No human religion, no philosophy, no works that natural man can do will ever

give him fellowship with the Father or Righteousness which makes it possible for
him to stand in the Father's presence without Sin Consciousness. In other words,
no man can have fellowship with the Father and be free from Sin Consciousness
until he is a New Creation, until he becomes the righteousness of God in Christ.
But the instant a man is Born Again, he becomes the Righteousness of God in
Christ. Then he has fellowship with the Father. He can stand in the Father's
presence as though he had never sinned. The Church His Body Possessing
Righteousness Eph. 1:4, "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him: in love having
marked us out for the position of sons." (Literal Translation). This is God's
declaration that, in this present life, He planned we should be holy and without
blemish before Him. This is not after we die, but today. That holiness and beauty
of life is all of grace, not of ourselves. The only thing we do is receive it, accept it
with joy. Eph. 5:25 speaking of Christ and the church, and using marriage as an
illustration says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by
the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should
be holy and without blemish." He does not say that the church is going to be a
conqueror after it gets to heaven, but that it is a conqueror now. It is not going to
be sanctified after it gets to heaven but now. It is not going to be cleansed by the
washing of the Word after it gets to heaven but now. The Word is the thing that
brings knowledge. The ignorance of the church about the Bible is appalling. It is
because of textual preaching. The exposition of the Word makes men spiritual. It
makes them hungry for the Word so that they study the Word for themselves.
This church "without spot or wrinkle" is the church that has been cleansed
through the Word of God. It is not cleansed by prayer only but by the Word. It is
the Spirit that uses the Word to build the life of Christ into us. Col. 1 :21-22 gives
us another picture of the church. "And you, being in time past alienated and
enemies in your mind in your evil works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body
of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and
unreprovable before him." This is a beautiful picture of the recreated bodyreconciled, holy, without blemish, without reproof, standing before the Father,
not only clothed in the Righteousness of Christ but actually partakers of His
Righteousness. This is a photo of our present walk in Christ. Eph. 4:23-24, "That
ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God
hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth." This New Creation is
created out of Righteousness. Righteousness is the nature of the Father God. We
have partaken of that Righteousness-that nature of God. We are to put on the
conduct of the new man in our daily life. We are no longer to talk like the old
man. The old man lived in failure, in selfishness, in greed, in fear. The new man
lives in the fullness of love. He is Jesus-like -dominated by heaven and heaven's
sweet spirit. The old creation and the new are as far apart as God and Satan.
Heb. 13:20-21, "Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the
great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord
Jesus, make you perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in us that

which is well pleasing in his sight." It is the purpose of the risen Christ to "make
us perfect in every good thing to do His will." It is His business to work in us His
own good pleasure, making us beautiful in the sight of the Father