Christ vs. Religion

John 14:9-10
He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.

Hebrews 1:1-3
God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son, whom He appointed Heir of all things, through whom also He made the universe; Who, being the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance and upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Religion has existed almost as long as man has existed.  Man was created in the image and likeness of God for the purpose of expressing God with the life and nature of God.  But Satan – the source of religion – with his own life and nature, convinced, deceived, and enslaved man into expressing God "without" the life and nature of God.  Hence, "Religion" was born – a counterfeit expression of God – something that "looks like" God, but actually is "not" God, only an "imitation" of God, hence a “replacement” of God.  Since man looks like God, he has the innate capability of expressing God, but even so without God. This, my friend, is the "Great Deception" – Religion – man's independent endeavour by his own good nature and by his own diligent efforts, and even through the works of biblical law, to please and express God (Gal. 3:1-5).  The structure and purpose of Religion is thus equal to the desire of God’s enemy, Satan – to Replace God!!!  There was and is therefore the need for "another Man" – Jesus Christ – the Only Man who is well pleasing to God because He Himself is the reality and manifestation of God in the flesh (Eph 3:19; Col. 1:19; 2:9; John 1:1,14; 1 Tim. 3:16), and as the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17).  Christ accomplished and finished all of God’s desire and purpose while He was on the earth (John 19:30) so that He could redeem man, save man, enter man, become one with man in life and in nature, thus forming the Body of Christ, the church, for the complete and universal expression of the eternal God in all His multifarious dimensions.  And this, my friend, is the Great Mystery – Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32).

How then are we to live up to such a high standard, or participate in such a high purpose?  First of all, if the Scriptures did not explain and reveal Christ as the only true source, essence and purpose of human life and of the genuine Christian life, we would have no idea what kind of life this is, nor would we realize our need to receive and experience this life, let alone live and manifest such a life in our daily walk.  The pattern for us to follow, to experience and to live such a divine and heavenly life on earth was established by the life that Jesus lived during His years on earth.  The four Gospels show us that the Lord lived a life absolutely outside of religion, culture, and philosophy.  In His living, He was purely and wholly occupied with and by the Father.  He was not occupied in the least by the counterfeit elements of religion, culture, philosophy, habit, custom, or tradition.  His entire inner being was fully involved with God the Father.  Therefore, He could live a life that was free from the influence of religious, cultural, and philosophical things.  When the Lord Jesus spoke, God the Father was spoken forth.  Whatever the Lord Jesus did was the expression of a certain attribute of the Father.  His life was the full expression of the divine life.  In His living on earth, Jesus lived in the Father, by the Father, with the Father, unto the Father, and thus He expressed the Father in every way.

If we live according to this Pattern – Christ in us – we shall give up, and even reject, all of the religious, cultural, and philosophical things that so easily persuade us to live a counterfeit life, a life that looks like God yet without the reality of God, a life which has its source in things that are related to God, yet separate from God.  If we genuinely open our hearts and come to the true and only Source of eternal life – Jesus Christ – He will enable us and empower us in the simplicity of His life to live according to His pattern (John 5:39-40; 6:57; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 3:10-21; Phil. 3:7-14,17; 1 John 4:9) so that from one degree to another our life may become a reflection of His glory (2 Cor. 3:18).  We shall also count all things as loss on account of Christ (Phil. 3:7-9), including the things of our religious concepts, habits, customs, traditions, desires and goals so that we could rather gain Christ, grow in Christ, live Christ, testify Christ, and be fully occupied by Christ and by Christ alone in all His fullness unto all His glory.

Jesus Christ is the embodiment and fullness of God and has nothing to do with the dead and empty practices, rituals and traditions of religion. Christ came into this world as the wonderful Savior, a real and living Person who loves us, seeks us and finds us in many desperate situations and gives us what religion cannot give us – eternal love, eternal life, eternal hope, eternal joy, eternal glory, and all this through the eternal Spirit. While religion may use us and treat us heartlessly and with no remorse, Christ has a heart always full of love, compassion and encouragement for all who ask of Him. Even when religion seems to treat us so good and so kind, this does not necessarily lead us into the reality of God. There is only One who is good – God (Matt. 19:17) – and there is only One who is the “reality” of God, who “manifests” God, who is the “way” to God, and who actually “is” God – the Man Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14; 14:6;
1 Tim. 2:5; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:8).

Galatians 1:6-8, 11-12
I marvel that you are so quickly removing from Him who has called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another gospel, only there are some who trouble you and desire to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But if even we or an angel out of heaven should announce to you a gospel beyond that which we have announced to you, let him be accursed.   For I make known to you, brothers, concerning the gospel announced by me, that it is not according to man.  For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:1-3, 5
O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed crucified?  This only I wish to learn from you, did you receive the Spirit out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?   He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?