I am one of the many who have agreed with God that Jesus Christ is his son who lived on earth in a human body, was killed, was buried and was raised from the dead to make the truth about himself and his children clear to those of us spirits living in human bodies on earth. I am one of a minority of the spirits living on earth in a human body at the moment (though I do not know how many of us there are on earth at the moment) who obey God in thinking that he has granted me this faith in Jesus Christ to let me know that though I have offended and made him angry enough to kill me by disagreeing with and disobeying him he has not only forgiven me and spared my life, but intends to save me from disagreeing with and disobeying him by giving me his spirit, the spirit he gave Jesus Christ. So due solely to the kindness of God I not only get to live forever, but I get to think and live like God! This is very good news to me!
Contrary to what most people believe (and what I once believed), faith is the evidence of God’s approval and not the means to it. We don’t get saved by God from God for doing or believing anything. We believe in Jesus because we have been saved from God by God. His anger at mankind is tempered by his love for his children.
Furthermore, contrary to what most people who call themselves Christians believe, Jesus Christ did not die for our sins against God so that those who believe in him could “go to heaven” after living on earth any way they choose. Jesus Christ, in willing obedience to his Father and for the joy God set before him, came to earth in a human body, lived and died in a human body, was buried and brought his human body back to life to demonstrate the power of thinking like and obeying God while in these bodies. Those who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins but not for the power to obey God like Jesus believe in Jesus in vain.
So am I perfect? Don’t be silly. Of course not. God’s belief that I am his child is perfect, but I’ve got to be trained to think like him. I’m still learning what is true of my Father, my Lord, and my family. But on account of being in this body and thinking like a mere mortal for so long, I sometimes lose sight of the truth of who I am and give in to the temptation to think like I once did. But it doesn’t last long because I get disciplined for it. One of the greatest assurances that I am God’s child is that I get disciplined for thinking like a mere mortal. I’m even right for agreeing with God when I’m wrong! God will not tolerate his children’s disagreement with and disobedience to him. He wants children like himself, and that’s what he’ll have. Thank God!
My older brother, the Apostle Paul put the matter of his own perfection like this: “It’s not that I’ve already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus. Whoever has a mature faith should think this way. And if you think differently, God will show you how to think. However, we should be guided by what we have learned so far.” (The Apostle Paul, Philippians Chapter 3.12-16, God’ s Word)