Randy is going OffTheChain. It took a while but God has revealed to me what Freedom really means.
And ye shall Know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you Free. - Joh 8:32
I thought this meant Freedom from Sin. And it does. Then I thought it meant Freedom from Guilt. And it does. Then I thought it meant Freedom from Fear. And it does. What was I missing?
The Freedom that Christ brings to a person is Freedom from everything. What about God? It can't make you Free from God, can it?
It makes you Free in God!
What does that mean?
It means you are Supernaturally connected with God (actually you are in Christ who is in God) such that your Thoughts and Words are consistent with His Thoughts and Words.
OffTheChain is having the MindOfChrist!
Christ Jesus was constrained only by the Words and Actions His Father willed Him to Speak and do.
Jesus was not constrained by Religion, by tradition, by convention, by Sin, by Sickness, by Nature or any other thing than the Will of the Father. Even that was not a constraint because that was the only thing He wanted to do!
Yes, Jesus was OffTheChain. And so, He corrected the Pharisees. He forgave Sin. He Healed the Sick. He raised the Dead. He fed the multitudes. He walked on water. He calmed the seas. He rose from the Dead!
To be OffTheChain you must recognize the chain.
Jesus had so prepared Himself so that He had the MindOfChrist. Jesus is Christ, you say. Yes, because He gave Himself over to serve the HolySpirit which is Christ. In so doing He became Christ.
No, this is not just semantics. Jesus was fully man. He was the SonOfMan - God in the Flesh. But that Physical body of God had to be filled with the Spirit of God in order to be God. And Jesus was filled and He was and is Christ.
So, since Christ means "annointed one" the MindOfChrist is the Mind of "the Annointing" and the Annointing is the HolySpirit who is God.
Let's get back to the chains...
Jesus was concerned only with how people saw God in Him. He was not concerned with the other norms of Society.
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men Say that I the Son of man Am?
And they said, Some Say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom Say ye that I Am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for Flesh and Blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven. - Mat 16:13-17
So, we see that Jesus was excited by Peter's recognition of Him.
There is no record that Jesus was ever proud of being a Jew, a Pharisee, a carpenter, a citizen, a son, a brother or anything else.
All of those positions carry chains and He was OffTheChain.
To clarify...
If you were a Jew, you hung our with Jews and segregated yourself from Romans and Samaritans, etc. Otherwise, you caught grief from other Jews.
This same argument can be made for being a Pharisee.
If Jesus had identified as a carpenter He would have segregated Himself socially from those above and below His station.
If Jesus had identified as a citizen of Nazareth He would have segregated himself from people from southern Judea.
If Jesus had identified as a son or brother He would have been constrained by thoughts like: "What would my family think?" or "How will this affect my family?"
Thankfully, Jesus was OffTheChain. He said and did things that offended nearly everyone before His Death. But He did the Will of the Father!
Being OffTheChain to accomplish your selfish desires is exactly what Satan did. He went OffTheChain and defied God.
So, be clear on this point: The Freedom of Christ is the Freedom to be constrained by the Will of God which is expressed by His Word and the HolySpirit. When you attain the MindOfChrist there will be no conflict with the Word and the HolySpirit as you find yourself in total agreement with them.