LIVE INSIDE OUT
The Gospel message is the most important message ever to grace this planet! It is the message of the true love Almighty God has for every man, woman, and child—regardless of race, or social status! It is by this one message that all of mankind can become children of God and share in His Kingdom. It is the only message of hope that can render an answer for any trouble anyone could ever encounter! The message that God was in Christ Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself; to completely reverse the treasonous act that took place in the beginning, resulting in mankind suffering the curse of death (separation from God), and poverty (spirit-soul-and body—every form of lack). This separation from God resulted in mankind becoming—in nature—just like the enemy of God: Satan—who is darkness personified. This gospel message is freely given to all who will hear and receive it.
UPSIDE DOWN
The Book of Acts records the first years the gospel message was preached (proclaimed) by those who had encountered its effects themselves. Originally the messengers were those who had been personally instructed by Jesus Himself (those who walked with Jesus; who heard His teaching, and experienced His healing power). After He rose from the dead He instructed them “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47).[Click here to read the combined Commission He gave.]
He further said, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The empowerment that came from “on high” enabled the disciples to declare the gospel message with great boldness and demonstrations, so that it was said of them “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6); upside down from the condition that tyrannical darkness had enslaved them to, that is! That’s what the gospel message will do – restore people to the condition of ‘life’ mankind was intended to live! This ‘life’ is what we will be looking into.
THE NEW BIRTH
Adam and Eve were the original parent-set of all mankind; “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26a). When they disobeyed God and ate the fruit He had told them not to eat, ‘dying, they had died’ (the original Hebrew of God’s warning “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” [Genesis 2:17])—man became ‘born again’. They were ‘alive’ once with the Life of God, but ‘death’ had taken over inside them, and they became ‘born again’ from life unto death. The state of spiritual death was then passed on to all mankind: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12, KJV, bold mine for emphasis).
The good news is Jesus paid the price for that treasonous act so we could be born again, from death to life! This is the gospel message we have been talking about. The life we now are to live is alive unto God—the choice is ours to make. And that decision is the purpose of this teaching, so we can live in the fullness of life God gave us when we made Jesus the Lord of our lives, and we became “new creatures” in Him. That’s what we’re talking about when we use the term ‘born again’, we’re talking about this ‘new creature’ we have become when the Holy Spirit regenerated us: “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
IT’S NOT AUTOMATIC
Someone might ask “If so-n-so is a ‘new creature’ then why do they still act like everyone else (those who are not)?” The new birth of the human spirit is instantaneous, but the life-style of godliness is a process. The reason for this is because mankind is a triune being: we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body. Let me break it down. Jesus said, talking to the Samaritan woman, that God is a Spirit: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, KJV). We were created by God to be in His image and likeness: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26a, KJV). So, that means we are spirit beings as well. The Bible is progressive revelation; meaning, to understand some things we have to find out what is said about them in the Scriptures that were written later in time.
Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23); spirit, soul, and body—three parts, one person. The Book of Hebrews records that it’s only the Word of God that can separate (or, discern between) the soul from the spirit: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, underline mine for emphasis). [As a side-note, have you noticed that God is a triune Being: Father – Son – and Holy Ghost?]
THE WORD MADE FLESH
Now we have come to the bulk of this teaching! The Word of God—the Standard of our progression; the means by which we become sanctified completely: act like, talk like, and walk like Jesus; from the inside out! Everything concerning the Kingdom of God revolves around the Word of God; is centered on the Word of God; is an extension of the Word of God—is an expression of the Word of God! The Word of God is powerful; He upholds all of creation BY it, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3, underline mine for emphasis). Who is this talking about? Jesus, the Son of God!
- “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3).
Did you catch that? God has spoken to us by His Son. What did He say? That He so loved us, He gave Jesus for us—that’s the gospel message!
- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The Amplified Bible says it like this, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life” (John 3:16, AMP). You and I are “greatly loved, and dearly prized” by Almighty God, my beloved! The Holy Spirit is the “eternal life” we’ve been given. That’s how we were made ‘new creatures’, by that Life of God that recreated us.
This same Jesus IS the Word of God that became flesh: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14a). The Word became flesh—that’s Jesus. But, it doesn’t end there; the Word takes on flesh every time someone is born again—that’s you and me! That’s what being a Christian is – we are His Body: He’s the Head, we’re the Body. His Life and nature is inside us now. Our job is to give it expression—living from the inside out.
THE PUT ON
This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the church at Philippi, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). “Work out”—we could say it like this: ‘allow what God has done (and is doing) inside you to become apparent on the outside’ – His work of grace in evidence to others. Here’s another way he said much the same thing in other letters he wrote:
- “that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
- “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:10).
- “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14).
- “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14).
I listed this one last because it shows us the pattern by which we ‘put on’ Christ. Did you notice that it lists the “fruit of the Spirit” as the things of Christ we are to put on? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a). These are the attributes we are to ‘put on’ – or, as this teaching would say “live inside out”. Let that which is inside come out; or, be manifested on the outside – don’t let the “hidden man of the heart” remain hidden, put ‘em on! Paul wrote “Let your gentleness be known to all men” (Philippians 4:5a).
It has nothing to do with ‘feelings’ – “Well, I just don’t feel like being gentle to so-n-so.” Walking by the fruit of the Spirit has nothing to do with how someone makes us ‘feel’ about them. Feelings are of the emotions and can change moment by moment. We are told to ‘put on’ that which is on the inside of us. We can do it on purpose; it’s a choice we have to make. It’s in there (if you’ve been born again) and is available to be shown on the outside; love, joy, peace, and so on are spiritual forces that enable us to live this life inside out; this is how true Christianity is expressed.
SEEK FIRST
Alright; so, how do we do these things on purpose? In the sermon we call “The Beatitudes”, Jesus instructed us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). It should be obvious what He meant by “seek first the Kingdom of God” – before we seek anything else we should seek the Kingdom of God! Proverbs Three says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (vv. 5-6). That sounds pretty plain; if we put God first by acknowledging Him in all our ways, we’ll be trusting Him; and He will direct our paths (daily lives—all manner of direction we need). Seeking first the Kingdom speaks of prioritizing – making His instructions (from His Word, and what He speaks to us in our quiet-time with Him—these are the assignments He has for us).
Now that we have sought Him and received our instructions for life, we have His righteousness to pursue. Righteousness is another way of saying ‘being right’, or doing right. God is right, you know – about everything! So, doing something His way is to do it the right way. I think you get the picture: to conduct our life the way God instructs, either in His Word, or by the conviction of our heart (that’s been saturated in His Word!) is to live life as a disciple of Christ – to put Him on, like a garment; only, it’s a spiritual thing. We live our lives from the inside out! All of these attributes are already in there, but we have to let them come out and dominate our lives.
RENEWING THE MIND
Renewing our mind is the number one way we are enabled to choose to live like Jesus. Paul wrote “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Who is to present their bodies? The real person (spirit man, hidden man of the heart); the one who is to be in control! Paul said in another place “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” (1Corinthians 9:27a). Did you notice that? He talked about his body like it was a possession of his; “I bring it into subjection.” He called his body an ‘it’.
In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul gives us another clue on how to do these things:
- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2Corinthians 3:18).
Notice he used the word ‘mirror’. James says something similar in the first chapter of his epistle:
- “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:23-25).
Here the Word of God is called a ‘mirror’. This is the same mirror Paul was talking about—the Word of God! So we can paraphrase the combined message of these two portions of Scripture like this: the Word of God is the mirror we look into for transformation. It will reflect the man we have become by God’s grace, and enable us to express him, by putting him on – living inside out – as long as we don’t forget the image we saw when we looked. It takes practice; it takes choosing to live this way; it takes putting our bodies under submission to the new man who is on the inside. That’s living the life of Christ – from the inside out!
If we miss it – and we will! – run to the Father (not from Him!) and confess it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:9-10). Don’t worry, we’ll make mistakes; but, He’ll be right there to pick us up, brush us off, and set us back on course with our walk. “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31b)? Don’t allow condemnation to weigh you down! That’s from the devil, and he’s not your Lord! So, tell him to shut up! It’s a daily thing we all have to practice! So, keep working on living inside out!