Equal with God

Summary Scripture: 1 John 4:17 - Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Somehow the Body of Christ seems to miss the mark, as it pertains to its very own existence. The scripture declares that God predestined us to be his children, sons of the Most High. Well, in the 82nd Psalm, he referred to his children as gods. This of course is something the church shies away from teaching. I wonder if the reason is simply unbelief. Could it be possible that the sins and failure of the church, has led it to believe that none will ever walk the earth as Jesus did? As long as such a mindset prevails, the church will continue in hopeless despair; never able to please the Father.

Recently, I was meditating on the goodness of the Lord, when suddenly he spoke to me on this wise; “Your salvation was not for you alone. It was for me too. I desired a holy habitation. I desired to walk among my people in vessels that express who I am. Look into salvation again and teach it to my people from my perspective.” This is the mandate given to the apostolic mantle. We must see salvation through the eyes and desire of our God.

Deuteronomy 6:4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

At the beginning of God’s interaction with Israel, he insisted that they knew him to be One. This ‘One’ meant only. He is the only God and the only one of his kind.

Isaiah 40:17-18, 25,

17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? ...

25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

The scripture above is essential to understanding the intent of God for the Church. Here he asks the question; “Who is equal to me?” It is apparent that there was none on the earth at that time that was equal with God. In fact, none of Adam’s descendants could claim such equality. Man could never be equal with God. But that is not the end of the story.

Philippians 2:5-8

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Here we have the answer to God’s question… to whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Jesus Christ was equal with God. But here we go again - “as he is, so are we.”

It is necessary for us to understand exactly what the Lord is attempting to convey to the church regarding equality with God. To do so, I will take the long way around and rehearse some truths that the church has somehow overlooked.

There is a scripture in the Bible that I believe is the sum explanation of the gospel. 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. God was in flesh. The gospel was his plan, and his alone. He came to the earth in a human body to dwell among men. Let me try to explain something here. Note the following passages:

Ezekiel 18:4

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Isaiah 57:16

For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

Zechariah 12:1

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

According to all the scriptures above, God made all souls, and all souls belong to him.

But what the church rarely considers, is that Jesus too, had a soul.

Psalm 16:10

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:27

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:31

He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

But I want you to remember that all souls were made in eternity before there ever was a world. This includes the soul of the Lord. He was made in eternity past. But the difference in his soul and those of the children of Adam, is that his soul was joined to the Lord at the beginning. This made him one with God or as Paul describes it, a quickening spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The uniqueness of Christ was that he was the last Adam. In him would dwell all the sons of God, who were chosen to be so by the election of God. This predestination work was not revealed until the preaching of the gospel. However, Jesus did make reference to it from time to time when dealing with those who would seek to discredit him.

John 10:26-27

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

John 17:6

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

He gave us to Jesus before the foundations of the world. This means we were with/in Christ in eternity. In eternity he was made the last Adam. This is the glory Jesus had before the world was. The church was in him. I said all of that to convince you of the fact that Jesus Christ had a soul; and that soul was able to be tried and tested even as we are. It was birthed into a world that had many pleasures and temptations to offer. Nevertheless, God had given him and us, all things that pertain to this life.

I recall when Christ was ministering to Peter concerning the persecutions that would come upon the disciples. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33. We were given the Spirit of Christ. It is a spirit that has overcome all the trappings of the world. But I am not sure that we understand the significance of this.

Just as it was the will and plan of God to come to the earth in the body of the man, Jesus Christ. It was also his desire to come to the earth in our bodies. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19.

God wants us to see the body as a temple or vessel for Him to indwell. We know this academically, but we do not embrace it instinctively. We do not consider that we are spiritual beings, of the highest form. We are light and life. Our true form is that of the Most High: we are camouflaged in these bodies to protect the human race. That in itself is a great reality.

Nevertheless, because we have not embraced our true nature as reality, “to think it not robbery to be equal with God,” has no real meaning for the church. But that was not true with Christ. He understood that he was in the form of God. He was a heavenly being. But he was also born into the world; given specific instructions by the Father that would not allow him to love the world, nor the things that are in the world.

To obey the commandments of God by walking in his true nature, would manifest that he is equal with God. This was not a distasteful thing for him. He did not feel that obedience and remaining true to his own nature denied him of anything. He did not feel deprived of anything in this world. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

If you and I are to make into the kingdom of Christ to come, then we too must not think it robbery to be as God is. That is our nature and our calling. The church has not seen what this mindset produces. If all the people of God embraced the fact that they are another race with another culture, then the will of God would be manifested on the earth. We all would express the mind of Christ. We would accept the fact that we are not of this world, but citizens of New Jerusalem. We would bring the culture of our heavenly city to this earth. We too, would not think it robbery to be equal with God.