CHANNEL 1 AND CHANNEL 2

In today's session, Dr. Gillham tried to help us understand the inner war within the Christian.  As Bill said, "If we are new creatures in Christ, then why do we still struggle, and how do we deal with the source of that struggle?"  A key concept explained by Bill is, "The war within is not a civil war between the "old you" and the "new you."  If this were so, then you would be condemned to a life of defeat on planet earth, and that is not what the Bible teaches."  Consider Ephesians 2:4-6:  "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus."  According to this verse, if your are "in Christ" then you are now "seated with Him in heavenly places."  Even while you are on earth, you are seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father.  Bill uses the analogy of thinking of heaven as being one inch off the surface of the earth to help us understand how we could be standing on the surface of the earth, yet also be in heaven.  Your soul and spirit are sealed in the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, Eph. 4:30). 

The power of sin is going to function in the same manner as the Holy Spirit, but with the opposite intent.  Genesis 4:7 provides the first reference to "sin" in the Bible.  Here we find that sin is a noun, not a verb.  God's Word is personifying sin.  The word "sin" appears 41 times in Romans 5-8; 40 of these occurrences are nouns.  Only 1 occurrence is a verb indicating poor performance.  As a new creature in Christ, the law of God is written on your heart.  You long to obey God (2 Cor. 3:3). 

Bill uses the term "Channel 1" to describe how the power of sin fights against each of us.  Bill explains that sin responds to a stimulus by feeding thoughts to your mind in first-person, singular pronouns, conforming to your unique version of the flesh.  Sin will impersonate your dead, old man.  Sin is the instrument of Satan, so it is something with which we must all deal.  Temptation comes from the devil!  As soon as you choose to buy sin's thought (temptation) as your own, you have sinned.  Bill suggests the only response to such power.  We should take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5), say "No" to temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), and bring Christ on line to give you victory.  You are dead to sin and alive to God, so act like what you are--dead to sin.  You act dead to sin by faith.  "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  James 4:7.

Have a great and blessed Thanksgiving Week!