A New Creation by Doug Fortune

Through a post by Annelize Mouton on Facebook

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The next part of the verse goes on to say, "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

As I was meditating on the words, "old things," of course I thought of things in the past, but then I had a startling revelation... What if "old things" also include those things that have the propensity toward decay, that have the probability of losing FRESHness? What if everything around us could be permanently impacted with the reFRESHing that the Presence of the Lord within us brings?

"Behold, all things are become new!"

Before we move on to the obvious part of the verse proclaiming "all things are become new," let us consider a very important word that sets the very stage for all things to become new... BEHOLD!

"The light of the body is the EYE: if therefore thine EYE be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23) The eye speaks of our vision, and our vision is what illuminates our entire life. "Single" vision speaks of our perspective. The word translated as "single" is haplous in Greek and has the following meanings- a particle of UNION, properly folded together, that is, single.

The question is, What do we see?... and what is our perspective! It is possible to have absolutely clear 20/20 vision, but if our perspective is bad, we cannot "see" properly.

I believe that Father is not only bringing clarity of vision, but also releasing a new perspective. He is taking us to the next dimension... what I might call the "Throne Zone." The only way I can begin to convey what I am seeing in the Spirit is by painting a visual panorama. I will utilize the analogy of the Tabernacle and going Beyond the Veil into the Holy of Holies, as it is easy to understand. Metaphorically speaking, so far there has been a directional linear progression as we have been moving from the Outer Court (the Evangelical experience), to the Holy Place (the Pentecostal/ Charismatic experience), and through the Veil into the Holy of Holies experience. However, once beyond the Veil, everything changes.

By prayer, via the Golden Altar of Incense, you have just stepped from the Holy Place through the Veil into the Holy of Holies. Suddenly you are aware of only ONE thing- HIM! His manifest Presence is so all-encompassing that you lose all sense of "self!" You feel your perspective changing, turning... your vision has shifted. You are no longer looking through your own eyes toward the Mercyseat in the Holy of Holies. You are IN the Mercyseat, looking outward through His eyes. The closer you look, you see that there is NO Veil, there is NO division, there is NO separation. The Holy of Holies and the Holy Place are one. In fact the Holy Place and the Outer Court are one. You are in the "Throne Zone."

We can gain some insight into the Throne of God from the book of Ezekiel; "Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a THRONE... And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of EYES ROUND ABOUT, even the wheels that they four had." (Ezekiel 10:1, 12) The "Throne Zone" is a place of new perspective and vision, full of EYES round and about! Ezekiel chapter one speaks also of this place, "Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces... and their appearance and their work was as it were a WHEEL in the MIDDLE of a WHEEL... As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of EYES ROUND ABOUT them four." (Ezekiel 1:15-18)

The view from the "Throne Zone" is not a directional linear progression! In my way of thinking, EYES round and about speaks of a perspective that encompasses all perspectives. It is a view much like what quantum physics would call "superposition."

It is my understanding that according to the observer effect, if the outcome of an event has not been observed, it exists in a state of "superposition," which is akin to being in all possible states at once. The result of this is that sub-atomic particles actually pop into existence when you go looking for them (under a very powerful microscope, of course). Do you see the incredible spiritual parallel here? The view from the "Throne Zone" creates an atmosphere of expectancy, providing a "blank canvas" upon which the realization of possibilities can be "painted" into reality!

BEHOLD!... When my vision is in UNION, one with Father's eyes, folded together IN Him, I see beyond my previous perspectives and dimensions. In this next "dimension" you find that there is really only ONE "dimension" and that dimension sees all perspectives.

Friend, the next "dimension" in God includes, encompasses and supersedes all previous "dimensions."

From this vantage point we can't help but cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isaiah 6:3)

From this vantage point it IS indeed "in earth as in heaven."

John the Revelator proclaimed, "And I SAW a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Revelation 21:1) I find it interesting that he did not say, There WAS a new heaven and a new earth... He says, I SAW a new heaven and a new earth. What do we SEE? Do we SEE a new heaven and a new earth? I believe we must SEE a new heaven and a new earth before there will BE a new heaven and a new earth.

Let us move on to the next part of this unfolding revelation, "Behold, all things are become new!" The word translated as "are become" is ginomai in Greek, and it is the "gen" in the English word generate or genesis. Its' meanings also include- to cause to be, that is, to become, to come into being. I particularly like the idea of a new genesis, a new beginning, regeneration! "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of reGENERATION, and reNEWing of the Holy Ghost." (Titus 3:5)

This makes me think of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. I don't believe that He saw her merely as a Samaritan, or merely as a woman, or even as a woman with a history of dysfunctional relationships. He SAW her destiny as a new creation, and what He offered this woman at the well was a new genesis, a new beginning, regeneration!

http://www.dougfortune.org/a429.htm

Beyond Comparison - Andre Rabe

Today I want to chat to you about the understanding of grace and the understanding of Jesus Christ which is maybe a very different context to what we have been used to.

Much of our understanding of grace has been comparing it to what it’s not. For example comparing it to the Law. We know that the Law system was a system by which you earned what was yours rightfully and we compared that with grace , which is undeserved favour – where it gives you what you do not deserve.

And you know that kind of comparison is very valid and it helps us understand many things...but you know God was gracious before sin existed. God was gracious before the Law was given.

How do we understand His grace in that context, where it’s beyond comparison. you know even our understanding of Jesus has been so limited to just understanding him in the context of the desperate need of man for salvation.

But John realises when he begins writing John chapter 1 – he suddenly sees that this Jesus, the Word made flesh has a context way beyond just the need of man. He sees way back into the beginning where this Word was face to face with God. Now in the beginning before creation there was no evil. There was no sin. There was no fall. How do we understand grace in this place. I so enjoy John 17:24. “Father I so desire that they also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am. That they may behold my glory which you have given Me, and the love with which you have loved me before the foundation of this world .”

Jesus speaks of a glory and a love that he wants us to behold, He wants us to see this. and this is a glory and a love that is NOT RELATED to the Fall of Man , not related to sin and evil...but a glory and a love that was there before the foundation of this world.

You see He wants to introduce us to a glory which is beyond comparison.
He wants us to discover a God that is without competition.
An intimacy that is beyond interruption.
A fellowship that is unbroken.
A place where we discover that our innocence before Him is so much more than just the absence of sin.
Our innocence is the vibrancy of being freely and truly ourselves without any thought of any alternative existence.
It is a place beyond comparison. Let me quickly take you to Hebrews 10 :17 in this highly commendable translation by Francois Du Toit.

This is final. I have deleted the record of your sins and misdeeds. I no longer recall them. Nothing in God’s reference to man reminds Him of sin. Sins were dealt with in such a thorough manner that no further offering would again be required. nothing that we could personally sacrifice could add any further virtue to our innocence.

God has so completely and successfully dealt with every sin, every obstacle that stood between man and Himself, that He has wiped it from His own consciousness and from His own mind and memory.

And you know if something does not exist in the mind of God, it does not exist at all. And that is the basis with which we can now approach God with a clear conscience, without any consciousness of sin or obstacle. Because He has got no memory of it.

So it makes me think that if we engage in conversations that’s delving into sin, that’s delving into the past, that’s delving into what went wrong it means that God cannot be involved in those conversations, because God has no memory of those misdeeds and sins.

2 Corinthians 5:17 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
I am so glad He doesn’t say Behold the old things that have passed away..No , no they are past, and what now captures our attention is the new.

That word new is a beautiful word. I’ve heard people say that it means it is something completely new, it never existed before. That’s rubbish. if you look how that word new is used throughout the New Testament,
and in other contexts as well, it speaks of being renewed, being refreshed. It speaks about God taking hold of His original creation, and removing the grip of sin, and the effects of time on it, and presenting it again in its original glory. That word new speaks about ...you know in some contexts it is used of something that is fresh, something where the effects of time have not had any impact on it. And that is what God does in the new creation. He reaches back into that timeless eternal realm and He takes hold of His original idea of man, of creation. And He brings it about...

Again we read in Colossians 1:15 of Jesus Christ, the first born of all creation. Back to Hebrews 10 :17...He has deleted the record of our sins.it does not exist in His mind. But we do know what DOES exist within the mind of God. Psalms 8 David is overwhelmed with this thought...He says “What is man that your are mindful of him?”
MINDFULL....His mind is FULL of us. You exist in the mind of God. And that is the most substantial existence you can have. The most real existence. And you know you exist in the mind of God not just in the context of time and space and your time on this earth. “ Timothy 1:9 speaks about the grace that was given to you in Christ Jesus before time began.
9This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

GOD KNEW YOU BEFORE TIME BEGAN. And what He knew about You in that timeless realm is still His only reference to who who you are.
His design, his imagination of who you are is your true self. And you still exist in His mind. And the gospel comes with this great opportunity to discover yourself in Him. To discover yourself in the mind of God.
1 John 5:20 summarises the whole purpose of Christ...
It says 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

You see, discovering God cannot be separated from discovering yourself in Him. What He thinks about you defines you. Not what you think about Him.

So....I just wanted to encourage you to discover and see a new context of understanding this message of grace, a new understanding of Christ that is beyond comparisons. Though the comparisons are good, and it is good to discover that God loves us despite all the things we have done...

BUT there’s a deeper understanding
that He doesn’t just love us in spite of, but because of who He designed you to be, and who He made you to be. Romans 5 speaks about an event that happened in Christ that is beyond comparison. It is an undeniable fact that Adam included all of humanity in his fall, but in Christ another event happened that is out of all proportion to what happened in the disobedience of Adam. He restored us once again to God’s original idea of who He wanted us to be. Thankyou. Bye bye.


Andre's Three Books
For more information about Imagine ,view Andre Rabe in the index at the bottom of this page,or go to his blogpage www.hearhim.net