2 or 3 works of the Spirit or knowing God more fully?
In our experience being raised in a Christian culture we sometimes have a somewhat distant, somewhat ignorant relationship with God. When we come to know God "more fully," we may describe this as a "new work" or as "spiritual regeneration." To be "born from heaven" is to begin life with God at the center of our being. Even if we have known him in our understanding, it may not translate into real change until we are either regenerated or renewed.
Whether we are regenerated for the 1st time, or renewed, giving us a deeper appreciation for our Christianity, is the real issue here. Those who had not really known God, or had known Him from a distance, have referred to this regeneration or renewal as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd works of grace. They all come by the power of God, and not by our own abilities. However, accepting them and entering into them brings positive changes to our lives, depending on what we had experienced before and later come to experience in a deeper way.
If we had known God and never felt that we had come to live a righteous life in the power of God's Spirit, we refer to a "2nd work of grace," or "Sanctification." If we had never experienced miraculous and supernatural gifts, including tongues, healing, and prophecy, and then come to experience them, we refer a "2nd or 3rd work of grace," or "Spirit Baptism," depending on whether or not theology of a "Finished Work" of Christ is accepted. Those who believe in the Finished Work theology, view Spirit Baptism as a 2nd Work of Grace. Others see Spirit Baptism as a 3rd Work of Grace, after Salvation and Sanctification.
All of these things, however, Christ provided at the cross, and afterwards, at Pentecost. It's just that as Christians we don't always have the knowledge of what being regenerated or renewed means. Those who had never known God in a personal way talk about becoming "regenerated." Those who had never experienced victorious righteous living refer to the 2nd Work of Sanctification. And those who had never been able to demonstrate spiritual gifts claim to have received the Spirit Baptism.
I personally grew up, living a fairly moral life, and knew God, talking with Him regularly. But I never experienced the power of a righteous life, displayed as a witness to others. It may simply be that I did not exhibit my righteousness as a testimony to others, because I thought all people were basically nice people (I was a child). Later, I came to recognize that God wanted me to be a spiritual witness to something other than the unrighteous world around me, including my own moral failures, and experienced greater sanctification and spiritual gifts simultaneously. I claimed to have received the "Spirit Baptism."
But I do think all these things had been available to me through my Christian experience, had I been properly taught by people who had experienced it. I was therefore not regenerated, but renewed, spiritually. At least that's how I view it. I had been raised up in a somewhat ignorant experience of spiritual regeneration, but had not fully appreciated the difference between Christians and the non-Christian world. I had to fall into sin in order to come back and realize that our Christian testimony is one of righteousness in order to begin walking in spiritual sanctification and spiritual gifts.
What's your experience? Do you fit into any of this?
In our experience being raised in a Christian culture we sometimes have a somewhat distant, somewhat ignorant relationship with God. When we come to know God "more fully," we may describe this as a "new work" or as "spiritual regeneration." To be "born from heaven" is to begin life with God at the center of our being. Even if we have known him in our understanding, it may not translate into real change until we are either regenerated or renewed.
Whether we are regenerated for the 1st time, or renewed, giving us a deeper appreciation for our Christianity, is the real issue here. Those who had not really known God, or had known Him from a distance, have referred to this regeneration or renewal as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd works of grace. They all come by the power of God, and not by our own abilities. However, accepting them and entering into them brings positive changes to our lives, depending on what we had experienced before and later come to experience in a deeper way.
If we had known God and never felt that we had come to live a righteous life in the power of God's Spirit, we refer to a "2nd work of grace," or "Sanctification." If we had never experienced miraculous and supernatural gifts, including tongues, healing, and prophecy, and then come to experience them, we refer a "2nd or 3rd work of grace," or "Spirit Baptism," depending on whether or not theology of a "Finished Work" of Christ is accepted. Those who believe in the Finished Work theology, view Spirit Baptism as a 2nd Work of Grace. Others see Spirit Baptism as a 3rd Work of Grace, after Salvation and Sanctification.
All of these things, however, Christ provided at the cross, and afterwards, at Pentecost. It's just that as Christians we don't always have the knowledge of what being regenerated or renewed means. Those who had never known God in a personal way talk about becoming "regenerated." Those who had never experienced victorious righteous living refer to the 2nd Work of Sanctification. And those who had never been able to demonstrate spiritual gifts claim to have received the Spirit Baptism.
I personally grew up, living a fairly moral life, and knew God, talking with Him regularly. But I never experienced the power of a righteous life, displayed as a witness to others. It may simply be that I did not exhibit my righteousness as a testimony to others, because I thought all people were basically nice people (I was a child). Later, I came to recognize that God wanted me to be a spiritual witness to something other than the unrighteous world around me, including my own moral failures, and experienced greater sanctification and spiritual gifts simultaneously. I claimed to have received the "Spirit Baptism."
But I do think all these things had been available to me through my Christian experience, had I been properly taught by people who had experienced it. I was therefore not regenerated, but renewed, spiritually. At least that's how I view it. I had been raised up in a somewhat ignorant experience of spiritual regeneration, but had not fully appreciated the difference between Christians and the non-Christian world. I had to fall into sin in order to come back and realize that our Christian testimony is one of righteousness in order to begin walking in spiritual sanctification and spiritual gifts.
What's your experience? Do you fit into any of this?
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