Identidade do Reino

Palestra sobre identidade cristã e como viver para a Glória de Deus

Introdução:
“Você vive como uma peça original ou como uma cópia genérica? “
Qual imagem te vem a cabeça quando ouve a palavra identidade?
Transição:
Uma das perguntas que é mais difícil de se responder é: “Quem sou eu? “
É importante saber qual a sua identidade e ter plena definição de quem, você
é. Pois qua ndo temos a clareza de quem somos, duas verdades podemos
colocar em prática:
1. Quando se sabe quem você é, você não se desestabiliza, nem se abate
quando alguém diz que você é aquilo que você não é!
2. Fica mais fácil aceitar ou entregar-se ao encontrar seu propósito ou
missão de vida!
Geralmente quando temos que responder a pergunta de quem somos nós,
acabamos por citar o papel que exercemos ou aquilo que fazemos
Para uma melhor entendimento vamos definir alguns conceitos:
SLIDE 1
Definição dos termos
Identidade o que é?
 Em psicologia identidade é o conjunto das qualidades, crenças e
personalidade; aparência e/ou expressões que compõe uma pessoa ou
grupo.
 Identidade psicológica relaciona-se com a Autoimagem, autoestima e
individualidade

Reino de Deus, O que é?

Dois Conceitos:

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 1). Um governo real e/ou universal de Deus estabelecido no Céu e também
na Terra completamente renovada no fim dos tempos, no dia do juízo final
e com existência eterna;
 2). Uma condição interior de dimensão pessoal, de carácter espiritual,
moral, mental e psíquico/psicológico, existente em todos aqueles que
estão na graça de Deus e que seguem verdadeiramente a vontade de Deus
e os ensinamentos e exemplo de Jesus Cristo;

A definição e o Rei de toda a criação

Em busca de definir o Reino de Deus, faz sentido começar com a definição da

própria palavra reino. O termo refere-se tanto ao reino quanto ao governo de
um monarca ou à esfera de sua autoridade — o domínio.

Em ambos os casos, existem quatro elementos: 1) o próprio governante; 2) o

reino sobre o qual o monarca governa; 3) pessoas dentro do reino e 4) um
sistema de leis e de governo para administrar o reino.

Assim, a terminologia "Reino de Deus" essencialmente deve se referir a um

governo ou governo de Deus. Que é o Monarca do Reino, terra e céus é o
domínio do seu reino, todos os povos pertemcem à ele, mas somente aqueles
que aceitam suas leis agem como súditos e cidadãos do reino, suas leis são
para justiça, equidade e seu julgamento é com fidelidade.

Por esta definição, o Reino existe agora, já que o Deus Criador é soberano
sobre toda a criação, pois tudo está sujeito a Ele por lei. "O SENHOR reina",
proclamam os Salmos (93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1).

No entanto, a Escritura também vislumbra a expectativa de um tempo em que

o governo de Deus será aceito universalmente, que não é o caso de hoje.

Indentidade Cristã

There is an ancient Indian story that tells of six blind men who attempted to
describe an elephant based on what part of the elephant they were examining
with their hands. Because of their blindness, they drew some pretty comical
conclusions. One felt the leg and decided the elephant was a pillar. Another
touched the tusk and determined it was a solid pipe. Still another grabbed the
tail and proclaimed it to be nothing more than rope. The story goes on and in
the end a man blessed with sight enters and sees the whole picture, that it
was, in fact, an elephant.

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This story is often used by world religions to describe what they incorrectly
believe to be the different paths to God, but I want to use it to illustrate how
incomplete our view and understanding is of ourselves. Often, we make the
mistake of finding our identity without realizing that in our blindness we have
seen only a tiny part of the big picture. For example, a guy may play a sport
really well so he finds his identity in the fact that he is an athlete. A girl might
be really pretty and therefore she’s finds her identity in her external
appearance. The problem is, this is such an incomplete picture. Jesus sees so
much more when He looks at us.

 Read 1 Peter 2:9-10

“…for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very
own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he
called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no
identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.” (New Living Translation)

What is wrong with finding your identity in the things that you can do, the way
you look, the friends you hang out with, or so on? For starters, everything I just
mentioned in that sentence can be taken away from you. Your actual identity,
the part of you that truly and accurately describes who you are at the core of
your being, cannot change. Someday you may no longer be the athlete you
once were. What you see as “good looks” may change. Your true identity, is an
amazing gift from God. Let’s look at a few of the things that are mentioned in
those verses.

Chosen People

God, in all His amazing power and wisdom, has looked at you and said, “This is
a person that I love. I want to know this person better. I chose you.”

Royal Priest

You are “royalty”, which means that you are an adopted child of the Creator of
the Universe. He loves you, not as a friend or a follower, but as a son or a
daughter.

You are a priest. That carries so many meanings. You have the ability to help
lead others to that same incredible love that God has for you.

God’s People

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You are a part of the Chosen People, those whom God has set aside as special
to Him. You have the ability to change the world with His love and grace.

These are just a few of the things that the Bible says are your true identity. The
best part is that no one can take that away from you. Nothing you do, no
matter what life throws at you, your identity in Jesus Christ cannot be shaken
or destroyed. Jesus sees the full picture of who you are. Allow Him to remove
your blindness so that you can step into His wonderful light.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

In your own words, what is “identity”?

What are some of the “false” identities that people around you cling to?  (for
example:  John’s identity is that he is the “smart kid”)

Why is it important to know what your identity is?

What is dangerous about finding your identity in something that can change or
be taken away?

1 Peter 2:9-10 touches on a few of the ways the Bible describes our identity. 
Can you think of any more?

Teaching Our Identity in Christ

by Dr. Neil T. Anderson

As  teachers of the Bible, we  have a different message to the church than we
do to the world. To the world we offer a plan of salvation that comes with the
forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Christ. They are sinners in need of
redemption. They are by nature children of wrath (Eph.2:3). Christians on the
other hand are new creations in Christ and the Apostle Paul address them as
saints (Eph. 1:1). Christians are no longer children of wrath, they are children
of God (Jn. 1:12), which raises the question.  Should we address Christians as
sinners or are they saints? Or both? Whether a Christian has two natures or
one is not an easy question to answer, which is evidenced by the fact that
conservative theologians don't perfectly agree.  They do agree that Christians
sin, but how or why is explained differently.  Part of the problem is semantic
and can be cleared up by defining terms.  Reconciling divergent theological
positions and perspectives on reality (i.e., worldview) is the more difficult
problem to resolve.  

Old Man, Nature and Flesh

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The biblical terms "old man" (or "old self"), nature and flesh can carelessly be
used interchangeably when they need to be clearly distinguished.  The Bible
says we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1) and ". . . were by
nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3).  In other words, we were born physically
alive, but spiritually dead.  We had neither the presence of God in our lives nor
the knowledge of His ways.  Consequently, we all lived independent of God. 
This independence is one of the chief characteristics of the flesh.  According to
Paul, "The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
for these are in opposition to one another" (Gal. 5:17).  They are in opposition
because the Holy Spirit, like Jesus, will not operate independent of our
heavenly Father, while that is the chief characteristic of the flesh.

Such is the state of fallen humanity—sinful by nature and spiritually dead (i.e.,
separated from God).  Fallen humanity had no other choice than to find their
identity in their natural existence and determine their purpose and meaning in
life independent of God.  In addition, the heart, which is the center of our
being, "is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick" (Jer. 17:9).  Paul
says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).  Fallen
humanity lives "in the flesh" and "those who are in the flesh cannot please
God" (Rom. 8:8).  We were depraved.  Every aspect of our being was
corrupted.

The Whole Gospel

The good news is that Christ came to change all that.  However, the gospel we
most hear sounds like this: "Jesus is the Messiah who came to die for our sins,
and if we will put our trust in Him, we will be forgiven of our sins and when we
die, we will get to go to Heaven." What is wrong with that?

At best it is only a third of the gospel; and it gives the impression that eternal
life is something we get when we physically die! If you were going to save a
dead man, what would you do? Give him life? If that is all you did, he would
only die again.  To save the dead person, you would have to do two things. 
First, you would have to cure the disease that caused him to die.  The Bible
says, "The wages of sin is death . . ." (Rom. 6:23a).  So Jesus went to the cross
and died for our sins.  Is that the whole gospel? Absolutely not! Thank God for
Good Friday, but it was Christ’s resurrection that gave us life.  We need to
finish the previous verse: ". . . but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23b).  Eternal life is not something we get when we
die.  In fact, if you don’t have eternal (spiritual) life before you physically die,
you will have nothing but hell to look forward to.  John says, "He who has the

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Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life"
(1 Jn. 5:12).

Sin has separated us from God, so we use the cross as a bridge diagram to
present the gospel.  But when we cross the bridge, are we the same person we
were before? We will likely perceive ourselves to be nothing more than
forgiven sinners instead of redeemed saints if we leave the resurrection out of
our gospel presentations.  What Adam and Eve lost in the fall was life (i.e.
spiritual life) and Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).

As a result of the fall, Satan became the rebel holder of authority on planet
earth.  Even Jesus referred to Satan as the ruler of this world (Jn. 12:31; 14:30;
16:11).  The defeat of Satan is the third part of the gospel and the one most
overlooked the in western church.  "The Son of God appeared for this purpose
to destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jn. 3:8).  This part of the gospel is just as
critical since "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 Jn. 5:19). 
Believers need to know that they are now children of God (Jn. 1:12) who are
forgiven and spiritually alive in Christ (Col. 2:13), and they also need to know
that they have authority over the kingdom of darkness because they are
seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6).

Freedom in Christ ministries has been helping Christians find their freedom in
Christ by guiding them through a repentance process that helps them resolve
their personal and spiritual conflicts.  It has been our observation that every
struggling and defeated Christian had one thing in common—none of them
knew who they were in Christ and they didn’t understand what it meant to be
a child of God.  Why not? Paul writes, "Because you are sons, God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba Father’" (Gal. 4:6).  But
they had no awareness of that.  If the Holy Spirit is bearing witness with our
spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16), why weren’t they sensing His
presence? Many question their salvation since they don’t sense any spiritual
confirmation.  They did sense His presence, however, if they successfully
resolved their personal and spiritual conflicts through genuine repentance and
faith in God.

Alive and Free in Christ

Being spiritually alive in Christ is the major theme of Paul’s theology, which is
reflected in the following verse: "For this reason I have sent to you Timothy,
who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my
ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every city" (1 Cor.

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4:17,emphasis added).  According to Paul, every believer is identified with
Christ:

In His death Rom. 6:3; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1-3

In His burial Rom. 6:4
In His resurrection Rom. 6:5, 8, 11
In His life Rom. 5:10,11
In His power Eph. 1:19,20
In His inheritance Rom. 8:16,17; Eph. 1:11-18

Positionally, several things changed at salvation.  First, God transferred us from

the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13).  Second,
we are no longer in the flesh; we are in the Spirit and in Christ.  "However, you
are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. 
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him"
(Rom. 8:9).  Paul equates the idea of being "in the flesh" with being "in Adam."
"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22,
emphasis added).  This positional change can be shown as follows:

In Adam   In Christ
Old Man (Self) By Ancestry New Man (Self)
Sin Nature By Nature Partaker of Divine Nature
Eph. 2:1-3 2 Pet. 1:4
In the Flesh By Birth In the Spirit
Rom. 8:8 Rom. 8:9
Live according to the By Choice Live according to the Spirit or
Flesh the Flesh
Gal. 5:16-18

The Bible also says we are a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), which has
effected our nature, the very core of our inner being.  Paul says, "You were
formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light"
(Eph. 5:8).  So then why do Christians still sin and what has been retained of
our old and sinful nature? Perhaps an illustration will help.  In Arizona, city
parks and boulevards are decorated with ornamental orange trees, which are a
much hardier stock than the trees which produce the sweet oranges we eat. 
Because they can survive colder temperatures, they are used for rootstock.

The ornamental orange is allowed to grow to a certain height, then it is cut off,
and a new life (such as a navel orange) is grafted in.  Everything that grows
above the graft takes on the new nature of the sweet orange.  Everything
below the graft retains the physical characteristics of the ornamental orange. 

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There is only one tree when it is fully-grown.  The physical growth of the tree is
still dependent upon the roots that go deep into the soil for water and
nutrition.  What grows above the graft takes on the nature of that which was
grafted in to the root stock.

Nobody looks at a grove of navel oranges and says, "Actually that is just a
grove of root stock!" They would call them navel orange trees because they
would identify the trees by their fruit.  Jesus said, "So then, you will know them
by their fruits" (Matt. 7:20).  That is how we should identify one another.  Paul
says, "Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh" (2
Cor. 5:16).  In other words, we are not supposed to recognize Christians for
who they were in Adam, but for who they now are in Christ.  That is why the
Bible does not identify believers as sinners, but instead they are identified as
saints.

In the King James version of the Bible, believers are called "saints," "holy
ones," or "righteous ones" more than 240 times.  In contrast, unbelievers are
called "sinners" over 330 times.  Clearly, the term "saint" is used in Scripture to
refer to the believer and "sinner" is used in reference to the unbeliever. 
Although the New Testament gives ample evidence that a believer is capable
of sinning, it never clearly identifies the believer as a "sinner." It is a mystery to
me why we insist on calling Christians sinners, but then discipline them if they
don’t act like saints.  People cannot consistently behave in a way that is
inconsistent with what they believe about themselves.  We live according to
who we really are and born-again believers are children of God. 
Understanding this is a critical part of our sanctification according to John: "See
how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called
children of God; and such we are. . . . Beloved, now we are children of God . . .
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is
pure" (1 Jn. 3:1-3).

Two Natures or One?

Let me draw another observation from the tree illustration.  How would you
define the nature of the tree? Would it have two natures? It depends upon
whether you are talking about the whole tree—which does have two natures
(rootstock and navel)—or just the part of the tree that grows above the graft
(the new creation) that has just one nature (navel).  This is somewhat of a
semantic problem.  When Paul talks about the new "I," is he talking about who
he was before in combination with who he is now, or is he referring to the new
creation in Christ?

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Spiritual growth in the Christian life requires a relationship with God who is the
fountain of spiritual life, a relationship that brings a new seed or root of life. 
As in nature, unless there is some seed or root of life within an organism, no
growth can take place.  Unless there is a seed of life within the believer, i.e.,
some core spiritual life, growth is impossible.  There is nothing to grow.  That is
why Paul’s theology is all based on our position in Christ.  "Therefore as you
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted
and now being built up in Him . . ." (Col. 2:6,7a).  That is why the Christian
message must be based on who we are in Christ.  In order to grow, believers
must first be firmly rooted in Christ.  In order to grow and bear fruit, Christians,
their marriages, and their ministries must all be spiritually centered in Christ.

The New Birth

Recall that Adam and Eve were born both physically and spiritually alive. 
Because of sin, they died spiritually.  They were separated from God.  From
that time on, everybody is born physically alive, but spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1). 
Paul says that everyone in that state is a natural man who cannot discern the
things of God (1 Cor. 2:14).  Like an ornamental orange, he may look good,
but he cannot bear any fruit that isn’t bitter.  The fruit will only drop to the
ground and bring forth more natural stock that will only appear to look good
for a season.

According to Scripture, the center of the person is the heart, which has the
capacities to think, feel and choose.  In our natural state "the heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure" (Jer. 17:9).  It is deceitful because it was
born that way and has been conditioned from the time of birth by the
deceitfulness of a fallen world, rather than by the truth of God’s Word.
According to Proverbs 4:23, the heart is the "wellspring of life" in which
wickedness must not be allowed to take root.  For instance, that is why we are
to forgive from the heart and not allow a root of bitterness to spring up "by
which many will be defiled."

A New Heart and a New Spirit

One of the greatest prophecies concerning our salvation is given in Ezekiel

36:26: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will
remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." The new
covenant under which every Christian lives says, "I will put My laws in their
hearts" (Heb. 10:16).  Jesus came that we might have life, and the believer
receives that spiritual life at the moment of salvation.  "Yet to all who received
Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children

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of God" (Jn. 1:12).  In other words, "To all the ornamental oranges that will
choose to put their trust in God and believe His Word, they shall be navel
oranges." The moment you were grafted into the vine, you were sanctified or
set apart as a child of God.  "You are already clean" (Jn. 15:3), and you shall
continue to be sanctified as He prunes you so that you may grow and bear
fruit.  You are now alive in Christ, which is the foundation and source for the
spiritual growth.  In fact, the believer is described as a new creation with a new
life that has new desires and a new direction.

The same thought is captured in Paul’s testimony: "I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal.
2:20).  Paul says I died, but I live, obviously a new and different person (cf. also
Col. 3:1-3).  In other words, my old ornamental tree has been cut off; I no
longer live as an ornamental orange, but I now live as a new navel orange.  We
as Christians have a new identity and it comes from who we are in Christ, not
who we were in Adam.

A New Man

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!" (2 Cor. 5:17).  It is also possible to translate "he is a new creation" as
"there is a new creation." What Paul is teaching in this statement is that
through His death and resurrection, Christ has effected a new creation in which
finally all things—including all of creation, the earth and the heavens—will be
made new (Rev. 21:1; cf. Is. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13).  The believer who has
died and now lives "in Christ" (cf. vv. 14-15) is part of this new creation.

Parallel to the concept of being a new creation is the teaching that the believer
has put on the "new self" (Col. 3:9), or more literally the "new man." The new
man at times refers both to the new individual (i.e., "self") in Christ, as well as
the new humanity or the humanity of the new creation united in Christ as its
Head.  F. F. Bruce says, "The new man who is created is the new personality
that each believer becomes when he is reborn as a member of the new
creation whose source of life is Christ."

What does it mean to be a "new man?" Does it mean that every aspect of the
believer is new in reality? We still look the same physically, and we still have
many of the same thoughts, feelings and experiences.  Picture, for instance,
the ornamental orange tree that has just had a tiny new stem grafted into it. 
Because so much appears to be the same, we are sometimes taught that our
"newness" refers only to our position in Christ.  They would say that the

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newness is only what we have seen in relation to our position of righteousness
and holiness in justification and positional sanctification.  There is no real
change in us until we are finally transformed in glorification.  That would be
like teaching justification without regeneration (we are forgiven, but there is
no new life).  If we are still ornamental orange trees, how can we be expected
to bear naval oranges? We have to believe that our new identity is in the life of
Christ and commit ourselves to grow accordingly.

New Things Have Come

Despite the fact that every believer at times lives according to the old self, like
Paul, they still are new persons—new in relationship to God and new in
themselves.  The change that takes place in us when we come to Christ
involves two dimensions.  First, we have a new Master.  As mortals, we have
no choice but to live under a spiritual power, either our heavenly Father or the
god of this world.  At salvation, the believer in Christ experiences a change in
the power that dominates life.  Second, there is an actual change in the
"nature" of believers, so that the propensities of his life or the deepest desires
of their hearts is now oriented toward God, rather than toward self and sin.

A New Master

Since we are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, we have
become a new person and part of the new humanity.  In this change, we have
come under a new power of dominion in our life.  Nowhere is this expressed
more clearly than in Romans 6:5-7: "If we have been united with Him . . . in His
death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.  For we
know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone
who has died has been freed from sin." "Old self" in this passage is literally "old
man." The "old man" in relation to the believer has been crucified in Christ and
he has put on the "new man" (Col. 3:10).

The biblical teaching of the "new man" also has a corporate sense, meaning a
collective mankind, i.e., the "old humanity" related to Adam, and the new
humanity is related to Christ.  The latter is the "new man" created in Christ
(Eph. 2:15).  This corporate sense is evident when Paul speaks of the "new
man" as a place or sphere "in which there is no distinction between Greek and
Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised . . ." (Col. 3:10).  The individual person or
"self," however, is not excluded from this corporate sense.  For all people exist
and have their identity in one of these two "men." They either belong to the

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"old humanity" and are dominated by its characteristics or they are regenerate
and belong to the "new humanity" and are under its domination.

Saved and Sanctified by Faith

Again, we need to understand that this is a reality that has already taken
place.  Paul says, "our old self was crucified" (past tense).  We try and try to put
the old man to death and we can’t do it.  Why not? Because he is already dead!
You cannot do for yourself what Christ has already done for you.  Because
many Christians are not living the abundant life, they incorrectly reason "what
experience has to happen in order for this to be true?" The only thing that had
to happen in order for that to be true, happened nearly two thousand years
ago, and the only way you can enter into that experience is by faith.

A dear pastor who heard of our ministry asked for an appointment.  He said, "I
have struggled for twenty-two years in ministry, and I finally think I know what
the answer is.  In my devotion time I read, ‘For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God’ (Col. 3:3).  That’s it, isn’t it?" I assured him it was. 
Then he asked, "How do I do that?" I suggested that he read the passage just a
little bit slower.  For twenty-two years he has been desperately trying to
become somebody he already is, and so do many other believers.  It is not
what we do that determines who we are; it is who we are that determines
what we do.  We don’t labor in the vineyard hoping that God may someday
love us.  God loves us and that is why we labor in the vineyard.  We don’t serve
God with the hope that God may someday accept us.  We are already accepted
in the Beloved; that is why we serve Him.

We must learn to accept what God says is true and live accordingly by faith. 
When we do it works out in our experience.  If we try to make what God says is
true by our experience, we will never get there.  Paul points out the futility of
that thinking in Galatians 3:2: "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did
you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain
your goal by human effort?" We are saved by faith, and we walk or live by
faith.  We have been sanctified by faith, and we are being sanctified by faith
and by faith alone.  We are neither saved nor sanctified by how we behave, but
by how we believe.

The Three Tenses of Salvation and Sanctification

Salvation for the believer is past (Eph. 2:8; 2 Tim. 1:8,9), present (1 Cor. 1:18; 2
Cor. 2:5), and future tense (Rom. 5:9,10; Heb. 9:28).  In other words, we have

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been saved, we are being saved, and someday we shall fully be saved from the
wrath that is to come.  I believe that Scripture teaches that we have the
assurance of that salvation now.  John writes, "These things I have written to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you
have eternal life" (1 Jn. 5:13).  And Paul says, "Having believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:13,14).

Sanctification also occurs in Scripture in past (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:19; Acts 20:32),
present (Rom. 6:22; 2 Cor. 7:1), and future tense (Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Thess.
3:12,13).  In other words, we have been sanctified, we are being sanctified, and
some day we shall fully be sanctified.  The sanctifying process begins at new
birth and continues on to our final glorification.  Past-tense sanctification has
commonly been called positional sanctification.  Present-tense sanctification
has been commonly called progressive or experiential sanctification.  The
tendency by some is to understand past-tense sanctification as just positional
truth, and then proceed to live as though it really isn’t true.  The consequences
are tragic.  These people will spend the rest of their lives trying to become
somebody they already are.  Positional sanctification is real truth.  We are not
trying to become children of God; we are children of God who are becoming
like Christ.  Progressive sanctification is the process of working out our
salvation by faith, that which God has already worked in.  It is the process of
conforming to His image.

Focusing on past-tense sanctification at the expense of progressive

sanctification can also lead to serious errors, such as the concept of sinless
perfection.  This is nothing more than a denial of sin.  "If we say we have no
sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 Jn. 1:8). It is
important to realize that "having sin" and "being sin" are two totally different
concepts.  The other extreme, that of focusing on progressive sanctification at
the expense of positional sanctification, leads to a denial of who we really are.

In Summary

Has the sinful nature been eradicated at the time of the new birth? One cannot
answer yes or no without defining terms.  If someone asked, "Do you believe
that the old man is dead?" the answer is yes.  We are no longer in Adam; we
are spiritually alive in Christ.  If someone asked, "Do you believe that Christians
no longer sin and cannot walk or live according to the flesh?" The answer is
no.  The Christian retains the flesh, which the editors of the New International
Version (NIV) of the Bible have chosen to interpret as "old nature," and even at

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times, "sin nature." This has created some semantic problems when discussing
the nature or natures of a Christian.

If someone asked, "Do we believe that we have a new nature?" I would answer
yes, because God has given me a new heart and my inner man is oriented
toward God.  I have become a partaker of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), and "I
joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man" (Rom. 7:22).  If they
asked, "Are we a sinner or a saint?" I would joyfully respond, "I believe we are
saints by the grace of God, and we intend to live our lives as His children in the
way He intended us to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Don’t forget that our entire being was morally corrupt before we came to
Christ.  Our minds were oriented to live independently of God and the desires
of our flesh are in opposition to the Spirit of God.  The flesh (old nature, NIV)
has to be crucified by the believer and this is something we have to do on a
daily basis.  There is no such thing as instant maturity.  It will take us the rest of
our lives to renew our minds and conform to the image of God.  The seed that
was sown in us by God is only a beginning.  Being a child of God and being free
in Christ is positional truth.  But how many are living like children of God, and
how many are living free in Christ? Nobody can fix our past, but I believe that
by the grace of God we can all be free from it.

Balancing the Indicative and the Imperative

The greatest tension in the New Testament is between the indicative (what
God has already done and what is already true about us) and the imperative
(what remains to be done as we respond to God by faith and obedience in the
power of the Holy Spirit).  That tension can be seen in verses like Romans 6:6:
"Knowing this that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body
of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."
You have to know and believe positional truth in order to successfully progress
in your sanctification.  Positional sanctification is the basis for our progressive
sanctification.

The balance between the indicative and the imperative is about equal in
Scripture, but I have not observed that balance being taught in our churches. 
We seem to focus more on the imperatives, i.e. instructing believers what they
must do instead of balancing that with what God has already done.  Many
people attend evangelical churches for years and never hear enough positional
truth to understand that they are children of God who are alive and free in
Christ.  Many have never repented of their old ways or resolved their personal
and spiritual conflicts.  Consequently, they are not maturing and the best

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messages from the pulpit are going right over their heads.  Paul wrote, "I gave
you milk to drink and not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.
Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.  For since there
is jealousy and strife among you, are you not walking like mere men?" (1 Cor.
3:2,3).

We need to help Christians realize the incredible identity and position they
have in Christ, and then help them repent of their own ways so that they can
live a liberated life "in Christ."

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