Paul’s Roman Citizenship

Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned? (A.D. 58; Acts 22:25).

Some believe that passages such as this from the Book of Acts somehow show that Paul was advocating involvement in Gentile politics. However, things are not always as they first appear.

The Nature of the Book of Acts

One must be careful about establishing their doctrine from the Book of Acts. This book was not written by Paul, nor was it written to establish doctrine for the Body of Christ, nor was it designed to be a pattern for our practical living. Instead, Acts is a book that reveals the transitional history of the fall of Israel and the rise of the Body of Christ. To obtain truth for the church, the Body of Christ, one must turn to the epistles of Paul.

What Paul Was NOT Doing

Paul did, on occasion appeal to Roman law, but this can’t remotely be compared with being an active participant in influencing and determining governmental policy. Neither Paul nor Jesus ever tried to reform Caesar or the Roman government.

What Paul Was Doing

To understand what Paul was doing when appealing to Roman law, we need the historical background to understand the passages where Paul brings up the issue of citizenship (A.D. 59; Acts 22-25).

First, let’s realize that all throughout Paul’s earlier 20-year apostolic ministry as recorded in the Book of Acts he is never recorded as having made any such reference to citizenship, even in the face of severe torture. A Roman citizen was protected from such treatment, nevertheless without any apparent appeal from him he received 39 stripes on five different occasions, and was three times beaten with rods (all prior to A.D. 57; II Corinthians 11:24). So why does he suddenly change and make an appeal?

The background of events will provide us with the answer. Paul had for “many years” (Romans 15:23) desired to make a trip to Rome; but he had been “much hindered” (Romans 15:22) because of constant delays caused by persecution from unbelieving Jews. Paul planned to make a trip to Jerusalem to deliver relief that he had been raising for the poor saints there. His plan was then to move on to Rome after that, provided that he is “delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea” (Romans 15:31).

After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome” (Spring, A.D. 54; Acts 19:21).

Paul wrote to the saints at Rome to inform them of his plans to come to them.

For I long to see you [the saints in Rome], that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established. … I have been much hindered from coming to you; but now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, when I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey … But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. … When I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come … And I am sure that, when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. … That I may be delivered from them who do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed (Spring, A.D. 58; Romans 1:11; 15:22-32).

While at Jerusalem heavy opposition broke out against him. Seizing upon an opportunity to be delivered from the unbelieving Jews so that he could finally take his ministry to the capitol of the Roman Empire, he simply inquired, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?” (Acts 22:25).

Paul appealed for the civil authorities to act in accordance with the law which bound them. He appealed to the principle of Roman law, an intervention that delivered him from the hands of the Jewish persecution. With his opposition constrained, Paul now only needed a means to get to Rome. He saw this opportunity in by exercising Roman rights to “appeal [his case] to Caesar” (A.D.59; Acts 25:11). Relatively, the government saw Paul as a Roman citizen, and Paul related to their treatment of him as such – pressing upon them the standard of their own law – and as a result he was able to make his long-desired trip to Rome under Roman authority.

A Greater Revelation

Now, before we assume that statements found in the Book of Acts have some instruction for the believer to become political, we must first be careful not to anticipate revelation. This is a significant concern when reading the Scriptures. We need to recognize that Paul received an abundance of progressive revelations over his some thirty-year apostleship.

I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord … through the abundance of the revelations (Autumn, A.D. 57; II Corinthians 12:1, 7).

It must be remembered that even if Paul intended to advocate an earthly citizenship in the Book of Acts, later, upon receiving greater revelation from the Lord, he clarified the issue entirely. While in a Roman prison God gave him additional revelation which he recorded to the Philippians. This was a revelation of singleness of mind; and a Roman prison was quite an amazing place for such a celestial revelation.

For our citizenship is in heaven; from where also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (A.D. 62; Philippians 3:20).

Paul did not write, “one of our citizenships is in heaven,” or “we have another citizenship in heaven,” or “we have two citizenships, one of which is in heaven.” Instead he writes absolutely, and plainly of one singular “citizenship.” From his Roman bondage he boldly and without qualification declares this citizenship to be celestial.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
© Daily Email Goodies^™

Morning and Evening

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity … I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity … (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14).

Life is vain when viewed apart from the Sovereign, loving God who is our Father.

I feel for those who face daily life apart from the knowledge that He is in complete control.

My days, all of them were written in Your book; the days, they were formed when there was not one of them (Psalms 139:16).

The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD (Psalms 37:23).

Think of these wonderful truths. All your days written in God’s book, formed there before any of them ever had been lived. Many live their daily lives without recognition of the stabilizing truth of the One Who “works all things after the counsel of His Own will” (Ephesians 1:11). They approach their day, and struggle through it, as the master of their own lives.

For those who live as though they were in charge of their lives, two of the hardest parts of the day are waking up in the morning and going to bed in the evening.

In the mornings, days are greeted with uncertainty as thoughts of the “What if …” trials and challenges of the day press in upon the mind and heart. There is a waking up to varying degrees of uneasiness, concern, apprehension, worry and anxiety; even at times to overwhelming fear, dread and depression. Feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty press in.

In the evenings, days are retired with the annoying “What if …” reflections of its happenings. There is second guessing, regret and disappointment. Feelings of frustration, disappointment and failure settle in; even at times shame, guilt and worthlessness.

After all, they see themselves as the lords of their own lives, the captains of their own ships and the masters of their own destiny. With this view comes but a recurring cycle of vanity.

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity … What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth abides. The sun also arises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to his place where he arose … All things are full of labor; man cannot express it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing (Ecclesiastes 1:2-8).

Why is man’s life filled with such vanity; such futility, emptiness, barrenness, purposelessness and aimless frustration? Because he has been subjected so by his Creator.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him Who has subjected the same in hope (Romans 8:20).

“Vanity” is the lot of man “under the sun.” Yet for the believer who has been seated in the celestials, quite another view prevails! Instead of being bound to vanity, we can rise to heights of divine life.

Solomon’s perspective “under the sun” showed the vanity of the human viewpoint. Paul’s perspective, “far above all heavens” revealed true purpose found only in the divine viewpoint: “your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).

Those of us who know Father as the great Planner and Director of our days have a completely different approach to our mornings and evenings – and the entire unfolding of our every minute of our day.

In the mornings, days can be greeted with the joy and excitement of knowing that they are His, as well as ourselves. The uncertainties of the “What if …” viewpoint are divinely transformed into the eager anticipation of seeing what God has planned for the day. We are able to awaken to the thrill of knowing that we will be witnesses of the unfolding of His detailed plan and purpose for our day. His presence presses in upon our minds. There is a waking up to peace and joy as we know that our life, with all of its daily circumstances, is firmly in His hand, and carried out by His capable direction. Our hearts are able to say, “Today we are on the great adventure of faith!”

In the evenings, when the day is over, we can rest our heads on our pillows and with surety and confidence regarding our day say, “This was the will of God.” The “What if …” reflections of its happenings are transformed into a place of peace and rest – knowing that the will of God was done, and who could have prevented it? The realization of our divine appointment is able to settle within our hearts and minds. After all, He is the Lords of our life, the Captain of our ship, the Master our destiny.

He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand (Daniel 4:35).

We have the joy of waking up each morning as His clay.
We have the anticipation of living each day as His workmanship.
We have the rest of laying our heads on our pillow each night as His achievement.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
© Bible Student’s Notebook^™

Adversarial Strongholds

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but powerful through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to Christ’s obedience (II Corinthians 10:4).

Lately I have been wanting to quit. I’ve considered throwing in the towel.

Well, that may be a little misleading. What’s misleading is the “lately” part. Truth is, this feeling of wanting to give up is actually quite reoccurring. What I am trying to say is that “lately” it has been trying to fill my thoughts again.

Are you struggling with God’s will in your life? Has the enemy somehow convinced you that Father does not really know what is best for you? That somehow your life is a mess, and that you are just barely hanging on. That somewhere there is a better plan for your life than the one that He is actually carrying out? That somehow, when it comes to your daily life, you are managing to doubt His vast wisdom, His unfailing love, and His boundless goodness? If so, you are not alone.

These strongholds are real, and we face them – to one degree or another – daily. They are satanic strongholds that actually battle against the very nature of God, exalting itself against His wise, loving and good plan for our lives. They oppose the life of God in us, attempting to prevent us from enjoying all that God has for us, keeping our minds in confusion and in bondage to fear, frustration, disappointment and discouragement.

Yet, just what is it about which are we actually fearful, frustrated, disappointed and discouraged?

Do we really fear God’s will? Are we actually frustrated with it? Are we disappointed in Him? Does His way in us discourage us? Or are we being strategically confused in our thinking by an adversary?

What we are dealing with is adversarial “strongholds” – and do not underestimate the enormous power they have upon us. As the word implies they have “hold” of our thinking processes, and they are very “strong” – thus “strongholds.”

Pull Down, Cast Down

…  pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations …

These strongholds are adversarial imaginations, or unscriptural “reckonings” (Concordant Literal New Testament) of God and His will. Strongholds that possess our thinking must be pulled down, but how?

Well we, in and of ourselves, are personally powerless to bring them down. They are beyond our own ability to overthrow; but we can rest in the fact that the battle is the Lord’s, and the divine weapons of our warfare are completely sufficient – they are all-sufficient to pull and cast down these well-established dictators. The divine viewpoint can ably overthrow the mental coup of the adversary. Our weapons are indeed “mighty through God” – to the pulling down of these strongholds. This is, as Paul declares elsewhere, the renewing of our minds.

Be not conformed to this age: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove the will of God, that it is good, and acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2).

God’s will – His plan and purpose – is good, and acceptable (well pleasing), and perfect, regardless of what our Adversary attempts to place in our minds to the contrary. God’s will alone is having its absolute way in the minute details of our lives, as He alone is sovereign to do so. For, masterfully “He works all things after the counsel of His Own will” (Ephesians 1:1l). The renewed mind proves this grand truth to our hearts, providing much needed release from the bondage of the enemy. It is then that we can rest, being assured with Paul,

That He Who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

God’s will for your life is good, well pleasing and perfect – as it is for all of His creation. We may not always be able to see it when we are caught up in the middle of some trial; but do not give way to the Adversary’s attack upon the goodness of God and His will in your life. This is his modus operandi all the way back to Eden’s garden – that God somehow withholds that which is good from us.

How do you imagine God’s dealings in your life?

What do you reckon as to His will? Do you doubt that He has you exactly where He wants you? Or, are you heeding the satanic questioning of the great wisdom of His will?

Find rest from all of the mental anguish that wars against the sovereign God. You will, with me, find this rest in the renewed mind; for faith casts down these challenges against the nature and character of Elohim – the Placer and Subjector – and embraces Father’s will for our lives as good, and acceptable, and perfect. After all, would we really have it any other way than His will for our lives? Then give up the faithless struggle against it.

I have for now, and peace has returned to my heart and mind.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
© Bible Student’s Notebook™

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 22

I Am … Predestined

For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the First-Born among many brothers. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30).

Having predestinated us to the adoption of children to Himself by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will … In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who works all things after the counsel of His Own will (Ephesians 1:5, 11).

I am predestined. This is who and what Father says that I am.

I am predestined “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” This is my destiny – predetermined. My destination has been pre-set, pre-fixed: I will be like Him.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him … (I John 3:2).

Just Who is the Lord Jesus Christ, into Whose image I will be made? He Himself is the “image of God.”

Christ, Who is the image of God (II Corinthians 4:4).

Who is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus Christ – God’s Son – is “the image of God.” I – a son of God – will be conformed to His image.

… As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (I Corinthians 15:49).

Who will change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself (Philippians 3:21).

Paul Billheimer has written wonderfully about this truth.

Created originally in the image of God, redeemed humanity has been elevated by means of a divinely conceived genetic process … to the highest rank of all created beings … This union goes beyond a mere formal, functional or idealistic harmony or rapport. It is an organic unity … We become … actual generated sons of God (I John 3:2), “partakers of the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4) … generated by His Own life …

God purposed to have a family circle of His very Own, not only created but also generated by His Own life, incorporating His Own seed, “sperma,” “genes” or heredity. Long ago, even before He made the world, God chose us to be His very Own, through what Christ would do for us (Ephesians 1:4; also 5:25-27, 32). In order to obtain this personal, organic family relationship, God conceived the infinitely vast and infinitely wise plan of creation plus redemption … in order to bring “many sons into glory” (Hebrews 2:10) …

Christ is the Prototype after which all other sons are being fashioned … God’s purpose in the plan of redemption – to produce … an entirely new and unique species, exact replicas of His Son with whom He will share His glory and His dominion, and who will constitute a royal progeny and form the governing and administrative staff of His eternal kingdom.

While we recognize the infinite distinction between the “Son” and the “many sons” born into the family, yet such is their heredity … that He recognizes them as bona fide blood-brothers …

Christ is the divine Prototype after which this new species is being made. They are to be exact copies of Him, true genotypes … As sons of God, begotten by Him, incorporating into their fundamental being and nature the very genes of God, they rank above all other created beings and are elevated to the most sublime height possible. (Destined for the Throne, First Edition, 1975, pp. 33-37)

This is my predetermined destiny. I am who and what Father says I am.

I am predestined.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 21

I Am … An Heir

… Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ … (Romans 8:17).

I am an heir – an “heir of God.” This is who and what Father says that I am.

Father has willed that I be His heir. This is absolutely amazing truth. I could never even have dreamed up such a thing in my wildest imagination. As with all that I have through my union with Christ, if it was not for the record of Scripture itself, I must surely oppose it as pure blasphemy.

Yet it is true. I am an heir of God. Father says that I am.

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12).

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18).

God Owns It All

The simple truth is that Father owns everything!

For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof (I Corinthians 10:26).

The Lord Jesus Christ Is Heir of All

The Lord Jesus Christ has been made the heir of all things that belong to His Father.

… His Son, Whom He has appointed Heir of all things … (Hebrews 1:2).

I Am Co-Heir with Christ

By my union with the Son of God I, too, have come into the sonship-inheritance of the Father. I am now positioned as co-heir with Him as a member of His Body.

Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Galatians 4:7).

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ … (Romans 8:7).

Christ’s Body is inheritor of all that God possesses. The Body of Christ is, with the Lord Jesus Christ as its Head, destined to inherit everything that God possesses.

Inheritance on Reservation

I will not take full possession of all of my inheritance until the resurrection. The earth and its fullness are currently sublet to the sons of Adam. The heavens and its fullness are currently sublet to the heavenly host. God and His Christ are now in Royal Exile, “far above all heavens” (Ephesians 4:10); but this will all change one day.

My inheritance is currently reserved for me in heaven (Colossians 1:5). I must not forget as I labor through my days that I am my Father’s son, and thus an heir of all things. Sometimes I live in the circumstances as a defeated son of Adam. However, this is a denial of my true identity, and when I do so I live in falsehood and hypocrisy.

Co-Regents of the Universe

Christ’s Body will one day be the ruling body of the universe.

… We shall also reign with Him … (II Timothy 2:12).

The Greek word used to translate “reign” here is Strong’s Greek Lexicon #4821, sumbasileuo, meaning “to be co-regent.” Webster defines “regent” as “a governor; a ruler … one invested with vicarious authority.”

The Body of Christ will co-reign as co-regents with the Lord Jesus Christ, because the Father has made us one with Him, as our Head. No wonder Paul could write to the Corinthians regarding their earthly, carnal and immature behavior:

Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? (I Corinthians 6:2).

Know you not that we shall judge angels? (I Corinthians 6:3).

By God’s measureless and matchless grace I have been made a part of the Body of His inheritance. All things are mine (I Corinthians 3:21-23).

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am an heir.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 20

I Am … A New Creation

Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new (II Corinthians 5:17).

I am a new creature. This is who and what Father says that I am.

The New Me in Christ

God has made me who I am as a part of His new creation. Any attempt at knowing who I really am must start here. So, who am I, really? I am a new creature in Christ. I have been “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10).

Many struggle in their Christian walk to find deliverance from “themselves.” Even those who have come to understand that they are new creatures in the Lord Jesus Christ often believe that they are really still their old selves, too. They have been led to believe that there are somehow two of themselves.

They have been taught that there are two selves residing inside of them. They have been led to believe that they are always fighting an inward civil war for control – fighting to live, fighting to gain control, fighting for supremacy, fighting to have the dominant expression. Remarkably, this is all some strange type of religious schizophrenia. It is a tiresome and burdensome struggle of the imagination. What is so sad is that nothing could be farther from the truth.

The Former Me in Adam

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin (Romans 6:6).

Many believers’ lives are lived from the grave – from the defeated dominion of the “old man” – from the former independent, Adamic-self that was finished on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through my union in Christ’s death and resurrection, my old self-life in Adam is history; I rest on this accomplished fact. There are many believers who are trying desperately to crucify themselves, when it already is a done deal. My crucifixion is a historical fact. I refuse to live under the domination of the old Adamic-life.

One Me

There is only one me. I am a new creature. I am one person, not two. I am not two creatures; I am a one “new creature” – a totally new creation of God.

… Old things are passed away …

My former self, my old identity in Adam, the old me is dead and gone. It has “passed away.” It died with Christ. It is not who I am anymore – regardless of what I may think or do to the contrary!

… Behold, all things have become new.

One Nature

I do not have two natures. I had an old one that used to be. I have a new one that now is. The battle is not an inward struggle between two “me’s.”

Not that there’s not a battle. It is just that it’s a battle of faith. The battle is about believing what God says is now true about me. It centers in me believing that I am who and what God says I am.

Many are seeking to be liberated from themselves. They think that they are in the midst of a great battle between their two selves – their two natures. This is not what the Scriptures teach!

Paul clearly writes that we,

… WERE by nature the children of wrath … (Ephesians 2:3).

A new nature has not been added to my old one. This would only be confusion, and God is not the author of that (I Corinthians 14:33). What I was by nature in Adam is in the past.

Christ once-and-for-all dealt with my former self at the cross. He has now made me a new self – “partakers of the divine nature” (II Peter 1:4).

I am not now liberated from my old self. Rather, I am now liberated to be my new self. I am now free to be who I really am; the real me – the only me that there is – the new creature that God has made me in Christ.

One Life

I have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

My former identity – my old “I” – was my identity as the son of Adam. My new identity – my new “I” – is my identity as a glorious son of God.

My old “I” is that of molded conformity – of human uniformity. As a son of Adam I was from birth ever pressed into the cast of sameness.

My former “I” is just that – it was crucified (executed) with Christ – “I have been crucified with Christ …”

My new “I” is just that – new – brand new. It is the “I” of Christ living me. It is the new “life which I NOW live in the flesh …” My new life is HIS life. It is the only life I now have.

One Identity

I do not have two identities. I had an old one, but now I have a new one – one former, one present.

My new identity – the new “I” – is that of unique design – of divine distinctiveness. As a son of God I am now free to be that one-of-a-kind individual that God has created me to be – filled and made vibrant with His dynamic life living in and through me.

I [ a son of Adam] have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless I [a son of God] live; yet not I [the “I’ of the old creation ], but Christ lives in me [the me of the new creation]: and the life [the divine life of God] which I [the unique person God that has made me to be] now live in the flesh [right now, this very day], I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

The Realization of My Liberated Self

People are always talking about their attempts to discover their true selves – their efforts of trying to “find themselves.” The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ needs to find out who they really are. All that is needed is a careful look at the Scriptures, and a simple faith in the words of who and what God says that I am. God knows who I am; all I need to do is believe Him.

The new me is the me of union with Christ. It is His life. It is His life exchanged for my past one. It is the great exchange. Indeed it is the greatest of all exchanges – the truth of the divinely exchanged life.

Understanding and believing these glorious truths will allow me the freedom to be at rest with my new self – free to be the real me, the new man, the only me that there is – the me in Christ.

I refuse to be the shell of a person, pushed into a mold of Adamic conformity. I will be the real me that God uniquely designed me to be. I refuse to be bullied out of my divinely designed identity that Father has given me.

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am a new creation.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who And What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 19

I Am … Blessed

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

I am blessed. This is who and what Father says I am.

God has blessed me in more ways than I can even completely comprehend. Indeed, in the spiritual realm, He has already fully blessed me beyond measure – “with all spiritual blessings.” In this sphere I could not possibly be more blessed.

This is not to say that I do not have physical blessings, for surly they are abundant, as He “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (I Timothy 6:17); but Paul teaches me that my real sphere of blessings is in the spiritual realm, in the heavenly places.

God blessed Israel with physical blessing, as they were His earthly people. This is not to say that they did not have any spiritual blessings for surely they did, and we are partakers of them (Romans 15:27); but God’s emphasis was upon their physical blessings.

I am a part of God’s heavenly people, and He has blessed me “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Paul records these spiritual blessings right in his letter to the Ephesians, and they are intended to make me “spiritually minded” (Romans 8:6).

That I have been separated to the celestial sphere can be seen easily by looking at the Ephesian collage of the “heavenly places”:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ … Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His Own right hand in the heavenly places … And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus … To the intent that now to the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God … For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12).

My spiritual blessing are directly associated with these “heavenly places.” This is where I have my position and standing in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am seated with Christ in the celestials (Ephesians 2:6); my citizenship is there (Philippians 3:20). How fitting, then, that it is from the heavenly places that Father supplies me with all my spiritual needs. All of what I possess from God that is real and lasting is located there. All else is but an illusive shadow.

If you then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am blessed.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 18

I Am … Translated

Who … has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13).

I am translated. This is who and what Father says I am.

Many in Christendom are caught up in an earthly citizenship. They are so easy distracted by the crosscurrents of the gentile “elements of the world” (Galatians 4:3), for truly “the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing” (Psalm 2:1; Acts 4:25).

Satan currently has been appointed the “god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4). God uses him as an instrument to set up and remove the kingdoms and the rulers of the world to fulfill His purpose of the ages.

[God] changes the times and the seasons: He removes kings, and sets up kings … (Daniel 2:21).

… The most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. (Daniel 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21).

It is God Who directs the affairs of this earth, including the political realm, and He uses the instrumentality of the Adversary to accomplish His purpose among the nations, bringing them all to vanity.

Let them be confounded and troubled for the future; yes, let them be put to shame, and perish: that men may know that You, Whose name alone is Jehovah, are the most high over all the earth (Psalm 83:18).

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and [God] does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, “What have You done?” (Daniel 4:35).

Thus the Lord Jesus Christ said to Pilate,

You could have no power at all against Me, except it were given you from above (John 19:11).

God, however, has translated me from the vain kingdoms of this world into the glorious kingdom of His dear Son. This world is not my homeland, as I am a citizen of the commonwealth of heaven.

For our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20, KJV margin).

… Our citizenship in the heavens … (Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, 1868).

… Our citizenship is in the heavens … (Young’s Literal Translation, 1898).

… Our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens … (Darby Translation, 1890).

With thanksgiving I embrace the fact that I have been divinely “transported” into His celestial-domain. Thus, I am a “fellow-citizen with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19) – a foreigner here, a citizen of the high-realm.

J.C. O’Hair (1876-1958) wrote the following in his work Ambassadors of Reconciliation:

The word “conversation” here [in Philippians 3:20] could be translated “citizenship” or even “politics” … The citizenship and politics of every representative of Christ is in heaven … The believer is in the world, but not of the world. Unto him has been committed the Word of reconciliation. To him is given the ministry of reconciliation.

Bill (William) Petri, also adds his voice to this discussion in his work Government, War, and the Christian (2008, p. 11):

The word “conversation” in Philippians 3:20 is an interesting word. It is the Greek word “politeuma” and means “the commonwealth of citizens.” It is interesting that in the English language we take our word politic from this Greek word.

David C. Pack, in Do Christians Vote?, also shares the meaning of the word politeuma and its application to Paul’s use of the phrase “Body of Christ”:

The Greek word for citizenship is politeuma. “Politics” comes from this word! Christians do have a “political agenda,” but it is not of this world.

Paul teaches us that, as members of Christ’s Body we already have a citizenship, and it is in heaven. Our government is there; our King is there; our politics are there.

I do not belong to an earthly kingdom; mine is a heavenly one.

… The Lord … will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom … (II Timothy 4:18).

Earthly rulers are not mine; Christ is my King and only Potentate.

… Our Lord Jesus Christ … Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords (I Timothy 6:14-15).

This celestial kingdom is my calling:

That you would walk worthy of God, Who has called you to His kingdom and glory (I Thessalonians 2:12).

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am translated.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 17

I Am … Free

Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1).

I am free. This is who and what Father says I am.

The Lord Jesus Christ Has Made Me Free

If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

Christ’s Spirit, Resident in Me, Has Made Me Free

…Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (II Corinthians 3:17).

His Truth Has Made Me Free

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

I Am Free from the Bondage of Sin

Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness (Romans 6:18).

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness… (Romans 6:22).

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the freedom from sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the freedom from sins (Colossians 1:14).

I Am Free from the Bondage of Condemnation and Guilt

There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus … (Romans 8:1).

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God Who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Who died, or rather, Who is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:33-34).

I Am Free from the Bondage of Religion

Wherefore, if you are dead with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances (touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using), according to the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh (Colossians 2:20-23).

I Am Free from the Bondage of Tradition

I am not bound by man’s vain religious traditions.

Making the Word of God of no effect through your traditions… (Mark 7:13).

But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9).

I Am Free from the Bondage of Fear

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love and sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).

I Am Free from the Bondage of the Opinion of Others

With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment (I Corinthians 4:3).

Freedom is my birthright!

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

I am free to live, to serve, to love, to be who I am in Christ!

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am free.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2010

I Am … Who and What God Says I Am! – The Divine Reckoning of the Renewed Mind, Part 16

I Am … Redeemed

Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24).

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, “Accursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

I am redeemed. This is who and what Father says I am.

W.E. Vine defines redemption as:

Denotes to buy out, especially of purchasing a slave with a view to his freedom. – Vine’s Expository Dictionary

Noah Webster defines it as:

Repurchase of captured goods or prisoners; the act of procuring the deliverance of persons or things from the possession and power of captors by the payment of an equivalent; ransom; release; as the redemption of prisoners taken in war …

Deliverance from bondage, distress, or from liability to any evil or forfeiture, either by money, labor or other means. – An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

I have been bought out from the hands of the captor.

For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (I Corinthians 6:20).

You are bought with a price; be not the servants of men (I Corinthians 7:23).

The Author of My Redemption Is God.

But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, Who from God is made to us … redemption (I Corinthians 1:30).

When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them who were under the law … (Galatians 4:4-5).

The Means of My Redemption Is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the freedom from sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them who were under the law… (Galatians 4:4-5).

Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24).

The Price of My Redemption Is the Blood of Jesus Christ.

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the freedom from sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the freedom from sins (Colossians 1:14).

The Scope of My Redemption.

I have been redeemed from the “curse of the Law.”

For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, “Accursed is everyone who continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, is evident: for, “The just shall live by faith.” And the law is not of faith: but, “The man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, “Accursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:10-13; c.f. Deuteronomy 6:25; 28:1-68).

I have been given “the freedom from sins.”

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the freedom from sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the freedom from sins (Colossians 1:14).

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity … (Titus 2:14).

One day the final stage of my redemption will be complete, as I will receive the redemption of my body.

And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [that is,] the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23).

I am who and what Father says I am.

I am redeemed.

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook™
© 2010