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The Way I See It.
January 30, 2004
Imperishable Seed
"Was the body of Jesus created, within the womb of Mary, with an imperishable seed?" Yes, of course. God was His Father according to Genesis 3:15. This imperishable seed is also, as scripture tells us, incorruptible.
When we are born-again, we are created with an incorruptible and imperishable seed, yet we are different from Jesus in that He is deity, as well as man. Colossians tells us in Jesus dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (fully God and fully man).
But, our new creation, which is born-again by faith in Jesus Christ, does not have any aspect of deity, as did the seed, which formed the body of Jesus. In the final step of our salvation, a time when we will lay down this decaying body, and be given a glorified body (2 Corinthians 5:1-4) similar to what Jesus now has, but we are not, and will not, become gods.
The world system throughout all of time is committed to design, reform, cover, and change, the old nature-the one created in sin-which has the nature of sin within its members . For all the world system endeavors to do, it cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear; but it tries-because, the world system is developed by and driven by Satan!
Where ever we turn, virtually everything we see, and almost everything we hear is designed to get our focus on the redesigning, reshaping, enhancing, and masking of our old nature-rather than the development and edification of the incorruptible new creation God has produced in us, and, in which the Holy Sprit now dwells. The light of this new creation is to be a light in a dark and decaying world.
The sow's ear is being hidden behind MASKS to convince us, and others, that what we see, hear, or are, is really a "silk purse." This silk purse is constantly being recreated: it has to be. An example is seen in the Hollywood movie stars. Makeup, clothes, and jewelry create this MASK. Makeup is used to disguise the aging of the individual.
Eventually, this star will be forced to leave the screen, or stage, because they no longer fit the "silk purse" picture which Satan keeps before our eyes. Their followers no longer desire to see them, because these aged people remind them that death is soon coming.
The scripture tells us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 A. V). When this scripture came to mind, the Lord showed me a lighthouse. This lighthouse was set upon a hill near the sea (in scripture, sea often refers to people).
The lighthouse was fitted with the most powerful light device known to man (John 1:4). But, there was a problem. No matter how bright this light shown, little to nothing was seen outside the glass. Why? The glass was covered with black paint (the silk purse).
Born-again believers try to fit the light of the new creation inside the old nature: the sin-nature. Little wonder the light doesn't shine.
This old sin-nature, as Ephesians 2:1 tells us, is dead in sins and trespasses. It was never alive and God never intended to give it life. Instead, God has produced in the born-again believer a new creation, which is to be conformed to the image of His Son. (See Ro. 12:1-2 below.)
Satan has deceived by his clever devices. He has told the world they can give light and life to that which is dead in sins and trespasses. The fountain of perpetual youth is being marketed.
John 1:4 enlightens us, "In him (Jesus Christ) was life; and the life was the light of men." When we are born-again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within the new creation God has created in us. From this new creation the life of Christ is to shine. (See Galatians 2:20.) This new creation is undefiled by sin and we are not to hide it by black covered (silk purse) windows. The seed of this new creation is, to some extent, like the seed the Father used in preparing the body of Jesus.
In Romans 7:23 we are told that when Adam and Eve rebelled against God's command and ate of the forbidden fruit, something called sin entered, as a law, into the members of their bodies. This is called the law of sin and death v.24, 25. Each person, since Adam's and Eve's rebellion, has within their members this same law of sin and death.
The spirit within Adam and Eve was alive before their rebellion, but after their rebellion it died! They were unable to pass on to their children that state of innocence in which they had been created. All humans, born from Adam and Eve to the end of time, are born spiritually dead. This is why each person must be born-again through faith in Jesus Christ.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we become alive unto God-born of an incorruptible seed that cannot sin. 1 John 3:2 tells us, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." The he in this verse refers to Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
We are to concentrate on the attributes and love of God and daily ask Him to conform us to His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. His light must shine forth through us as a beacon to the lost, to draw them safely into the arms of our Heavenly Father through the redemptive blood of Christ.
Daily, we must examine ourselves to see what is being built up. The old nature: which is dead and cannot be brought to life, or the new creation, which is to be conformed to the image of God's Son.
We should not take this concept for granted. The Bible tells us that the old nature makes warfare against the new creation. We determine which one will win.
Romans 12:1-2 instructs us:
"I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." K. J. V.
Why does scripture want us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice? Compared to the Old Testament sacrificial offerings of animals, the body of the offering then had to be killed and the blood drained. Life is in the blood.
This altar referred to in Romans 12 is the cross. Jesus tells us that in order to be His disciple, we must take up our cross (daily) and follow Him. He goes on to say that if we don't, we can't be His disciples. This is not rejection but prohibition. The cross thus enables us to follow Jesus.
If we, of our own free will, not take up our cross we can't follow Him. This is not a rejection of a believer, but recognizing that without taking up our cross, we are incapable of following Him. No flesh (old sin nature) will glory in the presence of God. In order to follow Jesus, this old nature must be put to death (a living death) so that the new creation can, in following Jesus, be conformed to Him.
That which is dead in incapable of proving nothing according to Romans 12. Therefore, the new creation is made capable, when following Jesus, of proving what is that good, and perfect, and acceptable will of God. This is what a principled Christian does. A pragmatic person doesn't take the time, daily, to set the affairs of their life in order thererfore they follow any thing that seems appealing. Any "silk purse" will do. This person does not realize that living, as a pragmatic can be injurious to life.
May you find this brief study on the Imperishable Seed to be of such value that it will stir you to learn more in studying the Bible and in growing closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the way I see it. If you see it differently, then prove to yourself through diligent study of scripture, that what you see is true.
William
keystone@suscom.net
Bible Headquarters
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