Laodicea must open the Door – Part 8

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

We have seen in previous messages that Christ is calling on Laodicea to repent, that is her greatest need. She needs to turn from her own self-righteousness, which is based on works of the letter of the law, and embrace Christ’s righteousness, which is based on works of faith of the law. We have also seen that this change is one of the most difficult things for a Christian to do, because works of the letter of the law look so good outwardly. To repent from obvious sins is one thing, but to repent from what appear to be good deeds is something else altogether.

Some may ask at this point, “How can a person tell what is Christ’s righteousness and what is self-righteousness? Works of the letter of the law closely resemble works of faith of the law outwardly. How can we distinguish one from the other?

It’s true that the actions may appear to be the same. But the person who is operating from the basis of faith and the righteousness of Christ will always have the attitude that there is nothing good in himself or herself. There is no boasting, inwardly or outwardly, when Christ is living in us by faith. We recognize that it is Christ who deserves all the credit and praise. Our attitude is always, “I am chief of sinners” (1Timothy 1:15).

So it is clear that Christ is calling on us, as Laodicea, to repent of our self-righteousness and accept by faith the righteousness that He offers freely. But how do we do this? What response does He expect of us?

The answer lies in these words to Laodicea. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). The imagery of knocking at the door and asking to come in is reminiscent of the Song of Solomon. “It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh saying, Open to me, my sister, my love” (Song of Solomon 5:2). Many Christians are uncomfortable with the Song of Solomon. Some even consider it to be biblical pornography and feel it shouldn’t be in the Bible. But it is written for spiritually minded people and reveals God’s great desire for a close, intimate relationship with His people. And that is what Christ is pleading for here in His message to Laodicea as well. He wants to bond with us in a relationship as close as the bonding that occurs between husband and wife – the two shall become one flesh.

When Christ says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” it sounds as though He is standing outside the door to our hearts, knocking and asking for admittance. And if He is outside, it implies that we are unconverted.

Christ is saying, “I am left on the outside when it comes to your works”. That is the issue. Earlier He told Laodicea , “I know thy works” (Revelation 3:15). He doesn’t say, “I am the source of your works”. He knows Laodicea’s works but He is not the source of those works. “It is your self-righteousness that you are relying on,” He is telling Laodicea. “I am knocking at your heart’s door in order to get your attention. I want to come in and be the source of your works, the source of you righteousness. I want to work in you from within, not from the outside. Please let Me be your righteousnes in terms of your day-to-day life.”

To understand the full significance of what Christ is saying to Laodicea, we need to remember that the New Testament divides Christians into two camps Ð spiritual and carnal. Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1Corinthians 3:1). Notice that Paul refers to these carnal Christians as “babes in Christ”. Babies, as you know, don’t walk perfectly at first. They fall down often as they are learning to walk. In the same way, Christian babies fall down a lot, too, as they learn to walk in the Spirit. They fall down because they are babies; they are weak. Paul continues, “I have fed you with milk” (verse 2). That is another problem with babies – you can’t give them solid food.

Now, Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth approximately ten years after the church had been established in that city! They were still babies in Christ, still carnal Christians, they weren’t growing spiritually. In verse 3, Paul lists the problems they were continuing to have – envy, strife, divisions. These things are not the behaviour of a Christian, they are the behaviour of the world.

Spiritual Christians, on the other hand, have not only been converted, but they are also walking in the Spirit.

The spiritual Christians have learned to walk in the Spirit and carnal Christians are still walking primarily in the flesh. Carnal Christians are still dominated by self ‘ “self” is what the New Testament actually means by the term flesh. As a result, carnal Christians have a major problem: They are poor witnesses, they misrepresent Christ. When people look at them, they say, “If that is what a Christian is like, I don’t want any part of it!” They are poor representatives of Christ because their behaviour is so little different from that of an unconverted person.

We need to recognize that carnal Christians are also in a very dangerous condition. It is very easy for the devil to pull carnal Christians away because they are already walking in the flesh. There is often very little difference between the behaviour of carnal Christians and the behaviour of people who are of the world. It’s difficult to tell whether or not carnal Christians are converted because frequently their behaviour is so similar to the way the world lives.

In contrast, spiritual Christians are not only converted; They are walking in the Spirit. Spiritual Christians live a life that is clearly different from the life worldly people live. As a result, there are two things going on in the life of spiritual Christians. First, they are subduing the flesh through the power of the Spirit. Second, they are reflecting the righteousness of Christ. Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In other words, the way to conquer the flesh is not by willpower or by human effort alone, but by walking in the Spirit. This is the only way. ÒPut ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereofÓ (Romans 13:14).

So the evidence of spiritual Christians is that they are subduing the flesh through the power of the indwelling Spirit; they are reflecting Christ’s righteousness. That is why Paul goes on to say in Galatians 5:22, 23 that when we walk in the Spirit, He produces His fruit in our lives – “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”. But we need to understand that this imparted righteousness of Jesus takes place in our lives only when we have lost all confidence in the flesh, when we can say sincerely in our hearts, “Not I, but Christ”.

When Christ stands outside the heart, knocking and asking us to allow Him to come in, it is this experience that He wants to accomplish in our lives. He wants us to become spiritual Christians who walk in the Spirit and who allow Him to exhibit His fruits in our lives. He wants us to grow up spiritually so that we are no longer babies in Christ, but mature Christians.

This spiritual growth or development involves the total person – spirit, soul and body. Paul says, “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). These three elements – spirit, soul, and body – together make up a human being. None is able to exist independently of the others. The idea of an immortal soul capable of living on without the body is a pagan Greek concept, not a biblical one. When a person dies, all three – spirit, soul, and body – come to an end. Let’s look at each of these three components that together make up our humanity, from a spiritual standpoint.

The spirit. This is what Paul calls the “inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). It is the dwelling place of God. God created men and women that He might live in them. “From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph, to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator” (DA 161).

When God created Adam, he was indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The essence of the spirit is the conscience. It is through the conscience that God convicts and directs us.

The soul. The soul is the human mind, the center of which is the will. It is the soul that we have the power to choose and make decisions.

The body. This is the outward, visible part of our being. Because we can see the body, we can most easily grasp what it is and how it functions.

These three components of our beings have their parallels to the sanctuary of the Old Testament. Remember that the sanctuary was symbolic of Christ (see John 2:19-22) and, by extension, of believers who have become one with Christ (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). The Most Holy Place corresponds to the spirit. This is where God dwells. The Holy Place is parallel with the soul. Just as the priest functioned in the Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary, so God functions in our souls or minds. The courtyard is representative of the body. The courtyard was visible to all and was the place where sacrifice took place. Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Incidentally, these parallels in no way negate the truth of a literal sanctuary in heaven. The Bible is clear that God lives and functions in heaven as well as in the heart of the humble believer (see Isaiah 57:15).

With this back ground, let’s look at the spiritual growth that takes place in our entire beings when we open the door of our lives in response to Christ’s knock and invite Him in. This growth involves three stages in each believer’s experience:

1. The pre-converted state
2. Conversion
3. Glorification

The pre-converted state. At Creation, there was perfect harmony between the divine and the human natures. There was never a struggle in Adam between his human nature and the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him. They were in perfect harmony because Adam had been created in God’s image, and God is love – agape. God’s love, through the Holy Spirit, controlled Adam totally. His humanity reflected the glory of God, which is His selfless love.

Now, what happened when Adam sinned? When he sinned, Adam turned from being God-dependent to being self-dependent. Adam’s sin was turning his back on God, and he died – spiritually, not physically. Since all humanity was created in Adam, this is what he passed on to his posterity – to you and me. At the very heart of fallen humanity is self, or what the Bible calls our “own way” (Isaiah 53:6). God’s love is selfless because agape never seeks it s own way (see 1 Corinthians 13:5). But after the fall, sin twisted the agape love that was within Adam inward toward self. Since then, that is what human love has consisted of – agape that has taken a U-turn to focus on self. Even in our fallen condition, we possess the ability to love, but that love has become self-centered. Self-love has replaced GodÕs divine selfless love.

Because Adam died spiritually, his children – you and I – are also born dead spiritually. Prior to conversion, we are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). As a result, human life came under the curse of the law. That means that Adam and his posterity no longer had any legal right to live. Humanity stood legally condemned, Further, human nature became a slave to sin, with no power to resist its demands (see Romans 5:12-21). This is the condition in which you and I and every descendant of Adam have been born. This is what the Bible means by the word carnal. We are born carnal; we are born dominated by self; we are born slaves to sin (see Romans 7:14).

To make matters even worse, there is absolutely nothing you or I can do to save ourselves from this predicament. It is as impossible as it is for an apple tree to produce oranges. The Bible is very clear on this point “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?) Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23).

This bleak picture is our condition prior to conversion. However, to redeem us from this hopeless situation, God united Christ’s divinity to our humanity that needed redeeming. As the second Adam, Christ began where we begin, but by His perfect life and sacrificial death, He brought us to the place the first Adam was supposed to have brought us. This is the good news of the gospel.

Conversion. True conversion means accepting Christ by faith as our life in the place of our sinful life, which died forever on the cross (see 2 Timothy 2:11). What happens when a person is converted? What changes take place?

The first thing that happens at conversion is that the Holy Spirit, the representative of Christ (see Romans 8: 9,10), comes and dwells in us. Just as the Holy Spirit dwelt in Adam before he sinned, so the Spirit dwells in us at conversion. This is because we have surrendered our lives to the cross and have accepted the formula of the gospel – “Not I, but Christ”. We were spiritually dead, but now we have been made spiritually alive (see Galatians 2:20). Because we have accepted Christ as our Saviour and our righteousness, we stand justified before the law, that previously condemned us. The question of whether we will be allowed into heaven is no longer an issue. As far as God is concerned, He sees the perfect history of His Son when He looks at us! We are in Christ, and God views us as perfect and complete (see Colossians 2:10).

Of course our human flesh hasn’t changed one bit. It is still carnal. Because of this, there is a conflict that takes place in the life of every converted, born-again believer. The conflict is between the divine nature, of which we have become partakers through faith and the new-birth experience, and the human flesh, which is still at enmity against God. These two are always in conflict in the believer. Many Christians are confused about this; they think this conflict means they aren’t converted. Not so! In fact, I would question your conversion if this conflict is not present. Before conversion, there is no conflict, because the human nature is in control. The fact that conflict is present is evidence that a new nature has been introduced. ThatÕs a good sign, because it tells us that our minds have repented and are converted, or changed. But because the sinful flesh hasn’t changed, conflict is inevitable. (see Galatians 5:17).

Where does this conflict take place? Here is where many Christians have failed to understand the problem clearly. The battleground for the Christian is in the mind. Without the consent of our wills, the Holy Spirit cannot impart Christ’s righteousness. The Spirit will never work by compulsion. Likewise, neither can the sinful nature fulfill its desires without the consent of our wills. So each is struggling for the mastery of our wills, our minds. A constant battle goes on in our minds, our thoughts, our desires. We can understand that, because we each have experienced it. I believe Romans, chapter 7 is describing this struggle that goes on after conversion. With the mind, we want to obey God’s law, but the flesh wants to obey the law of sin, so the struggle is constant and severe.

To put the question another way, “Can the mind ever conquer the flesh?” The answer is no. It can defy the flesh for a time, but it can never conquer it. That is because sin is a law, a constant force, residing in our members. The human mind, no matter how strong your will is, cannot conquer the flesh. Romans 7:15-24 makes that clear.

Romans chapter 7 shows the condition of false, selfish conversion just to gain heaven and to escape the hellfire. There is no power in it and no salvation from sin, and no love to God either.

So the question is not, “Can the mind conquer the flesh?” The question is:”Can the Spirit conquer the flesh?” And thank God, the answer is Yes! “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). In this verse, Paul is talking about what happens in our Christian experience. He is talking about an objective truth that took place in Christ. And he is using the term law in the sense of a “force” or “principle”, like the law of gravity.

Now, where does the law of sin reside? Paul says, “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (Romans 7:23). He means his hands, feet, body, etc. – that is the sinful human flesh. So the law of sin lives in our human flesh. This law is not only a force, it is a constant force. The will is also a force, but it is not a constant force. Sometimes my will is strong; sometimes it is weak.

The law of the Spirit is also a constant force Ð like the law of sin – but it is an opposite force. One is toward sin; the other is toward righteousness.

This law of sin and the law of the Spirit met together in Jesus Christ and the law of the Spirit won! “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3).

He did it to justify us. You see, it isn’t only our actions that condemn us; our very natures condemn us because they are sinful.

“Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1Corinthians 15:50). On the cross, Christ not only dealt with my actions, He dealt also with what I am. On the cross, He executed both my sins and also the law of sin at work in my flesh. Hence, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (see Romans 8:1).

Christ condemned sin in the flesh so that “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). If you walk in the Spirit, the law of the Spirit will set you free in experience from the law of sin – to save you, and to give evidence to the world that you have been saved or justified.

So when Christ stands outside the door and knocks, when He pleads with us to open the door, He is saying, “Let Me be the source of your Christian living. Stop trying to be good alone; you will never succeed, I want to come in and live in you and walk in you”. In other words, “I am the vine, ye are the branchesÉ Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Christ wants Laodicea to be spiritual Christians. He is not walking in carnal Christians; therefore, carnal Christians are a misrepresentation of Christ. The carnal Christian is one who hides his light under a bushel. The only way we can become spiritual and allow Christ to walk in us is to say, ÒNot I, but ChristÓ. This is very painful to our self-righteousness, but it is the only solution to our Laodicean problem.

The unconverted person has only one life to control him – the life of the flesh. He can walk only in the flesh because that is all he has; that is all he is. But as Christians, we have a choice to walk flesh in the Spirit.

Paul says, “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11). Why does Paul bring in the resurrection of Jesus? Because that is the ultimate test. Sin’s greatest power is revealed when it puts you in the grave – permanently. Have you conquered the grave? Are you immune to death – the second death? If so, then you have conquered the flesh and sin. But if not, then you still haven’t conquered either sin or the flesh.

But Jesus has. Jesus has conquered the grave. He has conquered sin and the flesh. How? Was it by His own power or by the Spirit’s power? Paul says here that it was by the Spirit-s power that Jesus rose from the dead. So Paul is saying, “Just as the Spirit demonstrated His power over sin by raising Christ from the dead, so, also, if you are walking in the Spirit, He will be able to overcome the flesh, dead in trespasses and sins, and produce righteousness in you.”

If you allow the flesh to control you, the flesh will pull you out of Christ and down to the grave. You will die because when you walk in the flesh, you are grieving the Holy Spirit – rejecting Him and causing Him to withdraw from your life. Paul warns against this in Ephesians 4:25-30. As long as the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are sealed in terms of your eternal salvation. But it is possible to say to the Holy Spirit, “I don’t want You any more”. It’s possible to grieve Him to the point that He will leave you. When that happens, you are no longer under the umbrella of justification by faith. You have said goodbye to it.

So Laodicea has two possibilities. She can walk in the Spirit, or she can walk in the flesh. Both the Spirit and the flesh want control of our minds. Neither can fulfill their desires for us without our consent. So there is this constant battle. I hate to tell you, but there will never come a time when your flesh will say, “I give up, I will not give you any more trouble”. The flesh can be conquered, but not by you alone, only by the help of the Spirit you can conquer the flesh, only as you walk in the Spirit.

In presenting the gospel to the Jews burdened under the yoke of legalism, Christ said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; “for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29). The Christian walk is a joint effort. That although Christ does most of the pulling, we must do our part as well. Sanctification is a mixture of Christ’s effort and human effort. We must pluck the eye out, we must cut the right hand off if they tempt us. Jesus said, “Strive to enter in.”

The truth is, however, that in this verse Christ was introducing a yoke that was the very opposite of what Judaism was teaching – the yoke of legalism that Paul described as a yoke of bondage (see Galatians 5:1). When Christ says, “learn of me”, He wants every believer to learn that His yoke is the yoke of righteousness by faith alone – total dependence on God both for justification as well as sanctification. Just as Christ lived by the Father, so must we live by Him (see John 6:57).

That is why Jesus says to Laodicea, “Let Me come in, not only to dwell with you, but let Me eat with you as well. And you with Me. Let Me totally identify Myself with you – and you with Me”. He wants to take over your life. He wants to control your spirit, your soul, your mind, your body. But He will never do so by compulsion. There is an important part for us to play – we must submit our will to Christ’s will. That is the cross. Remember Gethsemane? Jesus’ flesh didn’t want to die on the cross. He cried out to the Father, “Please, if there is any possible way, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will. Thy will be done.

That is what we have to say constantly. Jesus is pleading with Laodicea, “Please let Me walk in you! What you are doing may appear very nice to you, but it is polluted with self. Only when I am walking in you can the righteousness you have be true righteousness”.

Are we willing to repent of our self-righteousness? Are we willing to open the door and let Christ come in and take over? Are we willing to say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)?

When this happens, we will be good witnesses for Jesus; the world will see Him in us. And when that happens, the world will be lightened with His glory, and we will have overcome.

Glorification. This is the third stage of Christian growth. When Christ comes the second time, there will be a change. “This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53). The struggle will have come to an end. Divine glory will be fully restored, because the human and divine natures are in complete agreement. That is the glorification we look forward to when Jesus appears. When we open the door through genuine repentance and allow Christ to come in, we will be able to say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Amen.

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