"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1
If I could choose one thought that has caused the greatest transformation in my life, it would be, “God has no desire to change you.”
The bedrock of my Christian journey was established by ideas such as ‘transforming from glory to glory’ and ‘learning to become the likeness of Jesus’. These ideas made me the hunter of an illusive prey: I’d chase then find it, then lose it, then chase and find it again, only to realize I’d never catch it and be hungry for the rest of my life.
Now, I’d always heard that God would love me just the same no matter if I changed or not. This is wonderful news. But the invisible clause, either suggested or mentioned, accompanying the news about God’s love, would strike me like brass knuckles to bruise any hope I’d found. “God’s love for you will never change, but it certainly will change you.” Now this sounds very nice, but when condemnation chases you like a pack of wolves, a statement like this makes God sound like a conman.
And God is no conman. The con is this: we have formed a theology based on our experience of daily life instead of the truth of the Bible and the Holy Spirit alive within us.
Let me give you an example of this:
I’m driving on the interstate and somebody cuts in front of me, almost hitting my car. I react in anger, delivering some choice words with a choice bird. Then, once my emotions have settled, I feel guilty. “Oh God, I’m not like Jesus, help me to be more like Jesus. I still have anger. Help me grow into the likeness of Jesus so I don’t have to react in anger. Amen.”
Now here is the problem. I look at my reaction of anger and form an entire theology around it. I reason that because I acted in this way, it must mean that I have more growing and transforming to do. Well, let me ask you this: If I use my tennis racket to play racket ball, is my tennis racket still a tennis racket or did it change into a racket ball racket because I used it in this way?
I’m here to tell you that you’re perfect in every way. You’re not on your way to perfection or perfect in the eyes of God because he only sees the blood of Jesus. No. You’re Adam and Eve perfect because of the sacrifice that Jesus made at the cross. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you and nothing about you has to change, save one thing: the eyes of your understanding.
At this point, Bible scholars would demand proof. I’m no Bible scholar, but I do have proof for this ridiculously good and wonderful news.
“Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.” (Rom 6:14)
Let me start by saying that the law is essentially a method of doing in order to become. Why was the law given? It was given so that God’s people would know what to do so that they might be or become the people He made them to be. The law says do x, y, z and you will be God’s man/woman. The law is God’s standard and requirement for correct living for human lives.
God’s plan for humanity has never changed. He has always had righteousness, purity, love and sin-free living in mind for us: in both the Old and New Testaments. These are His desires for our lives. That we walk like Him in perfection.
If God’s desire for our lives is nothing short of righteousness, purity, and love, why did he make us a people free from the law? If we are gradually becoming like God then we need the law so that we can measure our progress and see what needs improving. But if we are already like Him then we need no law. The verbs attached to the law are ‘do’ and ‘don’t’. ‘Do this, don’t do that.’ When the law is taken away, so are the do’s and don’ts. But the requirements of the law remain in tact. God still has righteousness and sin-free living in mind for us. But He has completely removed the ‘do’s’ and the ‘don’t’s’. So if He requires sin-free living but He’s taken away the do’s and don’ts there can only be one logical conclusion. Jesus didn’t have to do anything to be perfect. Jesus was and is perfect by simply being Himself. This is the same plan God has for our lives. We no longer have to do and not do to be or become perfect. We simply have to be ourselves and by being ourselves we meet the requirements of the law. The idea of law communicates a life of gradual change, only to end once that high standard is reached perfectly. People who live with no law are people who need no change. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had no law because they needed no change.
To further evidence this point, let us look at some other things that exist with no law.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)
The reason why the fruits of the Spirit have no law is because they meet God’s standard. All they have to do is simply ‘be’, and by only ‘being’ they meet His requirements. They don’t have to transform or change. They just have to be.
The Spirit, Father, and Son are one. Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit. Because of His death, resurrection, and ascension, we have become one with Christ. (Eph 2 & 5) Therefore our truest identities and names are the same as the fruit of the Spirit. I can confidently say that you are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against you there is no law. There is no law because you are perfect, whole and holy, right now. I don’t base this truth on your sin-record or your struggles with this or that. If we were to interpret the Bible through our human experience then we’d have a lot of problems. Rather we speak the truth to our experience.
The only transformation we need is to have our eyes renewed with the light of God: to see as He sees. And the beauty of this transformation is that we cannot see something that doesn’t already exist. You are perfect, whole, and completely transformed into the very likeness of Jesus and because of this your life exists in freedom and without law.
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