I am a Man

Isaiah 55:9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jesus Christ does not exist according to the rules dictated by society. He maintains His citizenship and does not conform to society. That is why Paul encourages us to: “ . . . be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” – Romans 12:2

Jesus set the precedence in His physical walk on the earth 2000 years ago, and intends to do the same in these purchased bodies again. Please note the sharp contrast between what manhood has been defined as in the world and what God had intended it to be. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:9

Man’s ego and pride has caused him to oppose himself. The intent behind man’s declaration of his own manhood is a direct contradiction to what manhood should truly be. The redefining of the man has caused him to operate in a certain posture that is a direct contradiction, opposition and rebellion against his God. Ask yourself, “why do I prefer the attributes of the old man, rather than those of the Lord?” Could it be that your pride preserves the image you and others have of yourself? Such an image is to be preserved at any cost, even the cost of rejecting the commandments of the Lord.

This pride causes you to see Jesus Christ as a wimp in this world. He lives in a hostile, worldly environment by the rules that govern a peaceful kingdom. There is no way your manhood can survive under such conditions. In the world, manhood is the condition of being human. In the males of the human race, it refers to attributes such as courage, strength, and sexual potency. But in the Kingdom of God, courage is the ability and willingness to obey the Father. Your strength is His might in your inner man, which enables you to do all things through Christ.

Some men feel a need to prove their sexual potency by numerous sexual encounters. In the Kingdom of God, men are commanded to abstain from illicit sexual activity. It is blasphemous to say to God, “I’m a man,” with the implications, “I can do as I please, think as I please, and be as I please.” When you speak to anyone on this wise, you are speaking to God. This mindset says, “I resent you saddling me with commandments that make me appear likened unto Christ Jesus. He is not my idea of a man. He is weak and timid. I’m better than that. I am a man, and there is no way anyone is going to handle me the way they did Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:19

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?

The New Man that we have become is Christ in us. Therefore, to walk in this reality and in the Spirit, we must not allow the mindset of a carnal man to be revived and inserted back into your thinking and existence. Allow Christ to live. Keep the Carnal man dead. Our confidence must be in Christ. We must depend on Him to live through us. We must take no thought for our image as Jesus has already overcome humiliation and will manifest it again through your flesh. But in order for Him to prove that He has overcome humiliation, you must first be humiliated and your image destroyed. Then will He be able to prove His power.

Creation gives us a glimpse into what God had intended for His creation called ‘Man’ to be. It shows us even the brotherhood and relationship that we must share. Sin, however, destroyed this brotherhood. Our confidence must be in the fact that our souls are safely hidden in the Holy Spirit. We are safe and have entered into fellowship with Jesus. But this fellowship is one of suffering and we must embrace this fact. We have been appointed to suffer. I have my health and strength.

Furthermore, I make my own decisions. No one, including you God, is going to tell me what to do! You’re right, your ways are not my ways (talking about the unregenerated man), and your thoughts are not my thoughts. I will serve you, as long as you don’t try to challenge my manhood.

The mindset described sees humility in the face of adversity as foolishness, and gentleness is for women. This is the mindset that opposes everything you are. It can only be removed if you come into agreement with the revelation of what salvation truly is. You must agree that you have become a partaker of the divine nature. Now, it is your very nature that you are warring against. The old man is dead. His members (your body) have been mortified. In other words, don’t regret his death, and you won’t reach back for his emotions and reactions.

If the commandment calls for turning the other cheek (which by the way, doesn’t have to be a physical altercation), then you must know Christ has already overcome that humiliation.

John 16:33

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.

It is bearing humiliation which proves the existence of God. But you will never submit to this until you see this principle as more than just a commandment. Follow me here. From the very beginning, creation was to be one family. The Lord called them Adam. God saw all mankind as Adam’s children. They were of one kind and one blood. They were to populate the earth, spreading across the face of it. But sin entered into the world, and man became captives of the devil. Hatred, strife and greed caused murder and wars.

Thus, the brotherhood of man was destroyed. But now the Lord has retrieved man from the captivity of the devil. His soul has been liberated and preserved in Christ. But the preservation of the soul also allows it to be exposed to the sufferings of the new man. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death - Philippians 3:9-11

This is the mandate of God. According to Philippians 1:29, we are appointed to suffer for Christ's sake. Now there’s no opposition to this mindset, it is Christ. You must be one with Him in the operation of faith.

Suffering humiliation in the flesh must be what you accept as the righteous judgment of God. Consider the following teachings of the apostle Paul.

2 Thessalonians 1:4

So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

This may refer to giving up a right, or leaving yourself vulnerable to people that have tried to hurt you before. Continue to bear in mind the contrast that we started out with at the beginning of this lesson. The scripture in Thessalonians is now currently being challenged by the mindset of the carnal man and his ego. The carnal man does his best to preserve his own soul from persecution and adversity while Jesus is proving that His power can endure all of that. If man does not come to that place of humility, the power of Christ will never be witnessed in his life.

Suffering is your key and your entrance to Heaven. We must submit our souls to Him and not revive the old man with his deeds, ego or pride. Patience and faith are virtues that can only be manifested in adversity. But the manifestation of such proves the existence of a power greater than that of the natural man.

God instructed me to endure persecution, not to retaliate in word or in deed. Is this a commandment you truly despise? Do you see it as unreasonable and something you will never be pleased to do? The simple answer is ‘walk in the Spirit.’ You were born into His Spirit, so it is the natural process of parenting that you walk therein. Allow every question/situation to be answered by the Spirit that now resides in you.

2 Thessalonians 1:5

Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

It is not your macho disposition displayed in the midst of unrighteous persecution that qualifies you to enter the eternal kingdom of God. It is your ability to submit to the will of the Father and the suffering of Christ in such situations. There is nothing you can do to change that criteria. It is set by God. He is trying your faith and faithfulness to his cause and purpose for preserving your life.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Can you wait and allow the Lord to take revenge on those who trouble you? or will you be determined to let them know you are a man and will not allow anyone to humiliate you in any way, shape, form or fashion? This is the confrontation the Lord has met you with.

Submission is the highest law of the universe. The only way to keep a pure heart is to trust God. Trust Him to deliver justice and to vindicate you. A man must be patient and mature enough to allow God to determine the outcome of the situations he places us in.

The attribute of Christ’s mind highlighted in this scripture is humility. Allow your mind to be conformed to the image of God and allow it to remain. Let there be no reason for reverting to the disposition (way of ) of the old man and His thinking. Do not become offended with His (Christ) Word nor His way. Then will you enter into His rest. Do not use God’s manly body that He has purchased only to turn it into the world’s perverted depiction of a man.

Allow God the privilege of showing His manliness to the world. Let Him prove what is His perfect definition. Confront the world with this display of true manhood. Let us allow the light to shine in the midst of darkness. Let Christ live.

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.

You can learn all there is to know about the mystery of God. Until you agree to make it law for your soul, your learning is in vain. It is the thoughts of the mind that create emotions and desires. You must allow yourself to embrace the mind of Christ. It is with the mind that you will be able to serve the Lord.

The Father has guaranteed the sentiments of Christ to flow in every situation, if you simply agree with His word and His way. But if God’s way remains offensive to you, then you will never enter into His rest for your soul. You are not just a man. You are a Son of God, who happens to live in a man’s body. This body allows you to live in this world, but you are not of this world.

you feel?