The Mystery of Godliness - W. Ian Thomas

"It is much easier to confront a person with his SINS than it is to confront him with his "sin," . . . "sin" is an attitude which affects a man's fundamental relationship to God; it has to do with what a man IS; whereas "sins" have to do with what a man DOES, and we all have a happy knack of being able to detach what we DO from what we ARE! We are all highly skilled in the art of self-justification and are able to produce innumerable reasons as to why what we did was excusable-even if it was wrong! We can even feel heroic, and almost virtuous, in accepting the blame for that which so obviously (TO US!) was only the NATURAL, almost inevitable reaction to enticing, compelling or provocative circumstances or people! For this reason a man can admit and be sorry for what he has done, without admitting that what he has done is a result of what he is."

The Mystery of Godliness
by W. Ian Thomas

"Reflecting God's Glory

I tell you the Truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing....And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring Glory to the Father. (John 14:12-13 Emphasis added)

The Son of God came into the world to display His Father's Life of Love. Both His way of life and the works He did were a result of His Father working through Him in the power of the Holy Spirit. He brought Glory to the Father by permitting His Father to express the Kingdom-Life through His mortal body.

The children of God were never intended to live by their own strength. If your life can still be explained in terms of you - your personality, your gifts, your talent, your will-power, your money, your courage, your dedication, your scholarship, or your anything - you are not yet walking as Jesus did. You will need to learn how the Son lived by the power of the Holy Spirit before you can become a true vessel of God's Glory.

In the same way Jesus received His life from the Father and thereby displayed the Father's Glory in this world, we are to receive our life from the Son. Jesus said, "And the glory which You {the Father} gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me." (John 17:22-23)

The Son is able to continue bringing Glory to the Father as we permit Him to display the Light of His Life and works through our mortal bodies while walking in this world. "His Divine power has given us everything we need for Life and godliness." (2 Pet. 1:3)

God's children were created to reflect the Light of God's Glory. We have been designed in a way that will permit the Divine power of Christ's Spirit to work through us. We are therefore expected to reflect a Heavenly nature that is referred to in the Scriptures as the "Light of Life" in our daily activities. And according to God's Word, everyone who sees this "Light" will know the Life is coming through a work of God's power."

The Mystery of Godliness
by W. Ian Thomas

"The moment you come to realize that only GOD can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to FIND God, and to KNOW God, and to let God BE God in you and through you, whoever He may be--and this will leave you with no margin for picking and choosing--for there is only ONE God and He is absolute, and He made you expressly for HIMSELF!

Beware lest even as a Christian, you fall into Satan's trap! You may have FOUND and come to KNOW God in the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving Him sincerely as your Redeemer, yet if you do not enter in the mystery of godliness and allow God to BE in you the origin of His own image, you will seek to be godly by submitting yourself to external rules and regulations, and by conformity to behavior patterns imposed upon you by the particular Christian society which you have chosen, and in which you hope to be found 'acceptable.' You will in this way perpetuate the pagan habit of practicing religion in the energy of the 'flesh,' and in the very pursuit of righteousness commit idolatry in honoring 'Christianity' more than Christ!"

The Mystery of Godliness
by W. Ian Thomas

Note: Words originally expressed in italics have been converted to "ALL CAPS" due to the inability to use italics in this format.

"There are many Christians who are still trying to make themselves better. They are continually frustrated with their efforts, but they still seem to think they can do something to improve themselves. And like the Pharisees of old, as long as they have some hope in this self-produced form of righteousness, they will avoid taking Christ’s Way of the cross.

It is time for every Christian to recognize the "nature of the beast." Stop being deceived into thinking your fleshly nature can be changed or fixed over time. Its roots are too deeply sunk into the life of the devil for you to change yourself on the inside. The only way to be delivered from this old Adam-life is by passing through "death" into "life."

Compare your daily walk with Christ’s teachings in His Sermon on the Mount. Notice how selfish you are compared to the Sacrificial life He requires of His followers. Even the most loving acts you perform for the Lord and your family will still have a self-centered bias, even if it’s only the desire to be recognized or acknowledged for what you have done. If you have been trying to be righteous through your own efforts, your mouth will be stopped and your sin exposed when you Truly begin to see the High calling we are called to in Christ.

Whether you try to obey Christ’s teachings or try to imitate Him, either method will naturally bring a deep awareness of your sinful nature. And whether you truly compare your life to Christ’s teachings or compare yourself to the Word made manifest through His life, both standards will show how far you have come short of the Glory of God.

A plumb-line may show how crooked something is, but it does nothing to put it straight. If the Son did nothing more than set a standard by which we are to live, we are left with nothing to do but wallow in the squalor of our own inadequacy. In fact, we could say the "good news" of the Gospel is really a message of despair. It mocks us with its words without providing the spiritual life that it requires from us.

But the Son of God offers "much more" than forgiveness for our sins and a standard to live by. Jesus came to do "much more" than reconcile us to God. He has come to save (Redeem) us from our fallen nature. He has both the power and the Authority to enable us to share with Him in the same victorious life that enabled Him to conquer sin {living in one’s own sufficiency and willfulness}.

Here is the "much more" of your Salvation! "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, MUCH MORE, having been reconciled {a past event}, we shall be saved (Redeemed) by His life." (Rom. 5:10 Emphasis added) You need something much more than being reconciled to God. And glory be to God, you now have an opportunity to receive an abundantly full measure of Christ’s Spiritual Life. (John 10:10) His indwelling Life is even more powerful than the fallen nature that was first received from Adam. (Rom. 5:17) The Son of God has come to establish His Kingdom-Life of Love within your heart so you may walk in True Holiness and Righteousness before Him all the days of your life. (Luke 1:74-75"

The Mystery of Godliness
By Major W. Ian Thomas