#purfication

Evil exists. No one who is reasonable can deny it. Satan and his cohorts are active in this world. As a matter of fact, they are called the “rulers and authorities in darkness”:  

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

  But these forces position themselves in dark places so that they can operate without detection. Their influence is potent but very often indirect and without their true character and sources being revealed. We are prone to think naturally that our problem lies in that other person or group of people when actually, the source lies in the spiritual realms The apparent source would be flesh and blood, but the true source is the forces energizing the conflict. Satan is a master manipulator. Satan is a brilliant deceiver. Here his purposes towards the believer are described:

Ephesians 4:14 (ESV) 

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

Satan would rather reverse God’s intention here and have us remain as rebellious children, tossed to and fro by specific electronic forces in the air called waves that are then substantiated by winds of doctrine, by human craftiness or loaded dice, and also a willingness to engage in any level of deceit to promote its purpose. His purpose is to stop, hinder, and to destroy our capacity for Operation Grace. 

 Operation Grace is the wholesome growth of the believer into the corporate organism as described in the following verses:

Ephesians 4:15–16 (ESV)

 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 

As Satan’s presence is hidden, so also is God’s work. When Solomon’s temple stones were being prepared, the work was done at the quarry site. The stones did not arrive at the temple until they were chiseled and polished. Each stone was brought to a 5 X 5 X 5 cube. Five is God’s number of grace. As living stones, we are fitly framed, chiseled into a grace orientation on every side or in every way so that we fit into the body perfectly. God does a purifying work in our hearts. He brings us into grace in every area of our lives. Then we are available to grow up into him, who is the head, into Christ himself. Then we are prepared to complement and receive the life being expressed and manifested in the body of Christ. 

Many times, we think of holiness as the absence of outward sins. This can be the case, but beyond victory over a particular habit or activity, God is desiring his people to express his very life. Our best cannot be a substitute for God’s life. This was the great error of the Pharisees. They inwardly trusted in their own abilities to be good and were threatened and angry at the living word of God, Jesus Christ:

Luke 18:9–14 (ESV)

 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

We have been lifting up and magnifying the grace of God lately. God is getting many of his body ready to enter a deeper and richer place in their walk with him. Perhaps we sense the hammer and the chisel and wonder what is going on in our hearts. Is God bringing us out of our capacity to trust in ourselves and be more dependent upon Him and his grace? Can we allow him to work in the deep places so that we are able to live without an iota of confidence in our flesh? Philippians 3:2–3 (ESV) Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.