Perfection Part 2
Are Those Who
Pass On, Immediately Perfected?
A dear friend and I were talking about those who pass on, to the spirit realm.
She, like MANY believe that once a person passes on, they are immediately
perfected.
Of course, we all know that ALL is already perfected in God's eyes. He sees us
all perfected, because He looks at His Plan for us as finished, AND He looks
only at the present time of His Plan and Work. But, as to perfection, all HAS TO
COME INTO MANIFESTATION here on earth, and that includes Spirit, soul and body.
And perfection CANNOT MANIFEST until the changing of the mind happens. That
means that ALL must "PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST."
Here is the part of my friend's belief that I want to look at"
QUOTE: "HI Linda,
The scripture the Lord gave me when I asked Him about people's struggles on the
other side is “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2, RSV.
I've read that verse so many times, but this time I got it. What the Lord
actually said to me, about people who die is, "When they see me as I am, they
shall be like me." When do they see Him? When they pass from the flesh into the
Spirit realm.
You have taught for a very long time that all God's work is finished, done, and
this is the same thing. There is no more work to be done either on this side or
the other side. This perfection takes longer to manifest in flesh (thus your
hospital stay with the flu, my chronic back pain, and Henry's aches and pains),
(not real name) but once we are in Spirit, there are NO hindrances for the
perfection, which is Christ, to manifest.
Paul wrote “For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but
when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.” 1 Corinthians 13:9,10,
RSV.
The church of Christ mangled this scripture to try to make it prove that when
the bible came, we had no need of the Holy Spirit. That is blasphemy, pure and
simple. Christ is the perfect, and He has come. The Hebrew writer was speaking
of folks who had tried to serve God, but who had passed on long before Christ
came. Now that He has come, they are perfect, even more than we, because they no
longer have to deal with the flesh.
Love you,
XXXXXXX "END OF QUOTE
Myself, I have never heard the belief, "that when the bible came, we have no
need of the Holy Spirit". But, then too, I have not been in the belief of EVERY
denomination. But, as my friend said, that belief would border on "blasphemy."
With different scriptures, and what Father has shown me, I understand this
subject differently than the way my friend sees it. I'd like to look at this a
little closer.
The FIRST thing that we must KNOW is that the ENTIRE New Testament is about
RENEWING THE MIND. ALL of the New Testament IS SHOWING US THAT Jesus' death and
resurrection made possible for us to "PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST." Without the
putting on of the MIND OF CHRIST, NO ONE could MANIFEST THAT MIND.
The Old Testament is about the physical and the carnal mind, the New Testament
is about the coming forth of the MIND OF CHRIST. We must remember that CHRIST IS
FATHER'S LIFE. Yes, Jesus was the Christ, but, now because of Him, we are the
CHRIST, here on earth.
The Mind of Christ allows us to know WHO we are; which is Father's Life on
earth.
The second thing we must know are the following scriptures:
A) God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34)
B) God is a just God. (Duet 32:4)
C) The Kingdom of God is within. (Luke 17:21 )
D) Ye are the temple of God. ( 1 Cor 3:16-17)
We will look at these as we go along. Let's look at some parts of the email,
from my friend.
QUOTE: "HI Linda,
The scripture the Lord gave me when I asked Him about people's struggles on the
other side is “Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2, RSV.
I've read that verse so many times, but this time I got it. What the Lord
actually said to me about people who die is, "When they see me as I am, they
shall be like me." When do they see Him? When they pass from the flesh into the
Spirit realm." UNQUOTE.
First of all, we DO NOT have to die, to see Him. To "see Him, as He is." What we
"see" of Him depends on what level of revelation HE has given us, OF HIM (and
us). If we see Him as Saviour, and US as mere mortals, then that's all we'll see
of Him; and probably in the form of the "the man," Jesus. If we see Him as, us
being One with Him, then we see Him, when we look in the mirror and when we look
at each other.
Father manifested in the flesh. (1Tim 3:16). HE HAS NEVER LEFT THIS FLESH!!!
This flesh body is where He lives. (1Cor. 3:16-17), His Kingdom, His throne,
everything concerning Him, lives in these flesh bodies. (Luke 17:21). When we
look at ourselves, when we look at each other, WE ARE LOOKING AT HIM. IF we are
not seeing Him, then our focus is not where it should be. Just because we leave
the flesh body, doesn't mean that THEN we see Him.
PERFECTION is what we're talking about. PERFECTION (completion) is not reached
until the changing of the body has taken place, or, the dead have been called
back into a perfected or glorified body.
IF we remember, PERFECTION, is when DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP. If we die, then
we have not swallowed up death. Jesus died and resurrected as an example for us
to follow. He said, "I only say what I hear my Father say; and I only DO what I
SEE MY FATHER do."
We must keep in mind, this is not a SEEING with the natural eyes.
This was BEFORE Jesus died. He SAW FATHER.!! So, we don't have to
go anywhere to SEE Father. He's here, within us. We are HIS LIFE, not ours. BUT,
IF we have not received understanding of WHO we are, we see Him as He is, in
whatever understanding we have received. And IF the dead instantly received
perfection, why would they need HOPE? (1Cor 15:19)
1Cor. 15:19, "If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men
most miserable."
Now, this is telling us that if we think that ONLY in this natural world we have
hope, then we are most miserable. This means, that ALSO we have HOPE in the
spirit realm. In other words, if one of our loved ones pass on, and they have
not accepted Jesus as their Saviour, there is STILL HOPE for them in the spirit
realm. The body has absolutely NOTHING to do with it. The MIND is what brings
forth the plan of God. The mind can be changed in the spirit realm, as easily as
in this world. We have hope for ALL, regardless of where they are.
Acts 17:28, 1Cor. 3:16, 1Cor., 1John 4:17)
God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) IF God could only be seen, when a
person died and entered the spirit realm, He would be a respecter of persons. We
have had the incorrect understanding of this scripture.
This scripture, as we've been taught, has said, He loves us all equally,
regardless of what race we are; regardless of our appearances and actions. This
is not what this scripture means. What it means is this: Father laid a plan, and
each of us have to do the same thing to fulfill that plan, regardless of where
we are, in this world or the spirit world. It means that because one of us might
be weak and one of us is strong, that He will allow that weak one to cause Him
to change His plan. No, no, no. He changes His Plan, for NO ONE. There is
salvation, Pentecost, and Perfection, in His plan and EVERY ONE of us MUST walk
through them to reach perfection!! Now, if one dies and hasn't accepted out
Saviour, he CANNOT just instantly be perfected. (in the Spirit, they are saved,
because of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, BUT, IT HAS TO BE
MANIFESTED, whether they are in the spirit realm or in the flesh realm. We MUST
ALL WALK THROUGH HIS PLAN, or if not, He would be a respecter of persons, IF He
gave perfection because they passed into the spirit realm. God is not a liar.
What He planned for one, He planned for ALL. All of this, all the way to
perfection, comes by Him enlightening us as to who we are and walk in the
knowledge. He prepared us, so that we COULD walk into that knowledge, He BECAME
ONE WITH US (actually we've ALWAYS been ONE WITH HIM). HE IS NO RESPECTER OF
PERSONS, dead or alive! We ARE SPIRIT BEINGS, NOW. A spirit is a bodiless, form
of energy. If the body dies, that energy force lives on. But, if that energy
force hasn't received the Truths of God, they cannot manifest that Truth,
whether we are in the natural world or in the spirit realm. The mind, the
manifested Mind of Christ is what brings forth perfection.
Look at the story of Lazarus and the rich man. It was said to me, "that was
BEFORE Jesus died and resurrected. But, that doesn't matter. What we see in this
scripture is that, even though, both had died and was in the spirit realm, THE
RICH MAN HAD NOT CHANGED from his carnal thinking!! This shows us that he STILL
had not walked through God's plan; so, he STILL HAD NOT PUT ON THE MIND OF
CHRIST. (now, don't mistake the fact that even BEFORE Jesus came, CHRIST WAS
STILL HERE. Christ was then as it is now, FATHER'S LIFE. God Was Jesus, BEFORE
the foundation of the world. But, ALL STILL HAS TO MANIFEST HIS LIFE. Now, IF
the rich man had been perfected as soon as he entered the spirit realm, his
thoughts would have ALSO BEEN PERFECTED, and it's obvious that his thoughts were
not perfected. He didn't get the picture! This is an example that tells us that
because one has passed on to the spirit realm, doesn't mean that they are
perfected, because they have not put on the mind of Christ.
You see, God's plan is not just to be perfected in the Spirit, but to MANIFEST
that perfection SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY. (Heb 6:1-3, )
To be continued..