WAITING ON THE LORD

A prominent teacher has made the following statement, “Your spirit is identical to Jesus Christ.”

This is to say that your spirit man is “exactly the same as or equal to God, or alike in every respect.” This is because Jesus is and was and will be Almighty God. Another teacher has said, “Whenever I hear God say that I am, I just smile and say ‘I am too!”

I don’t think so!

We are not in any way identical to Christ; we are identified with Christ. Jesus is the creator; we are the created. Of a truth His Spirit lives within us and we are one spirit with him by our union with him. But we do not become him no more than the wife becomes the husband because of her joining together with him. He is everything while we are still poor in spirit and nothing: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (Galatians 6:3).

Isaiah 40:31 states, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”. One of the meanings for wait is “to collect, to gather, and bind together — perhaps by twisting.” At the cross of Christ God gathered the whole human race and “bound” us together with three nails. By virtue of our union with him He became a sacrifice for sin and by our union with him we became the righteousness of God.

A simple way to look at this is to compare a single thread to a massive logging chain. One is weak and one is unbreakable and indestructible.

Suppose your life depended on pulling a thousand ton bulldozer out of the mud. Were you to try to pull it out with the thread they would declare you legally insane.

If the thread had a “voice” and affirmed that it was identical to the chain they would proclaim it permanently insane!

However, if you were to twist the thread around the chain, then all of a sudden “Mr. Threadwell” could boldly state: “I can do all things through this chain which strengthens me!” Nothing would be impossible. He will be able to pull many souls to safety, making an eternal difference. He will have power to bind the enemy and plunder his house. He will be known in heaven and feared in hell as long as he keeps the right perspective.

The danger is in the fact that the chain is invisible to the natural eye and it will look as if Threadwell is doing all the work.

But he should no better.

After all, he was threadbare before the Lord found him.