We know that God, through His Spirit, has created us spiritually perfect and that we can experience that perfection by simply walking in the Spirit. Though we wanted to walk in a manner that was pleasing to God, years ago we saw perfection as afar off. The general consensus was that we started out as babes in Christ immature and unlearned. But once we “moved” into walking in the Spirit we obtained perfection. This ‘move’ to the Spirit became a long journey and process of spiritual development. The focus of which was placed on bringing the saints out of sin. Therefore, it was concluded that the babe or immature saint will automatically sin against God. But is this true or mere speculation?
Where did this journey truly begin? Paul was very clear on that fact when he wrote to the church at Galatia; Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Gal 3:3. Beloved we started out in the Spirit. Yes we were babes, but we were babes in Christ.
Colossians 2:9-10
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Now let us read the Amplified Version
9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].
10 And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].
We did not really understand our own salvation experience. Therefore, the church could never hope to walk in perfection. Nevertheless, the work God has done in us is a finished work; but we never understood what this meant.
The scripture says that we are complete in Him. The work itself is finished. Yet, we have a mindset wherein the church is on a journey that will somehow end in perfection which has been defined as “sinless.” We have started at point “A” and we have been trying to go to “Z.” “A” represents infancy in God or babes. We were trying to get to “Z,” which represents maturity (grown up in God or perfect).
The “concept” of the distance between point “A” and point “Z” was a long journey that might take years to accomplish. It gives the connotation that something was missing in us at conception. However, the scripture says that we were complete or perfect in Him when we were born again. This has a different connotation from starting out as a babe and ending up in perfection years later.
Our tutors in the church capitalized on this infancy when they jumped on the popular bandwagon that suggested infancy equals incompleteness and a propensity to sin. Therefore, to “grow up” into Him meant we were to receive something else from God. So, how do we reconcile being complete in Him while having to grow up at the same time? We have to reconcile what is being taught, or we have to cast it out.
I believe the intent of our tutors was right, but the connotation it left in the hearts and minds of the people was wrong. It made us feel that when we first come into God; maybe we do not have everything we need to walk holy. They left us with the impression that God has to do something else in us, in order for us to live a sinless life. Songs were even written that served to drive this point even deeper into our consciousness. (“Please Be Patient With Me, God is not Through with Me Yet,” is one such song.) More recently we sang, “We Fall Down, but We get Up, A Saint is just a Sinner who Falls Down”).
This wrong thinking has become a doctrine, which has poisoned many in the Body of Christ. There are some saints today who really believe that if they are having a problem with unbelief or lust, God has to do something in them to bring them out of that lust or unbelief.
This is a deceitful doctrine. I have entertained ministers who really believe they are unable to deliver themselves out of lust. This is the severe effect of this doctrine. There is no way you will be able to convince some that they can walk free from sin in every area of their lives. In their problem area, they feel so overwhelmed, and truly believe that God Himself has to do something more.
Let us look at two individuals who were “born again” at the same time and have heard the same Word over the past ten years. One individual has a problem with lust and the other does not. One individual feels he cannot pull himself out of the lust. This would mean that God has done something in the one individual that He has not done in the other. This is error. If this is the case, then the doctrine of “complete in Him” is false. I prefer to believe that we are complete in Him, and that complete means complete.
So, what is the gap between point “A” (the babe) and point “Z” (the matured saint)? The distance between the two points is ignorance or a lack of knowledge. Knowledge fills the gap. However, we have to look at this in a manner that does not leave the work God did at salvation incomplete. Therefore, we must understand this from the perspective and intent of the script.
First of all, to be a newborn in God does not mean we have the nature or character of sin. We are the offspring of God and are born with the character attributes of God. (For When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (Romans 2:14-15).
The Lord will not allow us to redefine or undermine His handiwork. At birth, it was our nature to do the things contained in the law of God. Remember the day you got saved? In that day, God had done everything He needed to do in you. We were given everything we needed to walk holy. We were made holy the day we were conceived in God.
Do you remember your spiritual disposition when you first were filled? During that week did you want to sin, or did you sit around thinking about sin? The truth is, as a newborn babe, just born into God, not even seven days old; you had no desire to sin. Without any struggles, you lost all desire to sin. Where there is no desire to sin, there is no sin.
Even as babes in Christ, we were entire and wanting nothing but to please God.
So, how is it that, at one, two and three days old we had no desire to sin or any struggles with sin, but now ten years later we are struggling with sin? Something is wrong with this. This does not compute.
If a babe’s lack of knowledge is what causes him to sin, then why is it that we did not sin the day we were saved or the days after we were saved? This does not make sense. Here we are ten, fifteen, twenty-five and thirty years older in God and struggling every day with sin.
Our tutors had to give an explanation for this. They attributed this mindset to a lack of knowledge. However, we did not have any knowledge when we were newly born into Him, but did not commit sin. Why is there such a problem when we are supposedly growing up in Him? We have more knowledge now than we had two days after salvation.
