Class Notes: 1/19/2011

Man adjusts to God's integrity only by positive volition to Bible Doctrine

In our study of the doctrine of the integrity of God when we left off we were discussing how fear and the function of the spiritual life are mutually exclusive. 2Tim 1:7; "For God has not given us a lifestyle of fear; but of power and of virtue-love and of sound judgment."

The alternative to fear is the faith-rest drill. Psa 56:2-3; "My enemies have trampled on me all day long; for many fight against me with arrogance. What time I am afraid, I will trust in You." Fear emphasizes the problem; faith emphasizes the solution.

The more things you surrender to fear, the more things you fear. The greater the extent to which you surrender to fear, the greater your capacity for fear. The greater your capacity for fear, the more you increase the power of fear in your life. The more you increase the power of fear in your life, the greater your failure to execute the four mechanics of the spiritual life.

The four mechanics of the spiritual life are the utilization of the two power options, the function of the three spiritual skills, the deployment of the ten problem solving devices on the defensive perimeter of the soul, and the execute of the three stages of the adult spiritual life.

Fear is both irrational and irresponsible. It results in garbage in the subconscious and distraction from the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. Therefore, while fear functions in the emotional complex of sins, it utilizes the arrogance complex of sins, and it destroys the function of the problem solving devices.

Fear replaces Bible doctrine with the attack of the four horsemen of apostasy: emotional revolt of the soul, locked-in negative volition, blackout of the soul, and scar tissue of the soul.

Fear panics when the four horsemen of apostasy attack and the believer loses the battle of stress in the soul. The hysteria and panic that overcomes the carnal believer immobilizes the problem solving devices.

Fear creates stress. Stress in the soul contradicts the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. The only solution to stress in the soul is rebound and counterattack by the use of Bible Doctrine. 2Pet 3:18; "grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

When you allow stress to invade your soul, you have defeated your own spiritual life.

Matt 10:28-31; "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him (Jesus Christ) who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Now the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore, stop being afraid, you are more valuable than many sparrows."

The power of Satan and the power of evil have no power over the believer beyond the grave. The ultimate in victory over fear is the believer's ability to face death without fear.

The rationale is that since the integrity of God cares for the sparrow, how much more will the integrity of God care for the believer. God knows every detail about your life, therefore, you are commanded to stop being afraid.

Since love is a part of the integrity of God, it must also be a part of the spiritual life. We must have virtue-love as a part of our spiritual life. Integrity-love belongs to God, virtue-love belongs to the believer who has entered the adult spiritual life

As we have seen, this is stated in 1John 4:19; "We love; because He first loved us."

In this passage, "We" refers to the believers who have reached the adult stage of the spiritual life. This is when we have confidence in God as a part of our personal sense of destiny.

Our love" must be directed toward God the Father. If you do not have personal love for God the Father, you will have nothing but cheap substitutes. There is no spiritual life without love for God. We love in time because God loved in eternity past. The integrity of God set the pattern for virtue-love in eternity past. The virtue of divine love is righteousness and justice.

The righteousness and justice of God made the love of God honorable. The love of God motivated the grace of God, so that this virtue is shared with you as a believer. The expression of that love is antecedent grace in eternity past that is revealed to us in time through the word of God.

Righteousness and justice is the internal action of integrity, love and grace are the overt expression of integrity.

To honor Christ, we must be honorable. To be promotable, we must be compatible with the integrity of God. This means we must have virtue-love. All promotions in the postsalvation spiritual life are the function of the integrity of God with emphasis on the "more or greater grace" described in James 4:6.

Love is not a matter of attraction, but capacity. God's love has eternal and infinite capacity from His perfect essence. The believer's virtue- love has capacity from the execution of the spiritual life. Virtue-love is honorable when the believer executes the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.

The pattern for love is integrity or virtue. Perfect and eternal God has perfect and eternal love. This love belongs co-equally to each member of the Trinity. Because God is sovereign; His love is self- motivated. God's love exists eternally, unsustained by Himself or any other source. God's love will never be tarnished by reaction to our failures.

Because God is immutable, any form of creature failure cannot change his love. Because God is omniscient, God's love functions in a rational manner, without any emotional content or irrational reaction. God is perfect wisdom and does not have emotion.

Therefore, the love of God is neither irrational or emotional. God's love is not based on human attraction. Because God is holy, His love is incorruptible and can only function in perfect integrity, perfect honor, and perfect virtue. The virtue-love of the spiritual life can only function in human honor, integrity, and virtue as it is provided by the four mechanics of the spiritual life.

Therefore, it is more important to have God's love than to be loved by people. God's love cannot be bribed with good deeds. God's love cannot be patronized by legalism, emotionalism or Christian activism. God's love cannot be disappointed, frustrated, or distracted.

Any form of human attraction does not sustain God's love. God's love is not emotional. God's love cannot be bought by good behavior. Discipline from God does not imply or suggest any change in God's love for us.

It is impossible for God to compromise either His righteousness or justice in the expression of divine love so divine love and righteousness are never compromised.

The spiritual dynamics of virtue-love are found in 2Cor 13:14; "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." Gal 5:22; "The profit (gain) from the Spirit is virtue-love."

Rom 5:5; "and absolute confidence does not disappoint; because the love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Virtue and values of the spiritual life include not only honor and integrity but a system of thinking from Bible doctrine in the stream of consciousness.

Self-righteousness is excluded from any phase of the plan of God. Self-righteousness is the overt manifestation of arrogance. Keeping the outward form of the Mosaic Law only produces arrogance.

Imputed perfect righteousness and self-righteousness are mutually exclusive. Self-righteousness brings cursing from the justice of God; while the imputation of perfect righteousness sets up the basis for blessing from the justice of God.

Distortion of the Mosaic Law produces a self-righteousness that is hostile to the imputation of perfect righteousness. This is why the Jews; during the First Advent of Christ, rejected His offer of salvation by Grace through Faith alone that provided the imputation of God's righteousness.

The true purpose of the Mosaic Law is not to produce self- righteousness, but to condemn man and his resources, as well as self- righteousness as the means of blessing from God.

The only benefit that comes from God, comes through adjustment to the justice of God at salvation, rebound, and spiritual maturity.

The failure of certain members of the human race has never cancelled the integrity of God. The integrity of God is not cancelled because the believer fails to utilize logistical grace. Lack of integrity in man has never cancelled the integrity of God toward mankind.

The justice of God is the source of both blessing or cursing, but is never neutral doing nothing. The very function of the justice of God maintains the integrity of God.

Since God is infinite; eternal; invisible and incomprehensible; it is necessary for God to reveal Himself to mankind; and He does so through Bible doctrine. The content of the Bible reveals and vindicates the integrity of God.

Through comprehension of doctrine we learn of the integrity of God and adjust to His justice. If we learn doctrine we come to share the thinking of divine integrity.

Man by man's efforts seeks to acquire human integrity. Such activity maligns God and ignores His grace. For man to be justified before God, he must possess the righteousness of God. The integrity of God is infinite, absolute, and eternal. It is not the mere absence of sin, but the sum total of His divine attributes, their perfection; and their infinity.

The integrity of God is not maintained by the will or sovereignty of God, nor is it maintained by the self- righteousness of man. It is His immutable Self.

Divine perfect righteousness totally rejects man's self- righteousness. God in grace provides all that His integrity demands of the human race. Therefore there is nothing man can do to destroy or compromise the integrity of God.

God does not need our help or our relative righteousness. We need His help, His perfect righteousness.

Imputed perfect righteousness is where God begins to share His integrity with us. God didn't do this from human sentimentality or emotional attraction to our pleasing personality.

Our righteousness is unacceptable to God. Isa 64:6;

Neither man's sinfulness or self-righteousness advances the glory of God. Only God can glorify God. Divine integrity advances the glory of God. Only what God has provided for man in grace can glorify God.

Members of the human race who ignore their personal sins that are a manifestation of spiritual death, and at the same time try to present their self- righteousness to God for salvation, have no respect for the integrity of God.

Maladjustment to the justice of God at salvation means no relationship with the integrity of God, no eternal life, and no imputed perfect righteousness. Therefore the justice of God can only condemn the unbeliever. The unbeliever can only be blessed through association with the mature believer.

No nation can possess freedom, prosperity, or blessing apart from the integrity of God.

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