The Original Sin (excerpt of The Mainspring)

THE ORIGINAL SIN (EXCERPT OF THE MAINSPRING)

From: The Mainspring

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We may be trusting in the blood of the Lamb. We may be cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He creates the Divine testimony in us. But the most important and the most difficult aspect of the salvation of the sons of God is the losing of our independence of thought and action in order that we may become one with God and His will.

The original sin always is disobedience, not murder, adultery, or covetousness, but disobedience. This is why both Christ and Abraham, and then every member of the governing priesthood, must be tested rigorously in the area of stern obedience to the Father.

Only the Divinely appointed suffering can burn out of us our instinctive rebellion and self-love. Only the flames of tribulation, the suffering found not in Paradise but in this present world, can destroy self-centeredness from us.

God wants us to realize that insisting upon our own will, our own independence of thought and action, is sufficient to change us from a child of God filled with Divine Light and Life into a horrible monster of darkness and depravity.

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When the Lord Jesus came two thousand years ago He gave us an idea of what the Kingdom of God would be like. The Lord exercised the power of the Kingdom in healing the sick, casting out demons, and walking on the water.

He at that time could have summoned the legions of powerful angels that perform God’s will. He could have brought to an end the agony of earth’s people as they wallow in the filth poured upon them from the evil spiritual thrones in the air above us.

Christ at once could have at once abolished all sickness, all tragedy, all death.

Why did not the Lord do this? Why did He allow the rebellious lords of the heavens to continue to pollute the earth with their self-will and stubborn determination to frustrate the will of God, thus bringing untold misery upon the nations of the earth for so long a period of time?

The answer is, God is waiting for both righteousness and sin to come to maturity and to be clearly defined. The Father is showing the self-willed former rulers of the heavenlies, as well as the elect angels who chose the Father’s will, His perfect wisdom and righteousness.

to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by [through] the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 3:10)

An example of God’s willingness to allow sin to come to full definition occurred in His dealing with Abraham:

“But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16)

“The sin of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

The Father is exercising His infinite wisdom and patience as He permits sinners, both angelic and human, to keep on proving the wisdom and righteousness of God. Even the Lord Jesus, who has paid the full price for the redemption of all people, must wait until the Father brings the Lord’s enemies under His feet.

We must never, however, presume upon the Father’s love and patience. When the fullness of time comes, when the last overcomer has laid down his life that God’s perfect will may be done in the earth, the righteous angels shall be commissioned to cast down Satan and his followers from the heavenlies.

Then there will be singing and dancing in the heavenlies because the mouth of the accusers of the brothers has been stopped. But woe to the sinners and hypocrites in that day! The wrath of God that has been contained since it came into Satan’s mind to set his will against the will of God shall be poured out without mixture. Only those who are under the protection of the blood of the Lamb, Christ, will be spared the terrible Divine wrath.

“he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone [burning sulfur] in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
“And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:10,11)

Those who worship the Beast and his image include people who, while they may participate in some aspects of Christianity, insist upon maintaining their own independence of thought and action. They are self-ruled people. Like Antichrist, they are their own God.

The rebellion in Heaven took place in ages past. But all that is in Satan’s personality and the consequences of what is in his personality have not as yet been revealed fully.

The ruling spirits of the heavens that followed Satan into the assertion of their own wills, resulting in the array of abominable behaviors that we see today, were at one time valued members of the family of God. Satan was perfect in all his ways.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:14,15)

“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created.”

The “iniquity” that was found in Satan and proved to be his downfall was the assertion of his will, his independence of thought and action, his desire to be like God but not part of God.

For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:13,14)

“I will ascend; I will exalt; I will sit; I will ascend; I will be like the most High.”

We may be trusting in the blood of the Lamb. We may be cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He creates the Divine testimony in us. But the most important and the most difficult aspect of the salvation of the sons of God is the surrendering of our independence of thought and action in order that we may become one with God and His will.

This does not mean we lose our uniqueness or our will is weakened. Rather it is true that we are joined into oneness with the Father and the Son and our will is always set upon doing God’s will.

All of Heaven had been filled with Divine Light. The rulers and authorities who today are occupying the thrones in the air that govern the earth were at one time part of the Divine Glory. It prevents us from understanding what actually took place in the heavenlies if we picture the fallen lords as having been created in wickedness.

The magnificent Satan, the covering cherub, chose to exert his will independently of the Father. Some of the rulers of the spirit realm followed him.

From the original problem of self-will have evolved the various aspects of covetousness, immorality, violence, drunkenness, and sorcery that are filling the earth today.

But the Word, the eternal Life that was with the Father from the beginning and by whom all creatures and things were created, chose to do the will of the Father.

I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.” (Psalms 40:8)

Because the Word elected to do the will of the Father rather than to assert Himself, God made many important pronouncements concerning Him—particularly in the Book of Psalms:

“Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
“I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. (Psalms 2:6-8)
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. (Psalms 45:6,7)
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies! (Psalms 110:1,2)

We can be sure these promises, as well as all the other promises of the Scriptures (for they all are directed primarily to Christ), were emphasized by the Spirit of God to the boy of Nazareth as He pondered the holy scrolls and asked questions of the doctors of the Law.

In the beginning all was Divine Light. But then Satan and other distinguished personages decided they had a right to “be themselves” just as people of today decide to nourish their “rights,” their self-will, self-love, self-righteousness, self-centeredness, self-importance, self-joy, self-fulfillment, self-ambition—self! self! self! People are lovers of themselves.

Christian people run here and there exclaiming, “I am not having my needs met. I am not being fulfilled!”

One wonders if the Christians who were being burned at the stake ever questioned if they were having their needs met or if they were being fulfilled!

What about God’s needs? What about Christ’s needs? Do we ever think about anything except ourselves?

This is the image of Satan in the earth.

Therefore God divided the Word, the eternal Life, and the elect angels from the darkness of self-will. The darkness of self-will never again shall be able to comprehend or associate with the Divine Light—no, not for the eternal ages upon ages. The darkness of self-will, self-centeredness, is doomed to remain bound forever in the joyless, loveless, restless realms of spiritual darkness.

God has prepared a new creation. The new creation springs from the obedient One, Christ. There shall come forth from the body and blood of Christ a company of totally obedient sons—sons who have loved not their lives to the point of death while the poison of self-will was being drawn from them.

They have denied their self, taken up their cross, and followed the Lord Jesus wherever He has led them.

“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done,” they cry. “As in Heaven, so in earth.” This in place of “I am not having my needs met.”

The fallen lords occupy the thrones in the air above the earth. At the appearing of the Lord the victorious saints will be caught up to meet Him in the air. There they will be placed on the governing thrones, the thrones previously occupied by the rebels from Heaven. This is the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

Because the spirits who have been seated on the ruling thrones are saints who have been called, chosen, and then proven faithful through countless temptations and tests, they are personages of the utmost integrity and obedience to the Father. Also, the love of Christ for all of God’s creatures is in them.

These are God’s judges, the new lords of the creation. The spiritual environment of the earth will change from that of rebellion and lust to the righteousness, love, joy, and peace that have been created in the sons of God as they patiently have endured tribulation. God’s Presence and Glory will fill the whole earth because of the new rulers in the heavenlies.

The nations of saved peoples of the earth, the nations that assisted the Lord’s brothers in their hour of testing, will reflect the new spiritual atmosphere.

Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion [body of Christ] shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)

The victorious saints are the kingdom that has been prepared from the creation of the world to bring justice, deliverance, guidance, blessing, eternal life, and the Presence of God to the nations.

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (Matthew 25:34)

“The kingdom prepared for you,” that is, for the “sheep” nations.

The victorious saints are being prepared in order that they may serve as a royal priesthood for the nations of saved people.

Christ-filled sons will stand as sentinels around the Glory of God forever. Never again shall self-will pass through the gates into the Presence of the Father. The fallen lords have been sentenced to total destruction at the hand of Christ and His saints.

“And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. (Deuteronomy 7:24)
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)

The almighty Christ was perfected in obedience to the Father during His sojourn in this world.

Now, all authority in Heaven and upon the earth has been given to Him because of His total obedience to the Father. We also who have been born sons of God shall inherit all things if we are willing to love not our own life, our own soul, our own will to the point of death.

If we would be fruitful and rule all the works of God’s hands we must be sternly obedient to the Father in all areas of personality and behavior.

It may be noted that earth’s peoples, even the majority of the elect, are not as yet convinced that sin brings suffering, corruption, destruction, and death; or that each of God’s creatures must choose to do the will of the Father rather than his own will. Therefore much suffering, much agony of body, soul, and spirit, is yet ahead for natural and spiritual Israel and the remainder of mankind.

God will permit Satan to develop fully all that is in his spirit, and then God will bring into judgment all Satan is and all he has caused to be true of the angels and people. The creatures of the heavens, of the earth, and of the realms below the earth’s surface are being given the opportunity to observe the results of rebellion against the Father’s will. The history of the world is an object lesson, the intent of which is to remove sin from the creatures of God forever.

in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, (Ephesians 2:2)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

All the rewards, all the inheritance, go to those who through Christ struggle successfully against all that is of Satan in the world and in their own personalities—especially the desire to think, speak, and act independently of the Father.

(“The Original Sin”, 3823-1)