Col.3:1-17~OUR CHANGING STATE AND OUR SETTLED STANDING~ 9-24-11
How many of us that are saved ever did some thing and then wish we had not done it? I dare say all of us have done things and then had second thoughts about what we did, we then start thinking about what a negative testimony we most likely made as other found it out or even witness what ever it was that we might have done, and unless the person is fairly grounded in the fact that he or she is saved and no matter what happens after that fact nothing can not change that fact.
But very often there are younger Christians that become discouraged especially in the early stages of their Christian life as they realize that the Christian life is not as easy to cope with as they thought it would be, that is they often think that after their saved they’ll never be tempted again, that they’ll never have a sinful thought to enter their mind again, and suddenly they realize that their still the same person as far as the flesh is concerned, it has not changed at all, and this many times this causes the young Christian to wonder if he’s really saved or not.
Christians need to know the difference between our standing and our state; that is between his standing in Christ as God see him and his physical state as we’re still in the world.
Listen as I read today’s text found in Col.3:1-17
Col. 3:1-17 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5Mortify **[declare dead]therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, [depraved passion] evil concupiscence, [lust after] and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, [desire to injure] blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. **
9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, [inward affection] kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14And above all these things put on charity, [brotherly love, & affection] which is the bond of perfectness.
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another [warn as well as to exhort] in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
What are we talking about by, state, and standing?
In our natural state we are all descendents of Adam and that being the case we must understand that until our bodies have been changed and glorified like Jesus’ resurrected body at the rapture of the Church, this is the state we’ll remain in, our present state is far from being perfect.
When we realize that suddenly we don’t need to wear glassy any longer, and the folks that wear false teeth realize that their false teeth have been replaced with the real thing, when we become aware that we no longer have to lay these Adamic bodies down to sleep and rest, when we never have to go to the dentist office to repair a tooth or have it pulled, when we no longer want a plate of pinto beans and corn bread, then we’ll find that the present state that we find our selves in has been changed.
The state of a person is the present situation that he finds himself in, a lot of sick folk have to go to the hospital, so that becomes the present state that he’s in, I hope we all understand what our STATE means.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die---
We are all related by birth and blood to Adam, who is the head of the human race.
But when we were saved, we were born again of the Holy Spirit of God, and at that time we were taken out of Adam (the head of the old creation), and placed in Christ (the head of the new creation), and when this took place we were given a totally new standing, not any longer in Adam but now in Christ.
Our state did not change, but our standing did in Gods eyes.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
In our natural state, obviously we’re still here in the world; we’re still in our natural bodies, and it’s obvious that we’re far from perfect as we realize our faults and sinful ways.
Listen as I read these scriptures to do with our standing as God sees us.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
We stand justified in Gods eyes; before we were saved we stood condemned in His sight.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Paul was writing this to the believers there in the city of Colosse, although Paul himself had not visited Colosse at this point.
Timothy and Epaphras probably had evangelized the city and founded the church during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus while on his third missionary journey.
Paul’s state at this writing was, he was in jail in Rome, and the epistle to the Colossians was only one of four that Paul wrote while there in jail.
When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth we find the state and the standing of the believers there as they are referred to as SAINTS.
In 1st Cor.1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, [their present location-state] to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints—[their standing]
Let me say right here, there are some religions that go through a number of certain steps and then after these certain steps this denomination declares a person to be a saint, (its called being canonized) but we become saints the instant we’re saved, (as fast as being shot out of a cannon if I may add a little humor) God needs not to go through motions and steps to declare saved people saints.
Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, [state] beloved of God, called to be saints:--[standing]
Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ [Paul’s standing} by the will of God, to the saints [standing] which are at Ephesus—[state]
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus , the servants of Jesus Christ, [standing] to all the saints in Christ Jesus [standing] which are at Philippi, --[these saints state]
Our standing therefore is all that we are in God's reckoning by virtue of our union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, our standing in Christ is absolutely perfect; just as He is perfect even so God reckons us as perfect, because we believe in Him and belong to Him.
The instant we’re saved God imputes the righteousness of Jesus on us and on our account. ---listen as I read a little about “imputation”
Romans 4 17-25 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) [Abraham] before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, “So shall thy seed be.”
19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: [in her 90’s]
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification--
As we look at the word “impute” we see the word “put” in it, that’s an easy way to remember what the word means, Christ righteousness was “put” on our account, therefore when God sees us He don’t see our unrighteousness, but He sees the Righteousness of Jesus.
Isaiah tells us that we have no righteousness of ourselves.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;--
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In Luke 15:11-24 we can read about the Prodigal son, as far as his standing was concerned he was a son; but as far as his state was concerned, he was in a far country.
Our STANDING will never change now that we’re saved, it can’t be improved or deteriorate, and it can never be altered; our STATE is constantly changing as we find ourselves in different locations and conditions.
Once we are born again, and being baptized into Christ nothing can ever change this situation. Our standing is secure; our state is always changing. Sometimes we experience victory, and sometimes defeat; sometimes we experience joy, but sometimes sadness, -------------sometimes we experience peace, and sometimes anxiety, often we experience sickness, and then we are not sick, and the reason is we have within us two natures - the old Adamic nature and the new divine nature.
However, our standing in Christ is for ever settled and nothing can ever alter it.
Our salvation and our acceptance with God depend upon our STANDING, and not upon our STATE.
Can you imagine calling on God to save us and He says, “well I’d like to but you’ll have to change the way the neighbors think about you, your standing here in the community is not good at all, call on me again when you get this taken care of.” Our salvation does not depend upon what we are in ourselves, but upon what Christ is and what He has done for us. We are saved, we’re accepted, and we’re justified because we are "in Christ" and nothing can alter that.
Every saved person has exactly the same STANDING in Gods sight, although each has a different STATE.
It will be a happy day when our STATE will be in His presents for ever more, when that wonderful time finally comes, and it surely will, then we’ll never be sick, never tempted to sin, never die, never worry about our financial situation, all of our worldly ways that before was our state will be gone forever.
All praise to the Lord Jesus Christ!
