Consciousness part 2
"Awake to righteousness, and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame" (1 Corinthians 15:34). This was Jesus' mission. He didn't come to make "bad" people "good." He came to make dead people alive. When Adam ate from the tree of death, the natural consequence was that he died. His natural eyes were opened, but his Spiritual eyes closed. He fell asleep, and it wasn't until the cross that the New Day dawned and it was time to wake up. But here's the thing, we always seem to get it backwards. We always seem to think, "In order to awake to righteousness, I need to stop sinning." We always put the emphasis on ourselves, and what we're doing or not doing. But the truth is, Jesus--the Lamb of God--took away the sin of the world. He got rid of unbelief by giving us something (someONE, love) to believe in. So it's not an if-then statement, "If I stop sinning, then I'll awake to righteousness." It's actually, "Awaking to my righteosness--the righteousness of God that I AM in Christ--is what allows me to stop sinning!" That's why Paul said, "Some have not the knowledge of God." Our knowledge of Him, and what He did both for us and as us, is what allows us to wake up. God put Adam (mankind) to sleep and then Jesus woke us up! Jesus said it like this about the dead man, Lazarus (who also represents humanity), "...Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep" (John 11:11). THAT'S why Jesus came! To wake us up. To shift our consciousness away from our dead selves--the old man, the beast nature, the carnal, unregenerated mind--and towards our TRUE selves--the inner man, the New Man, the hidden man of the heart, the mind of Christ... Jesus. When we know the truth, it sets us free because faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. Paul was saying, "You know what the cross was. You know the work is finished. Now wake up to the truth about yourself!" Guys, being Christ-conscious doesn't mean I'm aware of Jesus over there. It doesn't even mean I'm aware of Jesus right here with me. It's more than that. Christ-consciousness is knowing and believing that He IS my life. He gave His life for me and He gave His life TO me. Now I live this life in the flesh through the faith of Him who died both for me and as me. It's being conscious of Christ and Christ alone. Not Jesus AND me, but Jesus AS me. Awaking to righteousness. He became sin so that I could become the righteousness of God in Him. That's not just what I do... that's who I am. Who He is IN me and AS me. In Him I live and move and have my being and in me HE lives and moves and has His being. The best way I can say it is to quote Jesus Himself, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). That's what it means to be totally away. Totally conscious. And that's what the cross made available to us!