That's Called Grace

The following is from an email exchange.

Q: I would like to know your thoughts and advice on the following.

We have a new spirit and a new heart, so our souls are a pure expression of the indwelling spirit. So we should never say that we constantly sin in many unconscious ways during the day. The approach is that we only accept sin as the Spirit reveals so.

The only possibility to sin is when we don’t live according to the faith of the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). So unbelief is the only possibility to sin and may come to us along the lines the illusion of an independent self-life or giving in to temptation.

A: I honestly do not see sin anymore. It isn't in my consciousness any longer as something I can do whether by this or that, or as something I do determined by whether I believe or not believe. Christ is my faith so how can I ever be found in unbelief? You know, Jesus was tempted in every way but without sinning. I say that is true about me too (My personal word of faith concerning this. I cannot say that word for you. That is something you have to do for yourself). Why? Because the sin spirit is kicked out and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth who was in Jesus is in me, and it is God who directs and orders my steps. We learn by and by that temptation is an asset. It is God’s way of settling us into Himself.

Q: In your correspondence with Fred I read:
In a way, temptation comes two ways most of the time. A temptation “up,” to see “this thing” as God and in God and at work for Divine purposes out of our inner oneness; or a temptation “down” in which our sight is locked into the temporal appearance as something in itself and “we” as “something in our selves” (separation) responding to this “thing” as if it is outside God, along with us outside God, too. Alone.

I do not grasp these two ways of ‘up’ and ‘down’ well. Would you be so kind to clarify it somewhat and give an example of both.

A: I also struggled a while with what Fred wrote me, but it is much clearer to me now. Assume you were put in a situation that to all appearances look like a disaster, and even challenge your last remnants of morality (we have to learn we are inner driven people, and God has His ways of accomplishing that). In that position you will be drawn in two directions. Either seeing the thing as your fault, that you are to blame for what happened or take place because you have acted irresponsible or something like that. That is the temptation downwards, that is, to see yourself alone apart from God doing your own damned thing. But, there is also an upward pull/temptation from God to see your situation in faith as His perfect situation for you into which He has taken you for His love purposes.

Q: May we call the upward pull a ‘temptation’ because God tempts nobody?

A: Words are of minor importance in this context. Call it upward pull or upward temptation or whatever. Deep down you know what this is. In a sense we can even say that God tempted us to receive Jesus.

Q: If I can never be found in unbelief, how can I ever come in Romans 7 again?

A: In my Father's house there are many mansions, that is, levels of faith which when faith is consummated become levels of consciousness. These consciousnesses are something the Spirit gives us when we are ready. One day we step into a consciousness where Romans 7 is only a vague memory and we are never again worried about going back to the law. We forget the former things and our inner word is: My meat is to do the will of the Father.

Q: If God shows my unbelief then He shows me because it was there and I was not aware of it. It was there unconsciously while I lived up to that moment in the knowledge to be a pure expression of Him, while that was not the case because of my unbelief.

A: My friend, you always are and always have been a pure expression of Him ever since you received Christ. Our baby days are not counted against us. They are a part of growing up. That's all. One day you will to your surprise find that Christ was your faith and did things in faith as you even in those days when you thought you were in unbelief and didn't recognize His faith working in you. That's called grace.

This faith of Christ that works in us is not under any law. We cannot set the ways of the Spirit by us in stone. God always drives us to reach for the impossible so that His faith in us can be stretched and exercised causing us in increasing measure to live by what we not see. It was Norman Grubb who said: Be a grabber of the impossible and not a nibbler of the possible. Welcome to the adventure!