GarrisonRussell
THE BODY OF CHRISTBy Garrison Russell
Christ is not a person, it is a group. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. The goodness of God invites you to join this divine group, and partake of the heavenly splendor of Christ. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. Whenever the Christ is made visible, our life, then also you with Him shall be manifested in glory. Colossians 3:3, 4 (Wuest).
The knowledge of the many-membered Christ is the awesome news of Christianity. You can become a spiritually begotten Son of God, just like Jesus. If you do it now, you will attain a place in the firstborn Body of Christ. This is God’s preeminent message, offering all his wealth to the Sons of his own loins. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
The present work of every Christian should be to gain the spiritual maturity necessary to function as an individual member in the Body of Christ. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Every person who claims to believe the Bible should be striving for this ultimate goal. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ.
Every other desire, and every ruse of denominationalism, is a paltry pittance that pales in comparison. To attain to the Body of Christ is the supreme mission. When you are launched on this quest, every other contest becomes an unworthy, unsatisfying chore. God has chosen to make known how glorious are the riches of this open secret among the heathen, namely, Christ in you the hope of your glorification. Colossians 1:27 (Williams).
As a son of Adam you are now challenged to become a Son of God. As you begin this process, turn to the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit. Avoid the brokers and beliefs of Organized Christianity, as they are empty and unprofitable. Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
To begin your trek to spiritual maturity, simply ask Jesus Christ for a seed from his spirit life. When you receive the seed of “Christ,” your spirit becomes a newly conceived Son of God. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. This new spirit Son will then be matured inside your physical, sinful, Adamic body. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Your Adamic body and carnal mind are only fodder for your spirit; they will inherit nothing from God. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. The spirit Son of God within you is matured as he extends his sway over the body, and destroys your fallen, carnal nature. Now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
Every Adamic failing must be neutralized, defused, and rendered inoperable, by the maturing spirit of Christ within you. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
While pursuing spiritual maturity, turn your eyes away from the physical, temporal glitter of the earthly realm. The things above be constantly setting your mind upon, not the things on the earth. Colossians 3:2 (Wuest). Every lust for the good or evil of the natural world must be abandoned in favor of spiritual vision. That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
As you choke off the energy that demands human prestige and felicity, your spirit will blossom into the deep satisfaction of new spiritual understanding. What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
Setting your sights on the acquisition of Christ will bring bitter battles to your life. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. To succeed in these, spiritual victory must become your only goal. Let the earthly realm become dross. Let faith surpass the constant fears of terrestrial life. Nothing must stand in your way. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
As the fire of God’s forge blows upon your daily affairs, the mettle of Christ will be brought to perfection. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Trials serve to focus your passion and prove your resolve. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
Every tribulation is sent from your Heavenly Father for your good. They verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Through your encounters with travail your spirit will become strong. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Affliction is the only experience that can generate the persevering substance of a begotten being. By your endurance shall ye gain your lives for a possession. Luke 21:19 (Emphasized). Those who will enter the maturity of Christ, will first prove themselves the greatest spiritual warriors who will ever exist. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.
The Sons of God are described as the Overcomers of the Revelation. They are empowered by the grandeur of a new spirit birth. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. These Sons are steadfast, and found in the tireless pursuit of perfection, as the last pulse of their veins goes silent. He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.
To these overcoming Sons go the spoils of war. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. They will enter into a heavenly realm. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. They will become immortal beings, each a new source of autonomous life. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life. By triumph in war, these Sons will become a new habitation for the divine character of God. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, ... and I will write upon him my new name. These glorious Overcomers will become the rulers of the ages to come. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.
Excerpts from SONPLACING
SEARCHING THE MYSTERIES OF GODby Garrison Russell
The road to the supreme calling of God is an adventure, fraught with danger and bristling with excitement. It is trod by spiritual explorers who are clad with courage and perseverance.
God never reveals all that he is, but leaves only clues. Those who desire him are not summoned to his throne, but rather are given a map. If their blood runs hot for permanent wealth they will delight at this challenge, and embark on a hunt for spiritual treasure. The pursuit of this quest will develop their resourcefulness, test their mettle, and prove their resolve. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen.
God’s passion for intrigue is astounding. He has hidden his spiritual truths behind a multitude of cunning deceptions. These he made traps for the unwary, but victories for the vigilant. The obstacles increase the stakes and heighten the challenge. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Oh the thrill you feel when you’ve trekked for a time, and suddenly he reveals a secret door. You pry it open and squeeze through, and there by the flickering torch, your eyes gaze on a lost room of spiritual gold.
This is the verve of those who will come to find God. For he lurks in secret and hides himself. He must be sought out by those who are disciplined, fearless, and brash- these are the raiders of heaven. The kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force as a precious prize. A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought for with most ardent zeal and intense exertion. Matthew 11:12 (Amplified).
God is a mystery, waiting to be solved. His discovery is a challenge to the spirit that beckons the brave and mocks the feeble. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Any who would learn his secrets must make it their passion to find him. Like prospectors of the celestial realm, they must seek him and ceaselessly strive for their objective. It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
This search is like no other. For it requires the perseverance of an archeologist, the vision of an astronomer, the power of a warrior, the intuition of a detective, and the love of a gardener. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Those who pursue God are a breed apart, the quick and the bold, who electrify at the thought of finding his secrets. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. They thrill to the work. They are captivated by the search for spiritual glory, having been fitted with an insatiable need. Like military protocol, God is available only on a need to know basis. Only those who desperately need to know him, will ever find him. The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
The deep things of God are invisible to natural men. They can see what he does and hear all about him, but they will never know him personally. Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it. God cannot be found by the natural man. He can only be found by spirit beings. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. If you pursue God by human liturgy, or in conjunction with the desires of mortals, he will remain veiled to your eyes. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
God is a spirit. He dwells in a dimension where human desires and limitations do not exist. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. You also are a spirit being. But you are now dwelling in a physical body and subjected to carnality. If you aspire to find the high secrets of God you must remove these impediments that hinder your access. You must terminate your carnal nature, destroying its addictions and blindness. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Then you must begin to search for God in a land that lies beyond human limitations. This new realm is a spiritual place where God is absolutely sovereign over every detail in existence. By the spirit, you must be willing to war against your own disbelief, and to strive to understand the strange new truths that you see. This can be very difficult. For the truth of God is far stranger than you can now suppose. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
As you set out in search of your Heavenly Father, you will require some tools for your journey. Without the proper equipment you can never succeed. This necessitates a stop at the exploration office of Jesus Christ.
When you meet Jesus Christ you will be given a map and a compass. All truth is in Jesus, embodied and personified in Him. Ephesians 4:21 (Amplified). The map shows the path that Jesus walked, and the compass is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus revealed the way to the treasures of God. If you want them, you need only follow his steps. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Like a compass, the Holy Spirit is your guide on this trek. He will call every turn and carefully lead you into the secrets of God. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. He will also be your constant traveling companion, and describe your final destination so that you will know what you are looking for. Where there is no vision, the people perish. These are the tools of spiritual discovery and victory. With these you can find and acquire the celestial treasures of God. God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
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