Colossians
3:13
"Forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any (and we’re going to, because we’re human.
We’re going to have differences of opinion and even motivation.
We’re going to have some unhappy situations, but don’t let it
destroy your relationship. And if you have a quarrel,): even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
What
does that tell you? We’re forgiven, we’re totally forgiven,
and we don’t have to go back everyday and say, "Oh God forgive
me." That’s all done, it was done at the cross and our
ascension in Him. A lot of people can’t quite agree with me on
that, and that’s all right, but forgiveness is a done deal. We
have to still recognize our sins, and see them as God does. And we
have to ask God for cleansing, and our whole approach to that is, the
night that the Lord was washing Peter’s and the disciples feet. He
came to Peter and what did Peter say?
John
13:8-11
"Peter
saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If
I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto
him, Lord not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus
saith to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet,
but is clean every whit and ye are clean, but not all.
For
he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye
are not all clean."
Peter
had already been washed and saved by the words Jesus was speaking
over the past three years. He had his bath already, but by virtue of
walking from a bath house to his home in the ancient streets were
fixity, and before he could go into his own home he would have to
wash his feet again. As was the custom and ritual and tradition among
the Hebrews. Well the picture of course is where we are. We’ve
been saved, we’re forgiven, we’re cleansed, but we’re still in
this old world, and as we go though this world our feet are getting
dirty, and so what do we need? Cleaning! Through the washing of
the Living Word. Study closely Mark 7 tied to Matthew 11:5, Luke 7:22
which addresses the true washing by this Gospel or the Word of God in
His kingdom message.
But
there remains one more point often overlooked and it is found in the
last part of verse 10 and all of 11. Jesus being the Son of God knew
full well who was about to betray Him and Judas is no different from
the men of our own day who though they seem to be upright by all
normal appearances inwardly they remain ravenous wolves. This is most
often heard in the rhetoric of bombastic language, using words to
ensight emotions away from the Truth and the proper way of dealing
with everything in Truth and Grace. Often times this kind of language
leads to group and gang violance by small groups of people who
express their own anger held deed within themsleves against themselve
outwardly against others. Just like Judas did and then was overtaken
by his own deep remorse. But this remorse is lacking in our day
because of the way children are left on their own to do as they
please without proper suppervision and guardians. The human morallity
and self respect is missing among allot of those in leadership and with
guardian status as teachers (false prophets-evangelists) and even
pastors (anti-Christs). Our churched, religious people having been
led away from a Christ-centered ministry to a world centered global
ecosystem such as I see in todays religious systems on a worldwide
scale.
We
don’t need forgiveness, that’s all done, but we need cleansing,
and how do we get cleansed? I just told somebody yesterday. How do
you wash a strainer? A gravy strainer or a tea strainer, how do you
wash it? You certainly can’t run a piece of cloth through every
little opening, so how do you wash a strainer? Oh? you just swish it
through the water, isn’t that right? You just simply cleanse it
with the washing of water. That’s
what Paul uses in Ephesians, and this is what we have to do. We get
daily cleansing, by the washing of the water by the Word, but what
does Paul say the water is? The Word of God! Do you see that? Boy
isn’t that beautiful? We don’t have to come crawling to God every
time we do something that is wrong, and plead that He forgive us.
He must get tired of that, and tells us, "I’ve
forgiven you!", where
is your dependency
on My Grace. This is our cleansing. Jesus
as our Advocate and Mediator says Father he is already washed in My
blood (in My Death) and is sanctified, justified, righteous and forgiven. We have
to see our sin as He sees it and then be cleansed from it by the Word
of God, as seen in 1Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 5:26. And if we
stumble we are washed in the Blood (signifying death from the influence of the world) and we're again the justified,
sanctified, in righteousness, and made holiness because we live in
the Godliness of Christ. For we over come by or through His Blood and
our own witness of His great Truth. But there is a little looked at
warning in Proverbs that states this in 30:12: “There
is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not
washed from their filthiness.”
These sadly are the ones who do not count themselves as His, by their
own words and actions. So we are to forgive as Christ Jesus forgave
us in His vircarous death. For Jeremiah states this in 4:14:
“O
Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that you may be saved.
How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you?” This
is the attitude of mind that caused me so much trouble while in the
world and mans religious systems. This is part of the beginning
tribulation peroid which is covered in verses 4 through the end of
verse 18 which states this: “Circumcise
yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart,
you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:.........Your way and
your doings have procured (are
of your own doing and making of)
these things to you; this is your wickedness, because it is bitter,
because it reaches to (from)
your heart.”
Colossians
3:14
"And
above all these things put on charity (love),
which is the bond of perfectness."
Remember
the word perfect in the New Testament means mature, perfect,
complete. In this case it also means the highest degree of
goodness and holiness man can attain to in this life. And that love is
the fulfillment of the Spiritual Law. Love then is also the sign of
our Spiritual maturity.
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