In Ephesians 6:10-17 the Apostle Paul wrote about being “strong IN the Lord and IN the power of His might.”  In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we find that during the resurrection of God’s first-fruits, the “dead IN Christ” (not in church) will rise first.  Following this, those still alive IN Christ at His coming will join them, Christ and His angels in the air.  The “dead IN Christ” will include every holy saint who had died beginning with “righteous Abel” up to the moment of Christ’s return.  In Zechariah 14:4 we find that Jesus, His angels and His holy saints, having congregated in the air, will descend to the Mount of Olives.  From there they will enter Jerusalem where they will establish the Kingdom of God.  Read The Kingdom of God and The First Resurrection.  Key words Kingdom and First respectively.

The focus of this series is the meaning of the phrase “IN Christ” and how it relates to God’s armor which is promised to those who truly desire to live in holiness in this life which will enable them to enter and live in the Kingdom of God for eternity.  This spiritual phenomenon has been in effect since the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.  when Christ established His church with about 120 disciples who had vowed to obey Him (His Word) as long as they lived.  Old Testament saints are included because they obeyed God even though they did not have the Holy
Spirit living within them.  Such heroes of the faith are an inspiration to all who, having the Spirit, fight the good fight of faith today.  I eagerly await the day when I can talk with such spiritual giants as Abel, Noah and the prophets.  I am certain that the New Testament apostles will also want to meet those heroes.

Before a God seeker can be IN Christ, he has to have Christ IN him.  This Truth is stated in reference to having “Christ IN you, the hope of glory.”  God and Christ are in only one location at a time.  They are everywhere at all times in the form of their Holy Spirit.  Read King David’s words to that effect in Psalms 139:7,8.  Note that he is referring to God’s Spirit that is everywhere, not God Himself.  God and Christ are on their respective thrones in the northern heavens.  Their Spirit, however, is anywhere and everywhere at all times.

After receiving the Holy Spirit the disciples proved the presence of Christ IN them in what they said, thought and did.  Through their “walk” (conduct) they showed the world around them that, because the Spirit of God and Christ was IN them and directing their “walk,” they were in turn IN both Christ and God (Col. 1:27/ 2 Cor. 5:17/ Col. 3:3).  This Truth, combined with the fact that IN Christ there is no darkness (sin) at all (1 Jn. 1:5), reveals what it means to be a true child of God.  Simply put, only those IN CHRIST AND IN GOD AND HAVING CHRIST AND GOD IN THEM WILL RISE IN THE FIRST (FIRST-FRUIT) RESURRECTION.  These will be those who have believed and obeyed God’s Word/Law until the end of their lives or until Christ’s return, whichever comes first.  The question is, how?

One of the foundational “truths” upon which Catholicism/Protestantism is founded is that man supposedly inherited Adam’s sin d.n.a.that, at conception, is automatically injected into the spiritual d.n.a. of every human being ever born.  This would have included the d.n.a. of faithful, righteous Abel (Mat. 23:35/Heb. 11:4), not to mention Noah–a preacher of righteousness.  It means that Jesus of Nazareth was also infected with Adam’s sin gene at conception.  Inherited sin being an unquestionable church “truth,” how is it possible that those who will rise in the first resurrection–God’s Very Elect–were able to stop sinning following their justification and conversion.  How were they able to live the remainder of their lives in obedience to God’s Law as did Jesus of Nazareth.  Sin being “natural,” how did they refrain from sinning?

Biblically-proven refusal to sin by overcoming Satan and His angels’ temptations to sin is, according to the church, impossible.  This unquestioned foundational “truth” is called “Original Sin.”  To the church it is not a theory, it is a Biblical fact.  The fact that the Bible says nothing of the kind has nothing to do with the matter.  It is “known” to be God’s Truth, even though numerous passages prove that the Original Sin theory is the exact opposite of God’s Truth.  The theory was introduced into Catholic theology, and thereby Protestant theology, in the fifth century by a priest named Augustine in an area of Africa called Hippo.  Since it justified sin, the theory immediately took on “truth” status and has remained “thus saith the Lord” ever since.  Like the rapture theory, truth is whatever the church wants it to be.

Knowing the power of Satan and his fallen angels, how does one refrain from sinning as did Jesus of Nazareth.  He stated this Truth in Revelation 3:21 that in order to assume His place on His throne in the Kingdom of God He had to overcome Satan’s temptations.  This is what the Apostle John was referring to in 1 John 2:6 where he wrote that if we are going to call ourselves Christ’s spiritual brethren we had to “walk (live) as He (Jesus) walked.”  Jesus stated that only those who overcame the devil as He had will join Him on that throne where He sits today at the right hand of God in His kingdom which He will send to earth upon Christ’s Second Advent.  Recall that Jesus prayed that God would do so as recorded in Luke 11:2.  Jesus noted that in the future Kingdom of God on earth His will would be done as is the case now in heaven.  It is in that earthly kingdom that His saints will live and from which they will rule the universe forever.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Key word–Caretakers.

The Holy Scriptures make it abundantly clear that holiness on the part of the individual during his/her post-conversion life is absolutely necessary in order to join Jesus in the Kingdom of God.  The question is, HOW DOES ONE RESIST SATAN AND HIS DEVILS’ TEMPTATIONS TO SIN.  The answer is GOD’S ARMOR.  In the following posting we will examine that armor, how it works and what causes it to fail.  L.J.