Cleansing the Inside of the Cup
Cleansing the
Inside of the Cup
By: Jay Wilson
CLEANSING THE INSIDE OF THE CUP
“Helping Christians transform good intentions into living practice”
Preface
In the realm of the spiritual, there are certain laws - cause and effect relationships - which are just as true and inviolate as the laws of physical science. The law of gravity, the laws of thermodynamics, and a host of other rules govern the physical universe for which there are no exceptions, and no recourse other than to submit to their governing. But the same God who causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, who applies His laws indiscriminately to the material universe, also has spiritual laws which are justly and unflinchingly imposed upon the race of men. Hence it is, that whatever a man sows, this he also reaps.
The Christian needs to thoughtfully consider the implication of God’s application of His spiritual laws. “Do not be deceived,” God says four times to His children of faith; and in each of those four statements God makes it clear that He will not suspend His spiritual truths to the children of favor, or grace. The message is clear: either the Christian can find himself continually beat down by running afoul of the objects in spiritual orbit; or he can humbly submit to the spiritual order of things, and find himself excitedly following the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
What the believer in Christ of today seems to need is an understanding: first, of the “theory” - the general picture painted by God’s mighty outstretched hand; and second, of the “mechanics” of implementing God’s picture in his own life. The following pages, in an attempt to meet these needs, will focus the Christian’s attention on the brilliance of the resurrected Christ, and then help him draw rays of practical strength from that glory. In the process he will learn a powerful and important lesson: the difference between the law and the faith. The believer will be able to understand why the gospel succeeds where the old covenant failed, and how to apply the principles of the new and living way to the assistance and edification of others.
But we all need to hearken to the words of Jesus to the Pharisees: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean also” (Matthew 23:25,26). The covenant of Christ is powerfully designed to drive its truths deep into the inner man, so that change in behavior and character is real, flows naturally, and is not merely cosmetic. The goal is that we “may prove [ourselves] to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom [we] appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). And may every bit of positive performance redound to the glory of God through the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Chapter 1 - Imaging and Change
“For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7)
Treasure In The Inner Man
It has been stated that man’s three pound brain is the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the entire universe. This packet of nerve cells has not only been wonderfully designed by the Creator to serve as the control center and switchboard for all the functions and operations of the body; but it also contains the machinery for the complex mediation among the body, soul, and spirit of the individual. And we have no more comprehension of how love and fear, or right and wrong spring from the brain’s elaborate electrochemistry than we do of how the seed sprouts up and grows. But, although we may not know the details of the brain’s minute toggle-switch operations, we know much about the usage of our God-given “user friendly” computer. With help from above, and direction from the scripture, we can change our thinking and perform at the joyous high levels which our Father expects from us.
To make consistently permanent changes in our lives which are in accordance with the will of God is going to require an understanding of certain powerful scriptural precepts. To begin to comprehend the power and mechanism of the gospel of God, let’s begin with a schematic representation of the human mind. As we append precepts from the word of God, we shall better understand the importance of proper imaging for improved performance, and how real changes can be accomplished in our lives.
I have chosen to depict the mind somewhat like a wide-mouthed vase with a small neck, the bulk of the vase representing, in modern vernacular, the subconscious mind. It is easy to see that people are like icebergs - it is the 90% below the surface which can not be seen that is dangerous! The important point is that any mechanism for helping us to change must be powerful enough to punch through the conscious mind and be driven deeply into the subconscious, or inner man. As Peter exhorted Christian women to win their husbands over by chaste and respectful behavior, he indicated in passing where the character of the woman really is: “Let it be the hidden person of the heart” (I Peter 3:4).
It has been well said that what a person is under pressure is what he really is. When the fiery trial strikes, the buffer of the conscious mind is temporarily stripped away. Then the individual acts in accordance with the deeply rooted habits and attitudes of his real character. As our Lord Jesus said, “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man brings forth what is evil. And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned” (Matthew 12:33-37). Over all, the heart and the mouth say the same things; the treasure, which is in the inner man, overflows. That is why the individual is called to account for the “careless word.” The careless word is the indication of the current condition of the inner man.
At this point many say, “If what I am under pressure indicates what I really am, I am in trouble. Show me how to change.” Patience, my friend. We need to look more deeply into imaging, and the all-important principle expressed in the opening quote, “As [a man] thinks within himself; so he is.”
Deep inside each person is an inner picture, the “self image.” This image is so controlling that the individual consistently acts in accordance with that picture; he is internally consistent even though he may appear eccentric to everyone else. As Jesus said, “The good man out of his good treasure brings forth that which is good; and the evil man brings forth what is evil.” The good man is good because his “treasure” is good.
If a man views himself as a failure, he must fail. We have known people who have failed at almost everything in life. One of these men finally is hired at a good paying job. At first the individual does well, and others around are saying, “At last he’s going to make it.” Then pressure begins to mount, and our man does something or says something which gets him fired from the position. As he kicks himself halfway across town and back, he says, “Why did I do that idiotic thing?” What our man does not realize is that as long as he views himself as a failure, he must fail. When he starts to succeed, that success is not consistent with his inner picture, and he must unconsciously do something to fail. “As he thinks within himself; so he is.”
Correspondingly, in the general course of affairs, if a man views himself as a success, he must succeed. We have known people who have generally achieved their goals, and have a steady stream of accomplishments to their account. Then a situation arises where one of these individuals is pitted against “impossible odds.” Others around are saying, “The score is finally going to be evened; he’s going down in flames this time.” But our man reaches deep within himself; finds the necessary resources, and somehow “pulls it off.” And those others are now saying, “He gets all the breaks.”
There is a poem which expresses this general truth:
Success
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you would like to win, but you think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
(Anonymous)
Continued success will not occur without the blessing of God. As the psalmist says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1). And as wise Solomon again noted, “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
Against that cautionary backdrop, what our man realizes is that as long as he views himself as a success, he must succeed. Should he start to fail, it would be inconsistent with his inner picture, and he would unconsciously do something to succeed. “As he thinks within himself, so is he.”
It is clear, then, that the key to upgrading performance and behavior is to find the mechanism for changing the inner picture to cleanse the inside of the cup so that good fruit can flow naturally from the good treasure. Hence we move to the only mechanism found in scripture which will accomplish the desired change: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
God always works through our minds to accomplish His purpose. Prophetically looking to the time of the New Testament, God spoke through Isaiah, “Come now, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). In our lost condition He reasons with us about our sins. Following our entrance into Christ, God still continues to work with our minds. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” said He.
One of the best ways to understand how the transformation process occurs is to compare the mind to a computer. In fact, computers are extremely simple reflections of the human mind. There is an expression from the world of computers which really illustrates our point: GIGO - “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” If you put “garbage” - falsified data, for example into the computer, you are going to get “garbage” results, regardless of wonderful software and powerful computer memory banks. The same principle applies to the mind of the Christian: GIGO - “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” Or, positively, “Good stuff In, Good stuff Out.” The renewing process, then, is simply a systematic program of putting “Good stuff In” so that “Good stuff Out” automatically follows. In fact, we could say that the transformation process occurs by reprogramming the mind.
But there are some important lessons to be learned from the word of God in regard to what steps to take in reprogramming or renewing the mind. The mind is so powerful that whatever it locks in on, for good or for evil, that is where the individual must inevitably “end up.” So we must pay close attention to three important principles to ensure that we arrive at our proper destination, instead of someplace exactly opposite.
Change Through Present, Positive, Affirmative
One technique for change that I have used on myself and helped others to use involves index cards. By writing a certain statement on this index card, and reading this statement out loud 12 times every morning and 12 times every evening for minimum of 2l days, men and women can acquire a characteristic, quality, or habit which they want to possess. People have overcome sexual problems, drugs, alcohol, and weight problems through the use of this simple but powerful repetitious process. Remember, the only mechanism the word of God provides for change is this renewing process.
But in this repetitious process, there are three important factors: present, positive, affirmative.
Present
One common mistake people make in trying to change is to speak to themselves in the future tense. “I am going to lose weight,” or “I am going to start saving money, “ are common expressions. But they fail to produce long-term change in behavior.
The inner man - the subconscious mind - accepts words literally. Hence, if it is told repetitiously that it is going to do something, it accepts the programming that in the near future it is going to begin this new habit. The problem is that tomorrow never comes; the future, like the rainbow, continually moves just out of reach.
For change to occur, all repetition must be stated in the present tense. “I am,” and “I do,” are the words which must appear on the index cards, or in the phrases repeated day after day. The individual must view himself as already possessing the quality which he intends to make his own
.
This powerful principle of using the present tense comes to us in general terms from the word of God. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature,” says the scripture. “The old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (II Corinthians 5:17). The idea expressed is not that the Christian will become a new creature, but that he already is! “He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me,” stated Jesus, “has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). Many times, and in many ways, God’s word tells the Christian that he really already possesses certain qualities; the Holy Spirit speaks in the present tense.