Walking as Gods and not as men

The Word of Truth Ministries

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Carnal saints walk as men and not as God

1Cor. 3:3

There are many Christians who have lost the way of God as they carry on the way of the world; these are they who walk as men, and they are many. That is to say they walk in their own way, and they claim it to be God’s way. Jesus said to them as he said to the Pharisees, they make to no effect the word of God through their tradition. [Mat. 15:3-6] They take to their customs, their thoughts, their behaviors—which are the behaviors of this world, the flesh, and the devil—and not after God’s holy and divine word.

A tradition of men that displaces God’s word is fully on display during this holiday season we call Christmas. Most Christians know that Jesus was not born in December at all, let alone December 25, yet they rush themselves through this pageantry of pagan origins that is supervised by the world, but they tell themselves and others about putting Christ back into Christmas. Jesus Christ was never in Christmas so he cannot and will not be a part of Christmas. But for them, who cares? They allow their ignorance to destroy them—“My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. Because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee." [Hos. 4:6]

I have seemingly heard every form of rationalization to justify behavior contrary to the word and will of God, found in his word. Rationalization, a flawed mental device of men, often has little to do with actual thinking; although it claims to be thought, it is the tenacious clinging to a preconceived idea and the use of a system of reasoning to justify a position, an idea, a belief, or a philosophy already decided without any attempt to see the facts pertaining to that situation, idea, belief, etc.

A case in point is Christmas. Regardless of what God’s word says, many will explain away their conformity to this pageantry. I remember some years ago, when I said that Christmas was not a Christian observance that God wants his people to engage in, many asked me how could I be so cruel to my children, while all others are getting their children presents, my children have none because I was so selfish as to not get them presents. They talked about some supposed low self-esteem of my children for this offense and the cruel nature of me as a parent. In their minds, they saw my adherence to God’s word and way as being wrong; these were carnal Christians who were willing to violate God’s word, call me an extremist and other things to follow the customs of the world, their flesh, and certainly the devil.

But thanks be to God, my children with all that “low self-esteem” are today doctors, lawyers, bankers, police officers and college graduates. Their eyes were opened early and given the truth. They were freed from the lies of men. [John 8:32] Truth makes men free; it never lowers a person’s self-esteem, unless that self-esteem is too high. But what we think is high is not high according to God’s standard. [Isa. 55:8] A false balance, as the lies to a child about Christmas and other aspects of life are, is not good to God. [Prov. 20:23] But men will readily hate you for attempting to be good; it is the nature of this wicked world.

When our eyes are open to the things of God, we see as God sees, and his vision is far beyond anything we can think or know down here. Oh, but one day, for those who love truth and knowledge, our eyes will see, our ears will hear, and our minds will understand clearly the things of God. Now we see, at our very best, through a glass darkly, even though we are face to face with reality. But when that, which is perfect shall come then will we see things, all things, as they are, without the dark glass.

Now we are afflicted by the dark glass of reality before us; now we walk not by sight but by faith. We know the things that are now are only a small portion of the things that shall be. But how tragic it is that many carnal Christians have exchanged the meager things of the present for the vast and glorious things of God’s tomorrow—things that the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and the mind cannot now conceive, but God has for us who love him. Yet Satan has deceived many and given them the noise, the rationalization, to aid their unbelief. And through flawed reasoning they justify their traditions as they go contrary to God’s word with their customs. Now many carnal leaders and Christians who follow those leaders walk, not as men of God but as men of this world.

The great and learned Apostle Paul said to the Corinthian Church that he could not speak to them as spiritual, but as carnal. They were just babes in Christ after too long a time drinking milk of the word. They were carnal with strife and divisions and other things; Paul asked, “Are ye not carnal and walk as men?” [1 Cor. 3:1-3] Yes, they were carnal; that was almost the given, undeniable reality. Yet Paul implies and assumes something very important in the third verse: he implies/suggests that we are not to walk as men. He assumes, offers an unstated belief inherent in what he says, that walking as men is bad and not as God intends us to walk, and since it is, he implies that we should walk as gods upon this earth. For if we have the word of God and it has come unto us, abided in us and we in it, Jesus said, it is written, ye are gods. Indeed, we are the children of God, sons of God, heirs and joint heirs with Christ. Surely then, we should walk as gods upon this earth, even as Christ walked. We are the begotten of God, therefore we are children of God: God is our father, we are his royal children, hence gods upon this earth. And we look like, talk like, behave like, sound like, think like him, and all our very essence is like Christ. [John 10:35; Rom. 8:16-17]

God showed us the lofty state we are in through the shadow of the Law. He told Moses, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron is your prophet. [Exodus 7:1] We are now gods, if we allow God’s word to abide in us and we in it; if we go on from babes to mature sons in him. He has given us heavenly powers and heavenly knowledge under the condition that we abide in him. Notice that when the people of Iconium saw God working in Paul and Barnabas, they thought that the two men were gods in the form of men and were about to do sacrifices unto them, but for Paul’s intervention, saying to do it not. [Acts 14:1-16]

Since we are children of God, we are to walk not as men who are carnal in their thoughts, their ways, their behavior, but walk as Christ walked so that men will see him through us. [Isa. 2:5; Eph. 5:8;1 John 1:7;2:6] When we observe and regard the traditions of men, we walk as men and not as Gods. But how can we be the children of God and not walk even as our father walks? We cannot! For the scripture is plain: “He that transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.” [2 John 1:7-9]

Those children to whom I taught the truth and I was called cruel because of that teaching about the pagan nature of Christmas, walk even as their father walks; they look like me--my wife's mother said to me one day, "Frank, your children are all so beautiful, and the all look like you." They talk like me, they think like me; they are my children, having been planted by me, taught by me, and they grew up to look like me and behave like me. They knew that they would , of necessity, have to go to school and get advance degrees, like their father. I set the standard by precept and example and demanded that they follow in my steps. And God, who is faithful to his word, has so given it to be so!

I exercised the power of God boldly in decreeing a thing and making it come to pass; I believed and therefore spoke my belief into existence, even as God did and said that his sons could and should also do. [Job 22] Most saints have very little idea of the mighty power of God that could work in them because they have chosen to be ignorant about the things of God, even as they have chosen to be ignorant about the things of learning. [Hos. 4:6]

This profound ignorance has lingered among church members, and they are dying on the vine because of it. But Paul said for a good reason, "I would not that you be ignorant, brethren." That reason was that God does not want his people to be ignorant!

Walking as men does not require that we walk according to God’s word, but walking as God demands requires that we walk perfectly before our God. And, please, do not be deceived by the flawed rationalization of this world that argues against perfection: “No one is perfect.” God demands it and gives us the wherewithal to be that which he demands. And if we are not actively striving for perfection, we are not doing what God has commanded his children. We are not walking worthy of our royal heritage as sons of God! [Mat. 5:48]

To walk as men is to be carnal in nature, not godly; God can't do too much with carnal Christians, but He can and will do great and mighty things with perfect saints who walk not as men but as saints in light. [Col. 1:12] These are the ones to whom the word of God came; these are gods in him. []

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