Seeing Grace

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Think about His statement. Jesus knew that His finished work of taking away the sin of the world would be so radical to the natural way of thinking that many would not believe it.

Paul speaking of this radical taking away of all sin through Jesus and quoting Habakkuk 1:5 said, “Look, you scoffers, and be astonished, and perish;For I am accomplishing a work in your days,A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.”
(Acts 13:41)

The complete removal of all sin such that sins are no longer counted against the believer or even imputed to the believer is the radical work of the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. This good news is the power of God and wisdom of God!

Religion is in the business of managing sin and it is a multi-billion dollar business. Jesus put them out of business. 🔥

James Barron

When we read Jesus refer to “the word of the Kingdom” think about it as if He said “the message of another world.” When we see a reference in the Book of Acts to “the good news of the Kingdom of God” think about it as if Luke wrote “the good news of the other world of God.” When we read the Apostle Paul say “we have been translated from the kingdom of this darkness into the Kingdom of the beloved Son” think about it as if Paul wrote “we have been translated from this fallen world to another world where the beloved Son is now.”

We literally have died to this world and live in another world within through the miracle of the indwelling Spirit. This is the apostolic teaching that rocked the planet. Paul said we have been crucified to this world and live now in a different reality. Paul said why do you subject yourself to rules like “touch not” or “taste not” as if you were still living in this world?

The Spirit renews the mind to see the unseen and experience Heaven on earth within.

I think this is what Jesus was referring to in the parable of the pearl of great price or the treasure found buried in a field. He said these were like the Kingdom of Heaven. He was saying that if you find the door that opens up to Heaven on Earth so that you could have the reality of Heaven within you every day while you lived on Earth then that would be the greatest pearl and the greatest treasure. Jacob saw it. Jacob saw the Door and the House of God. Jesus fulfilled it. Jesus is the Door. Jesus is the House of God that He raised in three days. In Jesus we are seated with Him in this other world. Seated. With Him.

The whole scene of Jesus coming to them on the lake, walking on water, as they in fear were sinking in the boat in the violent storm, is a picture of Jesus calling us to see Him and go to Him to walk with Him in another world. Peter walking on water with eyes on Jesus is the picture of all believers walking with God in another world where sinking boats, violent storms and devastating waves have no power.

I love how Paul said “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard and neither has it entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for us in Christ, BUT the Spirit is given to us that we might know these things!” Most teach this verse to mean “in the sweet by and by” we will finally see and know all this great stuff but Paul is not talking about an after death experience but a present living experience through the Spirit giving us revelation to see the unseen reality.

The Gospel is really a radical revelation. It is not only radical because grace is given to sinners but also because it is the revelation of the death of all men from the first Adam and the creation of a new man from the last Adam, a new man who lives in another heavenly realm in union with God while he walks the earth in these bodies. So radical. People who want to just hear sermons on five ways to become a better person or read books on ten steps to be more holy are missing out on the most amazing truth this earth has ever heard, God’s mystery which is Christ Jesus.

James Barron

The law was a tutor to teach the Jews about God and if they had learned from their tutor then they would not have missed the day of their visitation by God. The law was only for the Jew. Never for the Gentile.

The Jew was to understand the utter holiness of God and the concept of blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin so that they would be able to grasp the revelation of Messiah and His work and bring that message, that good news, to the world in the fullness of time. Only a remnant saw it. Only a few of the Jews proclaimed it. But it does not take many to put a voice to the revelation of God in Jesus in order to change the world because THE REVELATION ITSELF IS THE POWER OF GOD.

The message that God is no longer counting your sin against you if your faith is in Jesus turned the world upside down. The announcement that God gives His own righteousness to a believer as a gift is the wisdom of God. The good news that the believer is one with God through Jesus by the Spirit is joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The awareness of an everlasting love that never leaves you is Heaven on Earth.

James Barron

Believe and see!  

The apostle John wrote:  What is the victory that overcomes the world?  Even our faith!

Believe and see.  

Jesus said, “Did I not say to you that if you would only BELIEVE you would SEE the glory of God?”

We really did die.  We really are new. We really are where He is.  Heaven is really inside us.  Jesus is really inside us. God is really inside us.  Holy Spirit open our eyes to see.  

We are in Heaven now in the same moment we are on earth.  Seated with Jesus in heavenly places. Now. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “And what if the Son of Man were to ascend now before your eyes into Heaven, where He is now?” 

We live in two worlds at the same time.  We are in the immediate presence of God in this very moment for Christ is in us and we are in Him.  Jesus said, “I am with you always, even until the end of the world.”  This revelation and understanding cannot happen with a sin consciousness.  This is the wisdom of God and the power of God. The Lamb of God took away sin so that man can walk with God every day on earth with the gift of righteousness from God. On earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus did it!

James Barron

Jesus frequently used money as a metaphor—in 13 out of 39 parables according to one source. Among its uses, decisions concerning money represent resentment toward God, forgiveness from moral debt, and divine generosity.

The Money Metaphor Once More

Assume you can have only one account at the bank. You can have it in your name or in the name of Jesus, as a co-signer.

The account in your name would go something like this: sometimes you’d have a positive balance of moral assets, sometimes negative. When positive, you’d feel pretty good about yourself. You might even look down on others who were in the negative. You would undergo stress at times, considerably so if you began to lose your ground. If you lost too much ground, you’d suffer insufferable guilt—and that’s too much guilt to be sure.

The account in Jesus’ name would go something like this: everything you need would have been paid for (note the past tense). His account offers no pride for being righteous, nor guilt for past sins. It is his account, not ours. We are purely beneficiaries, and that is a humbling thing, but also a peaceful, joyful loving thing.

Need forgiveness? Done, first from before time in the heart of God and in history made unforgettable while he was on the cross. Need redemption? Already done. Need better behavior, also called sanctification? It’s yours by faith, which is the only thing you are asked to contribute, the rest being a gift.

One can piece all these things together easily by reading the letters of Paul and others in the New Testament. But one statement from Paul says it all: “But it is due to God that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (I Corinthians 30). In Jesus’ account there can never be a negative balance. It’s all too good to be true in this world, but is standard fare for the kingdom of God.

What, then, is the downside of signing on to the account of Jesus? First, it’s invisible. It takes faith, and one will never have faith without listening to the revealed words of God and allowing the Spirit of God to reveal their meaning. This happens to me over time, not over night. Second, there’s no boasting, no pride. Any sense of one’s importance must be replaced by one’s sense of being loved. No more judging others, no more taking credit for one’s successes—everything shifts to a sense of Jesus’ accomplishment.

The upside of the second downside is that guilt and fear also disappear. One is defined no longer by one’s track record but by the success Jesus possesses as a redeemer.

Which will it be, this day and every day? Are we so significant that we somehow are too bad or too weak for Jesus to save? Must we force open an independent account just in case he fails or in case he needs assistance?

God forbid.

God bids us to be redeemed not redeemers. Let’s trade in our worry and anxiety for gratitude and thanksgiving. Close that independent account, you, the beneficiary of the life of Jesus!

– Louis Burkhardt

Original Blog: https://mygod.myplaza.xyz/2023/an-account-in-the-name-of-yourself-or-of-jesus/

Evangelical “Grace” and “Truth”

Certain evangelicals contrast grace and truth because they think grace is only mercy and truth is an updated version of the law. (link to read more: https://mygod.myplaza.xyz/rebuttal/)