Human Nature part 1
I don't believe anybody on this side of the cross is born with a "sin nature." I know that goes against a lot of "traditional" preaching, but I'm of the opinion--and remember, this IS my opinion--that what Jesus did on the cross is a lot bigger than we give it credit for. And since this is a controversial thing I'm saying I put it through my, "Should I say this out loud," test. And basically the test is this: If I think it's what God is telling me to say, I'll say it. If I think it'll help someone, I'll say it. And I think an understanding of what it means to be a new creation will definitely help people. I think truly understanding what our human nature is--not the beast nature of Adam but the love nature of Jesus--will help people. All I ever hear about regarding "human nature" is someone messing up and then saying, "I can't help it. It's human nature." We use this idea of a "sin nature" as an excuse. As if that is our default setting, and we need to do something to rise above it... we need to do something to be "more than human." But here's the interesting part: When Jesus came to show us the Father... when He came to give us life and that more abundantly... He came just as we were. With only one small difference. While in the Old Testament God's Spirit would fall on someone, for a time, in order to empower them to do something... when Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit RESTED on Him. And we just spent a whole series on rest--our abode, or home, which is love--so we know that the difference between Adam and Jesus is that Jesus was FILLED with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was FILLED with the love nature of His Father. Jesus was a human being to the fullest. He lived the total and complete human experience while the rest of humanity was working as hard as it could to get as much as it could. Now watch this: In Joel 2:28 God promises, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh..." And then in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit filled the believers on the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "...this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel," (Acts 2:16) and quoted Joel 2:28! So the "afterwards" was referring to the cross, and the prophecy has been fulfilled! God poured His Spirit out on ALL FLESH! Not on some flesh. Not on some people. All. Now, listen, I'm not saying everybody has received this gift. I'm not saying we all know this truth. I'm simply saying nothing has to happen for us to "get" this new nature. Because we already have it. And while it might be buried beneath the surface, while we might not know what we have or who we are or where we are... all it takes is the light shining to reveal things as they truly are. Here's what I'm saying: We already have it. We simply need to recieve what we have. We're not old. The old has passed away. ALL things are become new. Human nature isn't about what passed away on the cross when Jesus died. Human nature is about what came forth when He rose from the grave!