TRUTH CHANGES TRUE
1. God accomplished His plan through the Cross of Christ. Gal 4:4-6
a. Through the Cross, Jesus paid the price we owed for our sins and He removed them.
b. His sacrifice makes it legally possible for God to take sinners and turn them into sons.
2. God carries out His plan to make us sons and daughters through the new birth.
a. When a person believes the facts of the gospel (Jesus died for our sins according to
the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day), and confesses Jesus as His Savior and Lord, he is born again. I Cor 15:1-4; Rom 10:9,10
b. At the new birth, God puts His life and nature in us, making us literal sons and daughters. John 5:26; I John 5:11,12; II Pet 1:4
3. When you believe on Jesus, you are actually united to Jesus, and His life comes into you.
a. John 3:16–The phrase believe in Him, in the Greek, is literally believe into Him.
b. The Bible uses several word pictures to describe our relationship to the Lord, all of which depict union and shared life — Branch and Vine (John 15:5); Head and Body (Eph 1:22,23); Husband and Wife (Eph 5:28-32).
c. I Cor 6:17– A man who is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (20th Cent)
4. That union with Christ makes you a new creature on the inside, in your spirit.
a. II Cor 5:17–Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ, the Messiah, he is (a new creature altogether,) a new creation; the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come! (Amp)
b. Whatever is in that life, the life that is in Jesus, is in you now, because that life is in you. I Cor 1:30; Gal 5:22,23
1. I Cor 1:30–But you, but your union with Christ Jesus, are God’s offspring; and Christ, by God’s will, became not only our Wisdom, but also our Righteousness, our Holiness, our Deliverance. (20th Cent)
2. John 16:33–I have told you these things, that you through union with me may have peace. (Williams)
c. Our standing with the Father and our ability to live this life is exactly what Jesus had when He lived on this earth because we have the same life in us that He had. John 5:26; 6:57; I John 5:11,12
1. Eph 3:12–And in union with Christ, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence. (20th Cent)
2. I John 4:17–For we realize that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. (Phillips)
3. Rom 8:17–And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ — sharing His inheritance with Him. (Amp)
5. I John 2:6; John 14:12–We are called to live like Jesus in this life, demonstrating His character and His power. That is possible because we have His life and nature in us.
6. These are wonderful things to talk about at church, but is it possible to live this way?
a. For many of us, the way we live and feel is very different from what we have talked about so far.
b. That is why we are taking time to study the Bible and learn what happened to us when we were born again, and then learn to live in the light of it.
c. We want to continue with our study in this lesson.
a. Through the Cross, Jesus paid the price we owed for our sins and He removed them.
b. His sacrifice makes it legally possible for God to take sinners and turn them into sons.
2. God carries out His plan to make us sons and daughters through the new birth.
a. When a person believes the facts of the gospel (Jesus died for our sins according to
the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day), and confesses Jesus as His Savior and Lord, he is born again. I Cor 15:1-4; Rom 10:9,10
b. At the new birth, God puts His life and nature in us, making us literal sons and daughters. John 5:26; I John 5:11,12; II Pet 1:4
3. When you believe on Jesus, you are actually united to Jesus, and His life comes into you.
a. John 3:16–The phrase believe in Him, in the Greek, is literally believe into Him.
b. The Bible uses several word pictures to describe our relationship to the Lord, all of which depict union and shared life — Branch and Vine (John 15:5); Head and Body (Eph 1:22,23); Husband and Wife (Eph 5:28-32).
c. I Cor 6:17– A man who is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. (20th Cent)
4. That union with Christ makes you a new creature on the inside, in your spirit.
a. II Cor 5:17–Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ, the Messiah, he is (a new creature altogether,) a new creation; the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come! (Amp)
b. Whatever is in that life, the life that is in Jesus, is in you now, because that life is in you. I Cor 1:30; Gal 5:22,23
1. I Cor 1:30–But you, but your union with Christ Jesus, are God’s offspring; and Christ, by God’s will, became not only our Wisdom, but also our Righteousness, our Holiness, our Deliverance. (20th Cent)
2. John 16:33–I have told you these things, that you through union with me may have peace. (Williams)
c. Our standing with the Father and our ability to live this life is exactly what Jesus had when He lived on this earth because we have the same life in us that He had. John 5:26; 6:57; I John 5:11,12
1. Eph 3:12–And in union with Christ, and through our trust in him, we find courage to approach God with confidence. (20th Cent)
2. I John 4:17–For we realize that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. (Phillips)
3. Rom 8:17–And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ — sharing His inheritance with Him. (Amp)
5. I John 2:6; John 14:12–We are called to live like Jesus in this life, demonstrating His character and His power. That is possible because we have His life and nature in us.
6. These are wonderful things to talk about at church, but is it possible to live this way?
a. For many of us, the way we live and feel is very different from what we have talked about so far.
b. That is why we are taking time to study the Bible and learn what happened to us when we were born again, and then learn to live in the light of it.
c. We want to continue with our study in this lesson.
1. The NT, especially the epistles, list about 130 things which are in us, are true about us, because we are new creatures — righteousness, peace, patience, joy, victory, authority, healing, etc.
2. That raises certain difficulties. How can I be a new creature and feel like this? I can’t possible treat people like Jesus did. I’m too impatient. How can I be healed? I still hurt! etc., etc., etc.
3. In the last lesson, we said, you must understand, when you talk like that, you are talking about sense information.
a. You are giving the testimony of your senses. It is accurate as far as it goes. But, there is more to the story than what you see and feel.
b. II Cor 4:18–There are actually two sources of information available to us, seen and unseen.
c. The unseen is more real than the seen because it created and will outlast the seen –and it will change the seen if you will side in with it.
d. Just because you can’t see the new creation you have become and the life of God in you doesn’t mean it’s not real.
4. We could say it this way: There is true and there is truth. The two are different.
a. True is what you see and feel (sense information). Although it is real, it can change.
b. Truth is what God says in His word, the Bible (revelation knowledge). It cannot change. Matt 24:35
c. And, God’s truth can change your true if you will side in with it. John 8:31,32
5. You side in with (take sides with) the truth (God’s word) by saying it and by doing it.
C. Through the new birth, God has made us masters who can reign in life with words. Rom 5:17;
I John 5:4; Rev 12:11
1. We must learn to speak God’s word about ourselves and our situation despite what we see or feel.
2. The Holy Spirit is here to do in and through us all that Christ did for us on the Cross.
a. He does it through the word of God. When we find out from the Bible what God has done for us through the Cross of Christ and the new birth and side in with it (speak it out, do it), the Holy Spirit makes that word good in our experience.
b. Rom 10:9,10–The word confession is HOMOLOGIA which means to say the same thing as. When you confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior, you said what God says, and He saved you.
3. Saying the same thing God says is a vital part of Christian life. Heb 4:14; 10:23; 13:5,6
4. We live by faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith — and faith speaks. II Cor 4:13
a. Faith is the action you take in the face of contrary sense evidence. You say what God says despite what you see or feel.
b. When you speak out what God says about you and your situation despite what you see and feel, you are applying truth to what is true — and truth will change the true.
5. I John 5:4–Overcomers (which we are) overcome by faith. We could say it this way — we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Rev 12:11
a. The Blood of the Lamb (Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross) made it possible for us to receive the life and nature of God through the new birth which in turn made us new creatures.
b. Testimony = evidence given. We overcome by speaking God’s word about what the Blood has done for us. We give evidence (speak God’s word) for the things God has done in us through the new birth.
c. God’s record is that He has given to us eternal life. I John 5:9-11 (same Greek word) –And this testimony is that God has given us eternal life, and this life is given through union with His Son. (Williams)
d. We give testimony (say) that the life of God is in us and that we are what God says we are, have what He says we have, and can do what He says we can do.
6. That’s how Jesus lived when He was on earth. We are to walk as He walked. I John 2:6
a. Jesus spoke the truth in the face of true. True = He was a Jewish carpenter. Truth = I am the light of the world. John 8:12
b. Jesus was, is, the light of the world. He just didn’t look like it. How did He act like what He was? He said He was the light of the world.
c. John 5:36-39–Jesus had the testimony (word) of His Father about who He was and He spoke it out. He confessed it.
d. Eph 5:8–You were darkness. Now, through the new birth, you are light. How do you act like it? You say it.
7. This is a whole lesson for another time, but consider: Jesus did things with words.
a. He taught us the value of words — the authority and power in words. He spoke His Father’s words.
b. With words, He healed people, raised the dead, turned water into wine, made bread increase, stilled storms.
c. His word in our lips will do what the Father’s word in His lips did. As He is in this world, so are we, through the new birth. I John 4:17
2. That raises certain difficulties. How can I be a new creature and feel like this? I can’t possible treat people like Jesus did. I’m too impatient. How can I be healed? I still hurt! etc., etc., etc.
3. In the last lesson, we said, you must understand, when you talk like that, you are talking about sense information.
a. You are giving the testimony of your senses. It is accurate as far as it goes. But, there is more to the story than what you see and feel.
b. II Cor 4:18–There are actually two sources of information available to us, seen and unseen.
c. The unseen is more real than the seen because it created and will outlast the seen –and it will change the seen if you will side in with it.
d. Just because you can’t see the new creation you have become and the life of God in you doesn’t mean it’s not real.
4. We could say it this way: There is true and there is truth. The two are different.
a. True is what you see and feel (sense information). Although it is real, it can change.
b. Truth is what God says in His word, the Bible (revelation knowledge). It cannot change. Matt 24:35
c. And, God’s truth can change your true if you will side in with it. John 8:31,32
5. You side in with (take sides with) the truth (God’s word) by saying it and by doing it.
C. Through the new birth, God has made us masters who can reign in life with words. Rom 5:17;
I John 5:4; Rev 12:11
1. We must learn to speak God’s word about ourselves and our situation despite what we see or feel.
2. The Holy Spirit is here to do in and through us all that Christ did for us on the Cross.
a. He does it through the word of God. When we find out from the Bible what God has done for us through the Cross of Christ and the new birth and side in with it (speak it out, do it), the Holy Spirit makes that word good in our experience.
b. Rom 10:9,10–The word confession is HOMOLOGIA which means to say the same thing as. When you confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior, you said what God says, and He saved you.
3. Saying the same thing God says is a vital part of Christian life. Heb 4:14; 10:23; 13:5,6
4. We live by faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith — and faith speaks. II Cor 4:13
a. Faith is the action you take in the face of contrary sense evidence. You say what God says despite what you see or feel.
b. When you speak out what God says about you and your situation despite what you see and feel, you are applying truth to what is true — and truth will change the true.
5. I John 5:4–Overcomers (which we are) overcome by faith. We could say it this way — we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Rev 12:11
a. The Blood of the Lamb (Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross) made it possible for us to receive the life and nature of God through the new birth which in turn made us new creatures.
b. Testimony = evidence given. We overcome by speaking God’s word about what the Blood has done for us. We give evidence (speak God’s word) for the things God has done in us through the new birth.
c. God’s record is that He has given to us eternal life. I John 5:9-11 (same Greek word) –And this testimony is that God has given us eternal life, and this life is given through union with His Son. (Williams)
d. We give testimony (say) that the life of God is in us and that we are what God says we are, have what He says we have, and can do what He says we can do.
6. That’s how Jesus lived when He was on earth. We are to walk as He walked. I John 2:6
a. Jesus spoke the truth in the face of true. True = He was a Jewish carpenter. Truth = I am the light of the world. John 8:12
b. Jesus was, is, the light of the world. He just didn’t look like it. How did He act like what He was? He said He was the light of the world.
c. John 5:36-39–Jesus had the testimony (word) of His Father about who He was and He spoke it out. He confessed it.
d. Eph 5:8–You were darkness. Now, through the new birth, you are light. How do you act like it? You say it.
7. This is a whole lesson for another time, but consider: Jesus did things with words.
a. He taught us the value of words — the authority and power in words. He spoke His Father’s words.
b. With words, He healed people, raised the dead, turned water into wine, made bread increase, stilled storms.
c. His word in our lips will do what the Father’s word in His lips did. As He is in this world, so are we, through the new birth. I John 4:17
1. Gen 1:26; John 4:24–We are made in the image and likeness of God. That means:
a. We are in the same class as God. That doesn’t mean we are God. It means we are made in such a way that God can indwell us and fellowship with us.
b. We are eternal beings. Now that we do exist, we are going to live forever.
c. We can live independent of our bodies.
2. Paul understood that he was a spirit being who was to dominate his soul and body.
a. I = the spirit man. Phil 1:22-24; 4:13; I Cor 9:27; II Cor 5:6; II Cor 4:7-11
b. All of this enabled Paul to live independent of circumstances. Phil 4:11 For, however I am placed, I, at least, have learnt to be independent of
circumstances. (20th Cent)
c. Independent of circumstances is another way of saying reigning in life.
3. Your identity now is that you are a spirit being who has the life and nature of God in him.
a. John 3:3-6–That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. You are a spirit.
b. You are born from above (John 3:5). You are born of God (I John 5:1). You are of God (I John 4:4).
c. You must learn to see yourself from that standpoint. II Cor 5:16–Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view — in terms of natural standards of value. [No] even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man, yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of the flesh]. (Amp)
d. That is how God sees you. When He looks at you, He sees His own nature. He put it there!! He wants you to see yourself that way.
4. To be spirit conscious really means to become God-inside minded.
a. You live your life with the awareness that you have the life of God in you, that God dwells in you.
b. You are aware that God now deals with you on the basis of these facts. You know that you can relate to Him on the basis of these facts.
c. You can deal with life and its troubles on the basis of these facts — the Greater One is in you. I John 4:4
5. The problem with this is that we are much more conscious of what we see and feel than we are of spiritual realities. That doesn’t change simply because we are born again.
1. It isn’t a question of getting from God, it is a question of finding out what we are and have through the new birth and then walking in the light of it.
a. What if Jesus cried and prayed to the Father — Make me the light of the world!?
b. Or, what if He had confessed over and over — I believe I am the light of the world. I believe I receive being the light of the world.
c. No, He WAS and IS the light of the world. All He had to do was act like it — act on His Father’s word, act like what He was.
2. Consider another example — I am a human female by my first birth.
a. Whether I know it or believe it, that’s what I am. I am a human female, not because I believe it, but because I was born it.
b. I can never be, will never be, more female or more human than I was at the moment I was conceived, than I am now.
c. I can grow in my awareness of being a female human, and in my ability to walk in the light of it.
d. And, if I have had contrary evidence all my life (my parents raised me as a boy), it may take me some time, going over and over the facts of what I really am, until those facts dawn on me and become my unconscious, automatic reaction to life.
e. It is not necessary that I confess hundreds of times that I am a female to make it so.I do not have to believe I receive femaleness. I am a female.
f. I must begin to acknowledge what I am, and say it over and over until the unreality of what I am saying is gone, and the truth dominates me.
3. Confession of the word (saying the same thing God says) strengthens your spirit — the new creature — until that part dominates. I John 2:14; I Pet 2:2; Col 3:16
a. What if Jesus cried and prayed to the Father — Make me the light of the world!?
b. Or, what if He had confessed over and over — I believe I am the light of the world. I believe I receive being the light of the world.
c. No, He WAS and IS the light of the world. All He had to do was act like it — act on His Father’s word, act like what He was.
2. Consider another example — I am a human female by my first birth.
a. Whether I know it or believe it, that’s what I am. I am a human female, not because I believe it, but because I was born it.
b. I can never be, will never be, more female or more human than I was at the moment I was conceived, than I am now.
c. I can grow in my awareness of being a female human, and in my ability to walk in the light of it.
d. And, if I have had contrary evidence all my life (my parents raised me as a boy), it may take me some time, going over and over the facts of what I really am, until those facts dawn on me and become my unconscious, automatic reaction to life.
e. It is not necessary that I confess hundreds of times that I am a female to make it so.I do not have to believe I receive femaleness. I am a female.
f. I must begin to acknowledge what I am, and say it over and over until the unreality of what I am saying is gone, and the truth dominates me.
3. Confession of the word (saying the same thing God says) strengthens your spirit — the new creature — until that part dominates. I John 2:14; I Pet 2:2; Col 3:16
1. Believers have because they are believers, not because they believe they have it. They got it when they believed into union with Christ.
2. Now we are to walk in the light of what we are and have through union with Christ. I am to say about myself what God says about me.
a. When I do that, I am saying that what God says is so despite what I see or feel.
b. The Bible is God speaking to me now. His integrity is behind what He says.
c. The Holy Spirit is in me to make that word good in my experience just as He did when I confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord. Titus 3:5
3. I am now to hold fast to my profession of faith (profession of truth) because God is faithful.
a. When I do that, I am applying God’s truth to true — and my experience, feelings, body, will change.
b. I am what God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do.
4. The forces that oppose me are in the sense realm — they are true.
a. But, the power that is in me is the life and nature of God (Zoe). I am in union with God’s power and ability (DUNAMIS). The Holy Spirit indwells me.
b. Spiritual forces (the truth) are greater than the forces in the sense realm (true).
c. I maintain (hold fast to) my confession of unseen spiritual realities which have been revealed to me by God’s word (the Bible) — in the face of sense knowledge contradictions — and things change. Truth changes true.
2. Now we are to walk in the light of what we are and have through union with Christ. I am to say about myself what God says about me.
a. When I do that, I am saying that what God says is so despite what I see or feel.
b. The Bible is God speaking to me now. His integrity is behind what He says.
c. The Holy Spirit is in me to make that word good in my experience just as He did when I confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord. Titus 3:5
3. I am now to hold fast to my profession of faith (profession of truth) because God is faithful.
a. When I do that, I am applying God’s truth to true — and my experience, feelings, body, will change.
b. I am what God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do.
4. The forces that oppose me are in the sense realm — they are true.
a. But, the power that is in me is the life and nature of God (Zoe). I am in union with God’s power and ability (DUNAMIS). The Holy Spirit indwells me.
b. Spiritual forces (the truth) are greater than the forces in the sense realm (true).
c. I maintain (hold fast to) my confession of unseen spiritual realities which have been revealed to me by God’s word (the Bible) — in the face of sense knowledge contradictions — and things change. Truth changes true.