Rom 9/11/77, 11/3/77

DOCTRINE OF RETROACTIVE POSITIONAL TRUTH

A. Definition and Description.

1. Retroactive positional truth is identification with Christ in His two deaths and burial through the mechanics of the baptism of the Spirit.

2. Identification with Christ in His death includes both His spiritual death and physical death. 3. The spiritual death of Christ on the cross is related to the judicial imputation of all personal sins, which is the basis for salvation. This is efficacious substitutionary atonement. 4. However, the emphasis in retroactive positional truth is on what was not imputed to Christ on the cross: our human good and evil.

5. In the spiritual death of Christ, both human good and evil were rejected from judgment by the justice of God. They were also separated from Christ’s efficacious sacrifice. Being identified with Christ, we have positionally rejected and been separated from human good and evil.

a. Intensification of human good results in evil.

b. Certain sins can be parlayed into evil.

c. Evil destroys the moral fiber of a people, so that they are unwilling to fight for freedom. Thus a nation is destroyed from within before they are destroyed from without.

d. When freedom, the establishment protection against human good and sin, and doctrine, the spiritual protection against human good and sin, are gone, then sin and human good are parlayed into evil.

e. While sin was being judged, Christ was rejecting human good or evil as the solution to the problem between God and man.

6. Human good and evil have a dual function. They are both the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature which rules our life.

7. Through retroactive positional truth the believer is separated from good and evil positionally, so that the rulership of Satan and the sovereignty of the old sin nature are broken positionally.

8. Therefore, retroactive positional truth coupled with current positional truth is the basis for abrogating the sovereignty of the old sin nature ruling human life by means of spiritual death. And at the same time, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (the mechanics for retroactive positional truth and current positional truth) establishes the sovereignty of the Lord in the life of the believer.

B. The principle of retroactive positional truth is related to two formula’s of blessing from the justice of God, Rom 5:12-17.

1. Potential one plus capacity equals reality of blessing in time, (P1 + C = BT). Potential two plus capacity equals reality of encapsulated environment (P2 + C = EE).

2. The first potential, P1, is the imputation of God’s perfect righteousness at salvation and subsequent justification.

3. Capacity, C, is maximum Bible doctrine resident in the soul through the daily metabolization of doctrine.

4. The reality of blessing in time is the imputation of our escrow blessing to us at the point of spiritual maturity.

5. The second potential, P2, is the baptism of the Spirit with its resultant retroactive positional truth.

6. The second capacity is still maximum doctrine in the soul.

7. The second reality is the reality of an encapsulated environment, a grace environment for the enjoyment of our escrow blessings, regardless of the historical environment. We have total security with regard to the blessings and the environment in which to enjoy those blessings. This is an even better situation than in the Garden of Eden, where the blessing could be and eventually were lost by man.

C. Retroactive positional truth is part of the believer’s completeness in Christ, Col 2:9-12. 1. The believer is positionally separated from good and evil through retroactive positional truth.

2. Retroactive positional truth is also rejection of good and evil as the function of the old sin nature.

3. Through current positional truth the believer is positionally higher than angels. You are perfect positionally. Now we must bring our experience to the point of our position in Christ.

4. The believer’s completeness in Christ has broken the power of Satan and the old sin nature.

D. The believer’s mental attitude is related to retroactive positional truth, Col 3:1-4. You are to concentrate on your perfect position in Christ. Retroactive positional truth is designed to make you think and think objectively.

E. Retroactive positional truth breaks the power of the old sin nature as the ruler of human life, Rom 6:1-5. We have rejected, been separated from and divorced from the old sin nature. Therefore our ex-husband no longer has any authority over us. V.5, “If you have become intimately united to the likeness of His death [and you have],...”

F. Summary.

1. Retroactive positional truth is identification with Christ in His spiritual and physical death, and in His burial.

2. Identification with Christ in His spiritual death emphasizes the non-imputation of good and evil, hence, the rejection of good and evil as the policy of Satan, and as the function of the old sin nature.

3. Identification with Christ in His physical death and burial connotes separation from good and evil, therefore, abrogation of both Satan’s power and authority, as well as the old sin nature’s trends in its power and authority. _____________________________________________________________________________

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