Being One With God
An all-creatures Bible Message

Being One With God
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
10 January 2016
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:21-22
1 Corinthians 2:14-16

Being one with God is a state of being that only occurs when we are truly born again and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
 
Being one with God is living in His heavenly will, and doing everything in our power to help free creation from its present corruption, which begins with our ending the suffering and death of animals by not eating or wearing them, or their by-products, for this is the basic step we must all take to end any hardness of heart remaining within us.
 
And once we do this, we will find that we will also see the evil, and all the violence and warring madness going on in the world, and we will speak out against it and every act that pollutes our environment.
 
In Isaiah 43:1-7, we hear the prophet speak about those who are being one with God.

1. But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!

It’s important that we see the subtleness of Isaiah’s use of the names Jacob and Israel, for Jacob was once a deceiver as we talked about last week, but the Lord wrestled with him until he changed the way he was, which brought about God changing his name to Israel, who is one who wrestles or contends with God over the problems in his or her life until the Lord rules in their life.
 
This is the start of being one with God, and something that each and every person must do.

2. "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.

In other words, God will spiritually protect us from the ways of the devil; that is, if we continue to live in the heavenly will of God and reject the ways of the devil.

3. "For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
 
4. "Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

The Lord will allow the devil to overpower the people who follow his evil and corrupt ways, but He will protect the peacemaking children of God, for they are being one with the Lord.

5. "Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.
 
6. "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,

The devil cannot hold on to anyone who is a true child of God.

7. Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." 
NASB

Remember that in Matthew 5:9, the peacemaking children of God are called sons and daughters of God.
 
These are the ones who are called by God’s name.
 
These are the ones who are being one with God.
 
In Luke 3:21-22 we are told about Jesus’ baptism.

21. Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,
 
22. and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."
NASB

In this passage, God is showing us that Jesus is being one with God.
 
This isn’t something that is unique with Jesus, because God has also given us the gift of the Holy Spirit; maybe not in the bodily form that descended upon Jesus, but in the spiritual form that indwells us when we are truly born again.
 
Why do I say, “truly born again”?
 
Because many people seem to go through the motions of becoming born again, but relatively few of them exhibit the loving and compassionate change in their lives that extends to the whole of creation.
 
In other words, they lack unconditional empathy for suffering animals and people in the world, and as a result the suffering goes on because they keep silent and do nothing to help.
 
They may exhibit some of these things, but they are mostly selective to certain things and places, such as in church.
 
They are not really living in the heavenly will of God.
 
Those who are truly born again, those who are being one with God, have a constant lovingkindness that extends to the whole of God’s creation: to every other human being without exception, to every animal without exception, and to the environment in which we all live.
 
This is also one of the ways we can discern which people are truly being one with God.
 
And just in case anyone has any doubts about being one with God, let’s take a look at what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.

14. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Paul is explaining why so many people who live in the ways of the world have trouble understanding spiritual things; these are the people he calls “natural”, most likely because there were so many of them in the world, just as there are today.
 
The world is carnal and not spiritual, and until we are willing to repent and reject the ways of this world and rise above them, we cannot sense or understand the spiritual realm that is all around us.
 
This also explains why so many people are indifferent to the suffering of animals, for it is the way of the natural world.

15. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.

When we allow our physical self to also become a spiritual being, and are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, God gives us the ability to understand things as God does.
 
This is also when we begin to feel the pain and suffering of all the animals and humans who are exploited by the “natural” people of this world who continue to corrupt creation.
 
Hopefully, this is also when we begin to speak out, and do everything in our power to free creation from its present corruption.
 
This is when we are being one with God.
 
Do you still have any doubts?
 
Paul explains why we shouldn’t

16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
NASB

Perhaps out of respect, we would not instruct God, but we should be able to know the mind of the Lord, because we have the mind of Christ.
 
Being one with God is what Paul is assuring us that we can be.
 
Amen.

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