- Part 1. Theories on the Atonement
- Part 2. Christus Victor
- Part 3. His victory over the Condemnation Identity
- Part 4. Life Without the Condemnation Identity
- Part 5. Romans 7, the end of the law
There is so much more for you, more than you can possibly fathom. Let me illustrate.
Are you living life overwhelmed by God’s immense love? Are you finding yourself submerged in His approval for you? Do you find yourself hungry to share this love with others, hoping that they can discover this same life that you are enjoying? Even when facing full-on rejection, is your heart bursting with the delight of giving this love away, this love that constantly floods your being?
We were designed by God to be a fountain of love for everyone around us, a fountain that has an abundant source. We were designed to be so full of God’s love that we are always hungering to give it away. This love is supposed to reshape how we see ourselves. It is supposed to cause us to see ourselves as God’s beloved ones, never to be rejected, full of victory, and living to manifest the fullness of love on the behalf of others.
If this is not your reality, then you are in some way still suffering under the condemnation identity and God desires to love you free. He desires to pour love upon you until you become a perfect manifestation of selfless love. This is your destiny as a child of God. This is what a mature son looks like. This is what the cross does.
Shall I approach the Father as if the death of Christ has had no effect upon my emotions, mind, or morality? Or shall I approach the Father as if the death of Christ has set me free into His resurrection, where everything has changed in me, as if I am a new creation? Which of these to you seems more like faith?
Every noteworthy minister of power within the history of the charismatic movement seems to have attributed the point in which they stepped into success to some unique connection they found between them and God. Evan Roberts was seen praying to himself as if he was babbling to himself on a regular basis as he walked the roads. He would hear God’s whisper, stop preaching, leave the pulpit, and go pray for someone outside the building. John G Lake stated that as he was in the secular world he began practicing how to stay in the presence of God and in the Spirit constantly. Regardless how you feel about Benny Hinn, he also testifies of something similar, about how he became best friends with Holy Spirit, spending hours at a time having conversations with Holy Spirit. AA Allen, in his book “The Price of God‘s Miracle Working Power”, speaks about the pursuit of God and the requirement that God had that he change some of his theology which was specifically about how he viewed God, and how he believe God viewed him. He also speaks about a requirement that we have the same type of relationship with Father that Jesus had, which entailed a constant pursuing of separating ourselves to be alone with God. Dan Mohler talks about radical transformation of identity. He also speaks frequently about how that transformation brought him into radical levels of joyful intimacy, longing to return to be in his bedroom alone in the presence of God. Smith Wigglesworth was noted for leaving meetings to be alone with God whenever he felt the Spirit pulled him away. There is also a testimony to that when he prayed the presence of God would come in so thick that other ministers had to crawl out of the room, unable to stand under the weighty presence of God.
You were born to know God this way, to carry the deep weighty presence of God’s love and to enjoy fulfillment in conversational intimacy with Him. It is your destiny. It is what God is offering you.
The “Condemnation Identity” says that you cannot stay in God’s love. It says that you are unworthy of Him. Father told me that Condemnation is anything that lowers your value below the level that God has declared it to be. It is time that we agree with God rather than our emotions.
Condemnation is what causes us to stay away from God, refusing real intimacy. It drives us to pursue other methods of finding worth. And it is the root of every sin and every insecurity. It denies us access to life. The cross wars against the Condemnation Identity. That by conquering it, this cross may grant us access to the “Beloved Identity.” Everyone who has not received the depth of the love of God, and is not finding themselves drawn into selfless love, these individuals are struggling with condemnation at some level (even if they do not have the feelings of condemnation).
2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASBS
[7] But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, [8] how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? [9] For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
We often choose the ministry of condemnation over the ministry of the Spirit. We can recognize that there’s glory in both, but it’s much easier to stay in control of our own lives than to surrender our heart to Holy Spirit, and face the fear that Father might be disappointed. This fear is a lie, of course, but the belief in our own failure is so strong that it causes our hearts to faint with disbelief in God’s true love.
2 Corinthians 3:14-15 NASBS
[14] But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. [15] But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;
The Ministry of condemnation always produces the need for a veil. We can’t come close to God because of our fear. We put up walls and veils, saying that we will stay separated even by a small degree so we don’t come too close. The veil of condemnation keeps us from feeling too vulnerable.
2 Corinthians 3:16,18 NASBS
[16] but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. [18] But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
When you come to him, it allows Jesus to deal with the veil: the shame, the lies, the fears, and the failures; and he removes it, leaving only His image. This is the way of sonship and fathering. This is the path of transformation. This is the reason that so few Christians ever come to a lifestyle where they emulate Jesus Christ. So few people are willing to submit to God’s “microscope;” we are afraid that when He finds a failure, we will find His rejection.
But, God doesn’t use a microscope. He simply stares lovingly and longingly into our faces until we become His reflection. He brings joy, not condemnation. He brings love and acceptance, not rejection. He focuses on our true identity, not our failures. He reveals, not destroys. He is waiting to reveal you. When you see who you really are you find liberty to be you.
2 Corinthians 3:17 NASBS
[17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
You may say, “Why is that so bad? What is so wrong with recognizing that we are sinners saved by grace, or that we are not perfect?” Such thinking is warring against the image of Christ in your life. You are “predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ.” If this is God’s intention for you, why are you settling? You can come fully in. God will not reject you, even though you may be afraid that He will. He paid to receive you, doesn’t He deserve to love on those He paid for. You are, in fact, resisting God when you think this way. You must repent. You must say “yes” to Him fathering you. He is a Good Father.
Many have embraced pride instead of surrender. They see themselves as strong, having overcome darkness. They find their identity in their title, position, and gifting. Yet, in their personal life they are still afraid to come into deep intimacy. On stage, they seem powerful and anointed, but they can’t truly be vulnerable with God. Their life has hidden sin. They need people to follow them. Their submission is still limited and they are not really like Jesus. They have rejected Sonship for popularity.
That isn’t to say that God hasn’t done some amazing work within them. Nor am I saying that their revelation is invalidated. In fact, many of them have been given offices in Christ due to the level of surrender they have engaged in. My purpose is to show that if a person is not walking in Sonship, they are still missing out. They are still giving into the temptation the Condemnation Identity brings.
The Condemnation Identity draws people into putting limited trust in God while also allowing them to maintain trust in themselves. God desires to replace this identity we gained from the fall with the identity of a beloved son (This isn’t a reference to a specific gender).
The concept of Sonship matters, because you will discover in deep intimacy, that God always treats you the same way as He treats Jesus. God always has His destiny and purpose for you in front of Him. As you spend time with Him, His purposes motivate Him, because He has “predestined you to be conformed to the image of Jesus” (Romans 8:29). The greatest gift salvation gives us is the potential to be transformed into the likeness of God’s Son. He even calls us sons of God.
Jesus is God and we are not. There is tension between this truth and the fact that God will always treat you as if you are equal to Jesus. Handling the reality of how God treats you with humility, yet still accepting the love He pours out on us, will determine how deeply into Sonship you can step. It’ll determine how much of God’s identity for you that you can fully embrace.
Luke 6:40 NASBS
[40] A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
Determine to embrace what God speaks over you and you will discover how deep the transformation that He is offering truly is.