Phil 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. NKJV
So, can we really do all things while in Christ? I know most understand this to verse to say we have the power to do all things while we are in Christ, but it also has another overlooked meaning. It also can be understood that we are free to do all things while in Christ.
1 Cor 6:12 - "Everything is permissible for me"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"-but I will not be mastered by anything. NIV
Now, this truth is very confusing for the ones that are holding onto the Law for their dos and donts. The Law dictated what Gods people could or could not do. The things that were allowed under the Old Law, the Law also dictated the way it had to be done to satisfy Gods righteousness.
Doesnt the Law show what is sinful? Yes and No.
Under the New Covenant, all things are determined sinful or not by the reason behind the thought or action. All things are determined by what kind of love the thought or action is originating from selfish love or Gods agape love.
Arent Christians supposed to only obey the Old Law? No, true born again Christians obey the law of love that God has written in and on their hearts. Under the New Covenant, the law of pure agape Love is the new law which surpasses the Old Law. The Old Law is contained within the new law of love, but the Old Law doesnt contain the new Covenant law.
So, are we truly free from the Law of the Old Covenant? Yes, as long as you are a true born again believer, who only lives by Gods Holy Spirit which is pure agape love. We can see this truth in another verse from Corinthians.
1 Cor 10:23-24 - "Everything is permissible "-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible "-but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. NIV
Can you see the difference Everything is permissible when done - first in the love for God and second in the love for others. Everything is permissible when being done in the power of the Holy Spirit which is pure agape love. This is why things that were not allowed under the Old Covenant Law are now permissible to be done by a born again believer of Christ, because all things will always be done with the right motive which is the love of God pouring out through us to God and others.
Everything that a born again Christian does, is done with a pure motivation of love for God and others.
Titus 1:15 - To the pure, ALL things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, NOTHING is pure. NIV
A person bound under the Old Covenant Law is still corrupt and nothing is pure. But a born again believer can do all things and all things are permissible, because all they do is done with the perfect love of God for others. We can see this in Pauls message to the Corinthians. Anyone living by Gods Holy Spirit, which is pure agape love, has gone beyond the Old Law of rules, because they live by a new and better law, which is the law of pure love for God and others.
1 Cor 9:19-22 - Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. NIV
All this gets very confusing for the people without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because most are still trying to understand God by His Old Testament Laws. They are looking for a set of rules to live by instead of a replacement of their heart/spirit. People who have had their evil nature replaced with Gods nature are the ones that can live and understand these spiritual truths of God.
From the stand point of the people trying to live by the Old Law, by a set of rules, they will see a born again Christian doing things that were not understood to be allowed under the Old Law and will judge them guilty as a sinner, even though those they are judging are doing Gods will by the power of His great love to glorify God and reach others.
1 Cor 2:15-16 - The spiritual man makes judgments about ALL THINGS, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. NIV
The Old Law of God is not invalid, for it is Spiritual and of God, it is just that a born again believer is not under the Old Law, for the born again believer has gone way past the Old Covenant Laws, because all they do is out of the pure love of God, which is the power to do all things good onto God and man.
1 Peter 4:11 - If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that IN ALL THINGS God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. NIV
Will anyone born of God do things against the Old Law? No, because anyone loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength cannot go against the Old Covenant Law, for the Old Covenant Law is of God.
There will be many people who are still trying to keep the Old Law who will accuse people not under the Old Law that they are sinning, but this is only because they have misunderstood the Old Law and have limited it to a set of rules that they can understand in their un-Spiritual state.
Let me give some examples that might help.
Will a person born of God go against Gods commandment - You shall have no other gods before me? No, because we have One God which we have been made one Spirit with. We wont go against our first love.
Will a person born of God go against Gods commandment You shall not commit adultery? No, because we have been already married to Christ and God is our first love. We will not forsake our first love and go back to loving ourselves or others above Christ. We have all the love needed in Christ and dont need to go back and look for love or self fulfillment in any other person again.
What about the commandments that say we shall not steal or covet anyone elses possessions. A born again person has no desire for things of this world or other peoples possessions, because the baptism of the Holy Spirit which has filled us overflowing with His pure love has left us wanting and desiring nothing. We have no desire other than God Himself.
Will a person born of God ever desire to lie or give false testimony? No, because there are no lies in Truth. We love Truth, because God is the Truth, Christ is the Word. Since we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we then hate all lies, because lies are not of God, but of the devil and all who love evil.
But, someone might say, it must be okay to lie to people that are out to harm or kill someone else. Isnt lying to protect someone from harm or physical death a way of loving them? A person could use this excuse, but this only shows that the one lying is still of the devils nature, because they have put the love of the person they are trying to protect above their love for God, which is only Truth. A person cannot truly love Truth and then lie, because there are no lies in Truth. If anyone lies, this only shows who they love more than God. If anyone lies for any reason, this shows that they havent put all their trust in God and are still acting as God themselves.
You see, it is all about love, who we love, and who provides this perfect love. God makes His Holy ones perfect by Him filling them with His pure love at the baptism of His Holy Spirit. These people born of God are then free to do what ever they desire, because their heart is now the same as Gods heart and can only do good out of that heart of pure agape love. They are truly free to do all the things their heart desires, because they will only desire to do good in all the things they do.
So, can we really do all things while in Christ? I know most understand this to verse to say we have the power to do all things while we are in Christ, but it also has another overlooked meaning. It also can be understood that we are free to do all things while in Christ.
1 Cor 6:12 - "Everything is permissible for me"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"-but I will not be mastered by anything. NIV
Now, this truth is very confusing for the ones that are holding onto the Law for their dos and donts. The Law dictated what Gods people could or could not do. The things that were allowed under the Old Law, the Law also dictated the way it had to be done to satisfy Gods righteousness.
Doesnt the Law show what is sinful? Yes and No.
Under the New Covenant, all things are determined sinful or not by the reason behind the thought or action. All things are determined by what kind of love the thought or action is originating from selfish love or Gods agape love.
Arent Christians supposed to only obey the Old Law? No, true born again Christians obey the law of love that God has written in and on their hearts. Under the New Covenant, the law of pure agape Love is the new law which surpasses the Old Law. The Old Law is contained within the new law of love, but the Old Law doesnt contain the new Covenant law.
So, are we truly free from the Law of the Old Covenant? Yes, as long as you are a true born again believer, who only lives by Gods Holy Spirit which is pure agape love. We can see this truth in another verse from Corinthians.
1 Cor 10:23-24 - "Everything is permissible "-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible "-but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. NIV
Can you see the difference Everything is permissible when done - first in the love for God and second in the love for others. Everything is permissible when being done in the power of the Holy Spirit which is pure agape love. This is why things that were not allowed under the Old Covenant Law are now permissible to be done by a born again believer of Christ, because all things will always be done with the right motive which is the love of God pouring out through us to God and others.
Everything that a born again Christian does, is done with a pure motivation of love for God and others.
Titus 1:15 - To the pure, ALL things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, NOTHING is pure. NIV
A person bound under the Old Covenant Law is still corrupt and nothing is pure. But a born again believer can do all things and all things are permissible, because all they do is done with the perfect love of God for others. We can see this in Pauls message to the Corinthians. Anyone living by Gods Holy Spirit, which is pure agape love, has gone beyond the Old Law of rules, because they live by a new and better law, which is the law of pure love for God and others.
1 Cor 9:19-22 - Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. NIV
All this gets very confusing for the people without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because most are still trying to understand God by His Old Testament Laws. They are looking for a set of rules to live by instead of a replacement of their heart/spirit. People who have had their evil nature replaced with Gods nature are the ones that can live and understand these spiritual truths of God.
From the stand point of the people trying to live by the Old Law, by a set of rules, they will see a born again Christian doing things that were not understood to be allowed under the Old Law and will judge them guilty as a sinner, even though those they are judging are doing Gods will by the power of His great love to glorify God and reach others.
1 Cor 2:15-16 - The spiritual man makes judgments about ALL THINGS, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. NIV
The Old Law of God is not invalid, for it is Spiritual and of God, it is just that a born again believer is not under the Old Law, for the born again believer has gone way past the Old Covenant Laws, because all they do is out of the pure love of God, which is the power to do all things good onto God and man.
1 Peter 4:11 - If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that IN ALL THINGS God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. NIV
Will anyone born of God do things against the Old Law? No, because anyone loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength cannot go against the Old Covenant Law, for the Old Covenant Law is of God.
There will be many people who are still trying to keep the Old Law who will accuse people not under the Old Law that they are sinning, but this is only because they have misunderstood the Old Law and have limited it to a set of rules that they can understand in their un-Spiritual state.
Let me give some examples that might help.
Will a person born of God go against Gods commandment - You shall have no other gods before me? No, because we have One God which we have been made one Spirit with. We wont go against our first love.
Will a person born of God go against Gods commandment You shall not commit adultery? No, because we have been already married to Christ and God is our first love. We will not forsake our first love and go back to loving ourselves or others above Christ. We have all the love needed in Christ and dont need to go back and look for love or self fulfillment in any other person again.
What about the commandments that say we shall not steal or covet anyone elses possessions. A born again person has no desire for things of this world or other peoples possessions, because the baptism of the Holy Spirit which has filled us overflowing with His pure love has left us wanting and desiring nothing. We have no desire other than God Himself.
Will a person born of God ever desire to lie or give false testimony? No, because there are no lies in Truth. We love Truth, because God is the Truth, Christ is the Word. Since we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we then hate all lies, because lies are not of God, but of the devil and all who love evil.
But, someone might say, it must be okay to lie to people that are out to harm or kill someone else. Isnt lying to protect someone from harm or physical death a way of loving them? A person could use this excuse, but this only shows that the one lying is still of the devils nature, because they have put the love of the person they are trying to protect above their love for God, which is only Truth. A person cannot truly love Truth and then lie, because there are no lies in Truth. If anyone lies, this only shows who they love more than God. If anyone lies for any reason, this shows that they havent put all their trust in God and are still acting as God themselves.
You see, it is all about love, who we love, and who provides this perfect love. God makes His Holy ones perfect by Him filling them with His pure love at the baptism of His Holy Spirit. These people born of God are then free to do what ever they desire, because their heart is now the same as Gods heart and can only do good out of that heart of pure agape love. They are truly free to do all the things their heart desires, because they will only desire to do good in all the things they do.
