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For
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with Hands, eternal in the
heavens.
2Cor5:1 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these Ye might be partakers of the divine nature faving escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Pet1:4 Having the divine nature is not optional. Unless you have the Spirit of Christ you are none of his. (Rom8:9b) So many of the parables of Christ, so much of his teaching deals with the difference between our fallen human nature and the nature of Christ. From the parable concerning hiring laborers for the vineyard to the parable of building bigger barns the difference between the nature of Christ and our nature is wide. In this scripture from 2Peter we see that the way to receive the divine nature is to appropriate the promises of God by faith. We call those things which are not into existence by faith (Romans 4). In Colossians Paul talks about putting on bowels of mercy, humility, and love. It is we who put on or cloth ourselves with Christ. It is we who appropriate the Spirit of Christ by faith. It is clear in reading the gospels that we in our human nature do not have the Spirit of Christ. Human nature is selfish, prideful, narrow, and intense. It thinks of self first and others only in so far as it bears on our own wellbeing. We neither have the compassion of Christ nor his discernment. Only by realizing that we fall short of the glory of God we will begin by faith to acknowledge our depravity and our need to put on Christ. So many of the parables are driving to make this point In the passage from 2Corinthians it is clear that our earthly tabernacle must be dissolved. In order to operate from the divine nature we must cease to operate from our human nature. In order to cease from our human nature, our earthly tabernacle must be dissolved. This occurs by faith. It occurs through trials, tribulations, and suffering which severs ourselves from ourselves and unites ourselves with the Lord. We need to operate from the divine nature to do the things Christ did. It is especially true that unless we have the compassion of Christ we will not be able to exercise the gift of healing or discernment of Spirits necessary to deliver the oppressed. It is also true that unless we have the nature of Christ He can very well tell us that we prophesized in his name and did all sorts of things in his name, yet he will say he does not know us. (Matthew 7) We need to know that we need the divine nature working in our lives and that nothing in our human nature can compare or cause the goodness of God. We need the divine nature. We need the Spirit of Christ. We need to love as Jesus loved and heal as Jesus healed and live as Jesus lived. Nothing in human nature will satisfy God. Without the divine nature, without the spirit of Christ, we cannot please God. Therefore it is imperative that we appropriate the divine nature by faith, by calling those things which are not into existence and dissolving our human nature. Therefore free yourself from the false belief that there is anything good in our flesh, anything in our human nature that can please God. Cry out to God for mercy and by faith receive the nature of Christ. Nothing less will please God. Amen |