Perfecting our Faith as New Born Sons
We must do our utmost to eradicate the unhealthy fleshly desires and attitudes if we want to experience the eternal joys of being born again, entering into the Kingdom of the Heavens and reaching our divine destiny of embrace with our heavenly Father. Much is required.
When Jesus began his ministry in the great Sermon on the Mount, after sharing with mankind the promises of God, he added:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
– Matthew 5:48
Later, he told hem:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
– John 14:12
And Paul referred to Jesus as the “pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) Clearly, the Father – a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2) expects great things from us.
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
– Isaiah 55:8-11
So we can be certain that all who chose the Father’s way will eventually be perfect because Jesus will assist us in perfecting our faith; and we will do greater things than even Jesus did. It is rather obvious that we cannot achieve these goals while in the flesh. Therefore, we are confident that there is much more work and training of our personalities to be done in the heavens – the heavenly abodes.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”
– John 14:1-2
There we will be purged of all the remnants of our unfortunate animal heredity, our unwholesome environment, and our unspiritual planetary tendencies. The last remnants of the “mark of the beast” will there be eradicated. There, we will begin a new and more spiritual worship of the unseen Father, a habit that we will increasingly pursue all the way until we are received into the Father’s presence.
But we must begin the work of perfecting our faith and discarding the fleshly beast-like tendencies even now. We must accept the invitation to be sons of God and be born of the spirit. This is our ticket into the kingdom – our token of the spirit.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
– Ephesians 1:13-14
Paul reiterated that token to the Corinthian congregation:
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
– 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
Throughout every trial and in the presence of every hardship, spirit-born souls are sustained by that hope which transcends all fear because the love of God is spread abroad in all hearts by the presence of the divine Spirit. God-knowing men and women who have been born of the spirit operate on intellectual levels and live on spiritual planes far above the conflicts produced by unrestrained or unnatural physical desires. They become citizens of the kingdom of the heavens, while temporary residents here on earth. (1 Peter 2:11)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians 4:4-7
Having elected to pursue the new birth as faith sons of the Father in heaven, and having accepted the assignment as ambassadors substituting for Christ, we do not allow ourselves to be troubled by our occasional moments of doubt or of failure or of perplexing confusion. We do not falter and question our status and standing before God:
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
– Hebrews 6:10
For in every dark hour, at every crossroad in the forward struggle, the spirit of truth will always speak, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – (Isaiah 30:21)
