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I've touched on this thought in a few of my previous blogs, but I'm wondering if we've ever considered what carnal man truly means?
If you think about it, is there anything that is naturally inherent in humanity that is loving and desirable?
Sure, newborn babies seem to be that way... everyone loves a newborn.
However, it's only a short time until they hit their "terrible-twos" where that innocence, cuteness, helplessness, etc. goes right out the window!
What happened to my innocent baby?! They become loud and rebellious, with outbursts of selfishness!
"I didn't teach them any of of this!"
This is but one example of what is "inherent" in humanity.
Why is that?
___________________________
The natural mind of mankind hates God and loves sin... the complete opposite of how it should be!
Throughout Scripture we find phrases such as "carnal mind", or "the flesh" of mankind. These types of phrases are speaking of our natural-born un-Spiritual state and attitude.
This is who we are, from the instant we're born.
Scripture is full of passages which explain this to us... here are a few:
Isa 64:6 But we are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities [perversity, evil morality], like the wind, have taken us away.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above ALL things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Rom 3:9-12 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are ALL under sin; as it is written [Psa 14:1-3 below], There is NONE righteous, NO, NOT ONE: There is NONE that understands, there is NONE that seeks after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is NONE that does good, NO, NOT ONE.
Psa 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable [H8581 - ta'ab, to loathe, detest, abhor] works, there is NONE that does good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are ALL gone aside, they are ALL together become filthy: there is NONE that does good, no, NOT ONE.
Rom 3:23 For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness [moral impurity], lasciviousness [unbridled, in excess, shameless lusts], idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance [quarrelsome, strife], emulations [zealous jealousy], wrath [passionate anger, heat, boiling up], strife [rivalry, desire to put self first], seditions [dissension, division], heresies, envyings [ill will, spite], murders, drunkenness, revellings [rioting], AND such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Now, pay attention to this next one:
Rom 11:32 For God [who?] has concluded them ALL in UNBELIEF, that He might have mercy upon ALL.
What?! Wait a minute!
God created the human race just as described above. He created us "locked up" (concluded) in unbelief. He created us Spiritually weak... we're born, unable to obey His Spiritual laws... ALL of us.
Rom 8:20 For the creature [G2937 - ktisis, creation] was made subject to vanity [G3153 - mataiotes, moral depravity], NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope,
Everything above is the reason why we all are born stubborn.
We were created that way in order that God, Himself, may display His Mercy and Grace to ALL.
Eph 2:8-9 For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Again:
Rom 11:32 For God [who?] has concluded them ALL in UNBELIEF, that He might have mercy upon ALL.
You won't be able to brag about your grand Christian life. You didn't create that life... it was God's gift to you, and you had very little to do with it.
Php 2:13 For IT IS GOD which works in you both to will AND to do of HIS good pleasure [not our pleasure].
God does the work within us to cause us to desire, and to do those things that are according to His desires.
God's purpose is to remove, and convert, our stony heart, and our carnal minds after their purpose has been served towards our personal Spiritual development.
We are all born as a sinner... every single one of us were created morally deprived.
God created us that way.
I mentioned this in my blog entitled "Why?", but He didn't create a race of "mini-me" robots... He created a family of children. Children need to learn and grow in order to resemble their Father.
He also provided a means to escape the "natural man" we were born as.
Christ died for sinners. Since we're ALL born sinners, He died for ALL of mankind.
Rom 5:8 But God commends [introduces] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God introduces (demonstrates, exhibits) His love towards sinners, while they are yet sinners.
He died for our sins:
1 Cor 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;
Why do we need a Saviour?
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities [perversity, evil, sin] have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your sins have HID His face from you, that He will not hear.
It's that carnal inheritance, sin, that separates us from our perfect Father.
God's love for humanity began before the creation, and before The Cross, resided in the fact that ALL will eventually be brought to repentance due to His workmanship, and His foreknowledge - including His plan with Jesus.
God sees things not only as they are, but as they WILL BE.
It was what God saw (in what man would BECOME) in the future - after repentance, that He loves.
1 Jn 2:2 And He [Jesus] is the propitiation [appeasement, atonement] for our sins: NOT for ours only, BUT ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.
1 Tim 2:3-4 For this is good AND acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who WILL [G2309 - thelo, to purpose, resolved, determined] have ALL men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Who WILL have...
... but according His own Plan, and desire WILL have ALL (not some, but ALL) men saved and come to the knowledge of Truth.
It's "good and acceptable" in His eyes... why is not good and acceptable in everyone else's eyes?
It's SO "good and acceptable" that:
Isa 53:10-11 Yet it PLEASED the LORD to bruise Him [Jesus]; He [The Father] hath put Him [Jesus] to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the PLEASURE of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be SATISFIED: by His knowledge shall my Righteous Servant [Jesus] justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.
Wow!
The Hebrew word translated "bruise" means:
[H1792 - daka] "to crumble; beat to pieces, break (in pieces), bruise, contrite, crush, destroy, humble, oppress, smite" (Strong's Hebrew Lexicon).
Now, read that passage again...
Think about that for a few minutes...
How could such human devastation, depravation, and cruel degradation, to One's only Son possibly "PLEASE" His Father?
God had to know that what He was doing would not produce the slightest failure.
Such an unfathomable sacrifice could only be justified if it produced 100% total success and perfection.
______________________
God was not taking any risks by sacrificing His Son "while" we were yet sinners, "before" we ever repented, because God knows that salvation is totally in His hands and not in the hands of humanity. He is 100% responsible!
Rom 2:4 ... the goodness of God leads thee to repentance
Eph 2:8 For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship [not of your own workmanship], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained [prepared in advance] that we should walk in them.
Jas 1:18 Of HIS OWN WILL [not our puny will] begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Notice that believers are His first-fruits? We are not the only fruit...
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, NOR of the will of the flesh, NOR of the will of man, BUT OF [the will of] God.
All of the above is exactly why God knew that the Sacrifice of Jesus would not be vain.
Salvation is from God, of God, and out of God ALONE.
Failure is impossible.
Everything that we accomplish in our Christian walk is of God - not of ourselves.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; YET NOT I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of [notice that it's not faith "in"? It's "faith of"...] the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
It is Christ's faith - not our faith in Him - that saves us.
Through salvation we are offered forgiveness of sins, cleansing of our lives, life through the coming Blessed aions (Millennium and New Heaven/New Earth), and immortality beyond those aions!
Hallelujah!!!!
_____________________________
More later...
I've touched on this thought in a few of my previous blogs, but I'm wondering if we've ever considered what carnal man truly means?
If you think about it, is there anything that is naturally inherent in humanity that is loving and desirable?
Sure, newborn babies seem to be that way... everyone loves a newborn.
However, it's only a short time until they hit their "terrible-twos" where that innocence, cuteness, helplessness, etc. goes right out the window!
What happened to my innocent baby?! They become loud and rebellious, with outbursts of selfishness!
"I didn't teach them any of of this!"
This is but one example of what is "inherent" in humanity.
Why is that?
___________________________
The natural mind of mankind hates God and loves sin... the complete opposite of how it should be!
Throughout Scripture we find phrases such as "carnal mind", or "the flesh" of mankind. These types of phrases are speaking of our natural-born un-Spiritual state and attitude.
This is who we are, from the instant we're born.
Scripture is full of passages which explain this to us... here are a few:
Isa 64:6 But we are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities [perversity, evil morality], like the wind, have taken us away.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above ALL things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Rom 3:9-12 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are ALL under sin; as it is written [Psa 14:1-3 below], There is NONE righteous, NO, NOT ONE: There is NONE that understands, there is NONE that seeks after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is NONE that does good, NO, NOT ONE.
Psa 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable [H8581 - ta'ab, to loathe, detest, abhor] works, there is NONE that does good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are ALL gone aside, they are ALL together become filthy: there is NONE that does good, no, NOT ONE.
Rom 3:23 For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness [moral impurity], lasciviousness [unbridled, in excess, shameless lusts], idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance [quarrelsome, strife], emulations [zealous jealousy], wrath [passionate anger, heat, boiling up], strife [rivalry, desire to put self first], seditions [dissension, division], heresies, envyings [ill will, spite], murders, drunkenness, revellings [rioting], AND such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Now, pay attention to this next one:
Rom 11:32 For God [who?] has concluded them ALL in UNBELIEF, that He might have mercy upon ALL.
What?! Wait a minute!
God created the human race just as described above. He created us "locked up" (concluded) in unbelief. He created us Spiritually weak... we're born, unable to obey His Spiritual laws... ALL of us.
Rom 8:20 For the creature [G2937 - ktisis, creation] was made subject to vanity [G3153 - mataiotes, moral depravity], NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope,
Everything above is the reason why we all are born stubborn.
We were created that way in order that God, Himself, may display His Mercy and Grace to ALL.
Eph 2:8-9 For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Again:
Rom 11:32 For God [who?] has concluded them ALL in UNBELIEF, that He might have mercy upon ALL.
You won't be able to brag about your grand Christian life. You didn't create that life... it was God's gift to you, and you had very little to do with it.
Php 2:13 For IT IS GOD which works in you both to will AND to do of HIS good pleasure [not our pleasure].
God does the work within us to cause us to desire, and to do those things that are according to His desires.
God's purpose is to remove, and convert, our stony heart, and our carnal minds after their purpose has been served towards our personal Spiritual development.
We are all born as a sinner... every single one of us were created morally deprived.
God created us that way.
I mentioned this in my blog entitled "Why?", but He didn't create a race of "mini-me" robots... He created a family of children. Children need to learn and grow in order to resemble their Father.
He also provided a means to escape the "natural man" we were born as.
Christ died for sinners. Since we're ALL born sinners, He died for ALL of mankind.
Rom 5:8 But God commends [introduces] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God introduces (demonstrates, exhibits) His love towards sinners, while they are yet sinners.
He died for our sins:
1 Cor 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;
Why do we need a Saviour?
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities [perversity, evil, sin] have SEPARATED between you and your God, and your sins have HID His face from you, that He will not hear.
It's that carnal inheritance, sin, that separates us from our perfect Father.
God's love for humanity began before the creation, and before The Cross, resided in the fact that ALL will eventually be brought to repentance due to His workmanship, and His foreknowledge - including His plan with Jesus.
God sees things not only as they are, but as they WILL BE.
It was what God saw (in what man would BECOME) in the future - after repentance, that He loves.
1 Jn 2:2 And He [Jesus] is the propitiation [appeasement, atonement] for our sins: NOT for ours only, BUT ALSO for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.
1 Tim 2:3-4 For this is good AND acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who WILL [G2309 - thelo, to purpose, resolved, determined] have ALL men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Who WILL have...
... but according His own Plan, and desire WILL have ALL (not some, but ALL) men saved and come to the knowledge of Truth.
It's "good and acceptable" in His eyes... why is not good and acceptable in everyone else's eyes?
It's SO "good and acceptable" that:
Isa 53:10-11 Yet it PLEASED the LORD to bruise Him [Jesus]; He [The Father] hath put Him [Jesus] to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the PLEASURE of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be SATISFIED: by His knowledge shall my Righteous Servant [Jesus] justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.
Wow!
The Hebrew word translated "bruise" means:
[H1792 - daka] "to crumble; beat to pieces, break (in pieces), bruise, contrite, crush, destroy, humble, oppress, smite" (Strong's Hebrew Lexicon).
Now, read that passage again...
Think about that for a few minutes...
How could such human devastation, depravation, and cruel degradation, to One's only Son possibly "PLEASE" His Father?
God had to know that what He was doing would not produce the slightest failure.
Such an unfathomable sacrifice could only be justified if it produced 100% total success and perfection.
______________________
God was not taking any risks by sacrificing His Son "while" we were yet sinners, "before" we ever repented, because God knows that salvation is totally in His hands and not in the hands of humanity. He is 100% responsible!
If repentance, conversion, and salvation were up to us, God could not be sure that one single person would ever repent and be saved and His Son would have been crushed in vain.
Here are but a few of the reasons that the salvation of the whole human race is totally dependent upon God and God alone:
Here are but a few of the reasons that the salvation of the whole human race is totally dependent upon God and God alone:
Joh 6:44 NO MAN can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw [G1670 - drags] him...
Rom 2:4 ... the goodness of God leads thee to repentance
Eph 2:8 For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship [not of your own workmanship], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained [prepared in advance] that we should walk in them.
Jas 1:18 Of HIS OWN WILL [not our puny will] begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Notice that believers are His first-fruits? We are not the only fruit...
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, NOR of the will of the flesh, NOR of the will of man, BUT OF [the will of] God.
All of the above is exactly why God knew that the Sacrifice of Jesus would not be vain.
Salvation is from God, of God, and out of God ALONE.
Failure is impossible.
Everything that we accomplish in our Christian walk is of God - not of ourselves.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; YET NOT I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of [notice that it's not faith "in"? It's "faith of"...] the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
It is Christ's faith - not our faith in Him - that saves us.
Through salvation we are offered forgiveness of sins, cleansing of our lives, life through the coming Blessed aions (Millennium and New Heaven/New Earth), and immortality beyond those aions!
Hallelujah!!!!
_____________________________
More later...
Some of these excerpts are from my personal notes copied from 30+ years of studying... some of these notes are direct copies of various sources - I do not claim to have authored every word of this... it's just a mass collection I've tucked away over the years for my own personal studies... I didn't consider a bibliography at the time I directly copied small excerpts from various authors. Also, any emphasis (underlines, bold text, all CAPS, etc.) noted above was only meant to capture my personal attention as I studied...
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