THE FLOW OF GRACE AND FAITH

THE FLOW OF GRACE AND FAITH  The Gift of God’s Grace shifts the burden of spiritual growth from us to the divine Creator God – and the very logos DNA design of being a New Creation in Christ makes the pursuit of holiness no longer a behavioural project but the natural manifestation of a new grace-filled nature. Grace is not an add on to become more spiritual - it is the Primal Source and the genetic blueprint of the New Creation. Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV) 4. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  5. even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— Paul says that before Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit all of humanity was in a state of being "dead in trespasses." it is a description of a state of spiritual being - dead-end. We once were lost (vs 1-3) but now are found in Christ. He says we were trying to achieve spiritual output from a dead-end source without the life of Jesus.  A dead-end nature cannot rehabilitate itself; it require a different kind of life entirely. If a person does not have a revelation of being reconciled katalasso –being conjoined in spirit with the Spirit of God and made partakers of the divine nature.  No behavioural modification bridges the chasm between Old Creation consciousness and Spiritual age to age life. This state of total "Deadness" demands faith in the divine intervention that is above and beyond the human system. 6. and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The Divine Initiative of God was an act of death and resurrection for our sakes that was entirely apart from human faith, obedience, or response. God acted out of love to give his life to humanity. This was the act of universal reconciliation – katalasso – the divine outcome of the incarnation of Jesus and his death and resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit. But for it to become a conscious reality for us it requires our faith in that act of divine reconciliation. Paul calls us a New Creation – a creation model and not an evolution model – not trying to improve the old one.  This is not just some legal status but a spiritual merger where the individual is woven into the life of the Divine. This union is categorized by three specific dimensions of being "Together with Christ". Verses 5 and 6 Made alive together: The new life-essence that terminates the state of deadness. Raised up together: The elevation into a higher state of being. The word id ontology. Seated together: The establishment of a new position of authority and rest, centred in the divine life rather than human effort. 7. so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  9. not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  This Gift of Grace shifts the burden of spiritual growth from us to the divine Creator God – and the very logos DNA design of being a New Creation makes the pursuit of holiness no longer a behavioural project but the natural manifestation of a new nature. Grace is not an add on to become more spiritual - it is the Primal Source and the genetic blueprint of the New Creation. The way this New Creation model works is by shifting from "trying to acquire grace " to "permitting the flow of grace " In the old framework, we try to earn or generate spiritual value. In the New Creation model, we acknowledge that the grace life-force is already in effect. This is the "Logos logic" (vs.8) of Paul – see also in Romans 5. Romans 5:2. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God  Faith does not create grace; it accesses a pre-existing faith/grace system because Grace is the gift of the act of Divine Universal Reconciliation.Faith is the how-to of Access: Faith is not an achievement that produces salvation. It is the process of conscious agreement of letting the grace and faith OF Jesus flow from our spirit to our soul. It is the act of not frustrating the grace but allowing Spirit life to manifest through to the human soul as though through a pipeline connection. The operation of our faith is simply turning on the valve of the ‘faith of God’ and not resisting or frustrating the flow of grace – and for this we are accountable. In the diagram - there is a red and yellow vertical line that represents Jesus bringing his human and divine Holy Spirit life into the life of humanity, represented by a horizontal purple pipeline. At that point there is a yellow circle representing the fullness of the grace (gift) of God’s life. That life begins to flow from left to right as a pipeline of the grace of God right to the end where there is a bubble that represents our soul.  Halfway along the pipeline there is a yellow circle which represents a ‘faith valve’. That faith valve is where our faith in Christ is able to turn on or off the faith OF Christ and either maintain or frustrate the flow of grace to our soul. Galatians 2:20 And the life I now live in the flesh (the embodiment of my soul) I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness (alignment with God) were through the law, then Christ has died in vain Our soul bubble at the end will either be filled with a grace-filled hatch of yellow and purple or by stark lines of our own human effort. It is in our soul bubble where we meet the outside world – seen for who we are in our emotional and cognitive and spiritual life, along with the signs of bodily stress or calm. It will reflect a self-willfulness that has frustrated the grace or a self willingness that reflects the grace that puts God on display in our life. Our faith is not merely a personal belief in Christ, but belief in the faith OF Christ - Christ's own faith and life already operating within us. Galatians 2:16"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ..." Again:"...that we might be justified by the faith of Christ." Galatians 3:22 The scriptures have concluded all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to us who believe - our faith participates. Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." (KJV) Philippians 3:9"not having mine own righteousness... but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Romans 3:22"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." 9. Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 10. Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." 11. Phil. 2:13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good purpose.  12. Phil 1:6 he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion …because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace. Our faith is therefore not an independent human achievement but a sharing in the faith life of the Son through the indwelling Spirit. Spiritual health is not about "getting" more of God’s life but about accessing and "permitting the flow of the fulness of God’s life" by turning on the tap of faith for the flow of grace that is already provided. This is perhaps the deepest implication of Paul's repeated phrase, "the faith of Christ”.Top of Form 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.   This distinction introduces a new ledger of accountability. Under the old human performance framework, people are judged by their willpower to adhere to external rules in honouring God. Under the New Creation model, the only measure of accountability is our access to the provided age-to-age life. This demolishes self-effort religion, as it proves that a legal pardon only juggles the ledger, whereas an ontological shift (a change in essential being) changes our very nature itself. This internal mechanism of faith naturally leads to the external manifestation of what Paul calls God’s Workmanship (vs.19) The doing of "good works" is the natural fruit of a new nature rather than the "forced labour" of the old self. In this model, we can function as a "display case" for divine grace. This is the ultimate Workmanship (poema): Holiness becomes the spontaneous outward display of an internal change of a divine/human species, where the divine life is literally woven into the fabric of our spirit in the new mind and the new heart. This integration is the only process capable of the "salvation of the soul"—a feat that legal pardon is structurally unable to achieve. That’s why I run the course. Old Self Framework (Effort) New Creation Framework (Expression) Frustrating the Spirit through strain "Being still" and "flowing" This "Expression Over Effort" model is the subjecting of self-will to God’s will. When this happens the strain of religious performance is replaced by the natural "flowing" of the New Creation. This ceasing of self-will is the terminal point of the old nature and the realization of the soul's salvation. It is called Repentance from dead works. (Hebrews 6:1) The life of the Creator is woven into the very fabric of our mind (1Corinthians 2:16). This is not a psychological adjustment; it is a structural reality. Please understand! Superseding the Rehabilitation Myth: We must stop attempting to improve the old nature through more persuasive social rules. What was dead accepts a katalasso reconciled life Cultivating Permission over Performance: The goal of spiritual growth is the "being still" that allows the life of Christ to become the prime mover, resulting in the natural expression of the New Creation. The "rest of the New Creation" is realized only when we stop trying to improve the old self and begins letting the New Creation live through us. When the strain of self-resurrection ends, the authentic life of the New Species begins.