The Thoughts Of A Heretic

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been bfreed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

An interesting dinner conversation with Dennis morphed into the question of just how we who know Jesus see ourselves.  Do we see ourselves as being complete in Him, or do we think that we are forever striving to reach a ever distant goal.  A goal which many a pulpit pounder has preached that we need to "Be more like Jesus."  While it is honorable to choose to resemble the very image of the invisible God, I feel that it is in this quest that we continually fall short.  Therefore, the message from that pulpit each and every Sunday continues to preach that we are to seek that goal for our lives.  But what if we there is no goal for us to reach?  What if we are indeed already there?  Well, not only would that nullify a primary narative of the institutional church, but present a radical change in how it is that we see ourselves.  Do we see ourselves as continually chasing that perfect image of Christ Jesus which the church claims we must do?  If this is how we see ourselves, then there is a freedom out there which we have yet to realize.  The freedom of knowing that we are complete in Christ Jesus and have no need to continue to strive to seek Him, to be more like Him.  For Paul tells us in Galations that those days are gone.  The reality is that in the truth found in Jesus, that we ARE Jesus.  Think back to your new testament pages on the reaction which Jesus received as He proclaimed that He was indeed the son of God!  Blasphemy!  The Jewish Pharisees of the day had a cow over this claim.  It was this bold truth which ultimately led his persecutors to put Him to death.  How can anybody claim to be God?  It is a well known fact that those who have made such claims have been branded as heretics.  If this is true, then I am a proud heretic!  I no longer chase what I already have.

9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8: 9 - 11 NKJV

One of the main parts of our discussion this week was just who we see that we are.  All too often we look at our flesh vessels and proclaim that this is who we ultimately are.  Of course, this is a dangerous error.  The book of Genesis tells us that we were ultimately created in His very image.  It is here where I go tripped up myself.  I just assumed that my fleshly body was that image in which I was created.  Well, you know what happens when we assume.  Instead of being that flesh image which we see each day in the mirror, this is not our true identity.  It is Paul who proclaims that we are not in the flesh but in the spirit.  This spirit image is our core identity.  This is the image of He who created us.  What better way for God to manifest Himself than through His spirit which is in us.  This is indeed how the image of the invisible God walked the earth, in the flesh of a man.
As I sat in the local coffee shop this morning I happened to overhear two men gushing over just how they were knocking themselves out in their quest to continually seek to be filled with Jesus.  It seemed as if struggling to the point of collapse was a badge of honor to these two.  All in the name of being more like Jesus.  Of course, I already knew where that narrative came from.  Once upon a time I myself followed it.  I decided against showing them the error of their thoughts.  For who would believe the thoughts of a heretic?

~Scott~