Perfection Part 1

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..