind clearly reflected and embodied something that was God’s. In Colossians and Ephesians, the Apostle Paul connects the “new self”, after we have received the Holy Spirit, with the image of God, and in doing so he tells us what the image is.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Colossians 3:9-10

The same thought is expressed in Ephesians, this time the “new self” is described according to the likeness of God, which is also Genesis 1:27 language. The template of the “new self” is the image and likeness of God.

“Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24

Scripture tells us that the whole of God’s nature may be summarised in that sacred word “HOLY”. First, it means sinless and perfect. So Adam and Eve were made sinless and perfect. But when we refer to the holiness of God, it refers to all aspects of His perfection and character traits. So we can assume that all of God’s character traits were able to be demonstrated by Adam and Eve because of their holiness. They were able to radiantly image Him and reflect His glory. This includes His love, grace, mercy, righteousness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, etc. But to be made in God’s image means to be made with the knowledge of God. Adam and Eve knew God. They spoke to Him directly, and He with them, so rationality, objectivity, creativity, love, and other such abilities cannot be irrelevant to God’s image. We have all these unique abilities so that we may apply them to the great high calling of God’s image on the human race. They enable us to be holy. They enable us to act righteously. They enable us to know God. These are the ends for which they are designed. This is what we should use our special faculties for. The more we know about God, the more we discover who we ought to be, and the more we want to be that person.

Take the human mind as one example. It is unique. We apply it rightly when we use it to grow in the knowledge of God. When the mind is renewed by that knowledge, it changes our whole person, teaching us to reject sin, embrace righteousness, and be holy. It also animates our lives to do small and big things in a way that serves God.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

When we understand the truth about what God’s image is, we understand the high calling on our lives. Mostly, when we hear people say that humans are made in God’s image, we hear them say it as if that’s the end of the story. It is not the end of the story. It is better to put it this way: human beings were made to image God. We should not think about it as a status, we should think about it as our calling.

It is our calling to be holy, righteous, and to know God. It is how we live up to our purpose of bearing God’s image.

FOR GEN Z, GOD AND THEREFORE HOPE ARE GONE

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Our godless schools and universities have taught this generation that this Cosmos came into existence through a Big Bang and evolution. Despite the overwhelming evidence for an intricately designed universe, they cannot and will not countenance God.

Why? “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 and they have been blinded by the god of this world, our supernatural enemy, Satan. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

By definition, hope is beyond us and bigger than us. True Hope is given by God. Gen Z is a generation that has no hope. It is destined for hopelessness and depression.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ… ” Titus 2:12-14

This post was inspired by my reading Martyn Iles’s book WHO AM I? SOLVING THE IDENTITY PUZZLE. I love his challenge in the book:

I challenge any reader to find me positive feedback on the human condition outside of Jesus Christ, after THE FALL OF MAN (Genesis 3), anywhere in Scripture. You and I frequently do the wrong thing because our hearts are corrupted by all kinds of sin. That has always been the human predicament after Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

Fortunately, our Heavenly Father has provided a way back into the right relationship with Him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:16-21

WHO AM I? SOLVING THE IDENTITY PUZZLE

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I have spoken about Martyn Isles on many occasions as I have watched God use him to mightily impact Australia for Christ when he was with the organisation, Australian Christian Lobby. God has now expanded his ministry by elevating him to CEO of Answers in Genesis (AIG), a ministry based in the USA but started by an Australian, Ken Ham.

Martyn and Ken were recently in Australia where they held a series of meetings in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne entitled “Living in Babylon“. In total, more than ten thousand people were directly reached by the messages and many more are watching them online. If you have not seen them make sure you do and encourage others to do the same.

Martyn has written a book that every pastor needs to read if they are to reach Gen Z, a generation that has grown up with an evolutionary mindset.

Western Schools, Universities, Media, and Governments teach evolution and operate as if God does not exist. Hence we see an obsession with self as seen in the rise of psychology, genders and sexualities, and identity politics. As Martin rightly points out, the identity crisis has resulted in people looking at themselves and coming up with subjective answers based on how they feel and attributes supplied by political activists, ideologues, and pop culture.

Young people are encouraged with notions like loving yourself, living true to yourself, being your best self, following your heart, believing in yourself, living your truth… or phrases like “you do you,” “you are enough,” “you’re worth it,” “you’re beautiful just as you are.” This self-talk has changed the kinds of things people hold up as virtues. We need to be authentic: if your actions are true to “you” then they are good for you and are justifiable. It is the same idea that makes it possible to say, “My truth.” In other words, we define what is right and even what is “true” based on how we feel. Seeing ourselves as the ultimate authority instead of God.

The virtue of self-belief is a staple these days – no motivational speech or life advice is complete without it. The resources we need for our own achievements are found in our attitude to who we are.

The Big Mistake the world is making is that they believe that “self” is good. The Bible and Jesus specifically make it clear that “self” is not good, in fact, it is profoundly bad.

““What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 17:20-23

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR IDENTITY

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Here’s what society desperately NEEDS to realize about identity and sexual orientation. In this presentation, Martyn Iles shares important truths about our identities according to the Word of God.

In this ever-shifting world, we can safely anchor ourselves to the solid, unmoving, unchanging Word of God!

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Matthew 24:35

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8

“Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” Psalms 119:89

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” Luke 16:16

“Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:23-25

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:19

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” Matthew 7:24-25

“So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” Ephesians 4:14-15

WHAT IS BEING TAUGHT TO OUR CHILDREN ABOUT IDENTITY?

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Christians must beware of this DANGEROUS new ideology – Gender Identity Theory.

In this video, Martyn Iles reveals why gender identity theory is unbiblical and harmful to society, and what we should do about its rise in popularity.

The only thing that is truly important is what God, our Creator says about who we are. For one we are made in the image of God which refers first to what we are called to be.

Martyn looks at the following three identities. 1. Humans as God made us. 2. Humans as Sin spoiled us. 3. Humans as Jesus Christ restored us.

1. Humans as God made us: We were made perfect without sin and death.

2. Humans as sin spoiled us:

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:21-23

3. Humans as Jesus Christ restored us:

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7

LIFE’S BIGGEST QUESTION HAS ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES

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In Matthew 16, Jesus is having a conversation about His identity with Simon Peter, and Jesus asked him an all-important question: “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And he got it right.

Getting this question right is both the quintessence of salvation and the starting point for an eternal journey. You are saved when you come to know and believe in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, but that is only the beginning of your relationship with Him.

When Simon correctly identified who Jesus was, Jesus identified who Simon was.

He said, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” From then on, Simon was known as Rock. That’s what petros, or Peter, means in Greek.

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 ESV

What changed in that moment wasn’t who Peter was but rather his view of who he was. Jesus said he was a rock. Suddenly Peter could see the man he really was. Mind you, when it looked like his world was about to end, he denied Jesus three times just as Jesus said he would. Our journey will be no different. There will be times we need to repent and ask God for His forgiveness, which He freely grants.

Knowing God is paramount to finding out why He made you and who He means for you to be.

So who do you say Jesus is? It’s life’s biggest question.

God wants to give you a revelation of who you are too. He wants to show you your value now, and He wants to open your eyes to who you can become in Him. Jesus made it possible for our heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to dwell within you to be your Counsellor, Comforter and Teacher. You have all you need to be who God meant you to be.

Stop talking about who you are not and what you cannot do, and start listening to what God says about your life. Stop labelling yourself, and start letting God do whatever He wants in, through, and with you. Dead to self, alive to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would like to thank Pastor Steven Furtick for providing much of the content for this post. For more information, please visit:   http://www.iamunqualified.com

LUIS’S TESTIMONY WILL TRANSFORM YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIVES

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Make sure you get your sons and daughters, or in my case, my grandsons and granddaughters, to watch this testimony by Luis West, a young indigenous Australian. We all need to be as sure of who you are in Jesus as he is.

https://youtu.be/Udnb0Q-0mII