03-10-2008, 01:46 AM
L E S S O N 15
“I Must Decrease” – The Beginning
Now we want to turn our attention to The Second Universal Spiritual
Principle, the Law of Decrease, found in the second half of John 3:30:
“I must decrease.” Just like the Law of Increase, the Law of Decrease
also has a beginning, a process, a goal, and an instrument through which the
decreasing is accomplished. We’ll look at each of these as we proceed. Right
now, let’s look at the beginning of the decreasing.
When I teach the Theology of Everything I find that almost everyone is
enthusiastic about the increasing of Christ and they have no problem accepting it as
a reality. It is the decreasing of Self that people find difficult to accept. And a lot
of them want to know, why is decreasing necessary?
It is necessary because there is something in this Universe that resists God’s
Purpose of filling all things in Christ. It does not want to see the increase of Christ.
It actively resists God’s Will and struggles to maintain its own preeminence. It is
terrified of Jesus having absolute Lordship because it wants to be a king in a
kingdom of its own making.
Now, most Christians would say that this thing that resists God’s Purpose is the
devil – but that’s only partially correct. The Scriptures do declare that there is a
spirit of Antichrist fighting against God and God’s people. At the same time, the
Scriptures present satan as a defeated enemy who only has as much power as we
permit him to have. The real enemy is not “out there” at all. The real enemy is
much closer to home, and while the devil is already defeated, this enemy has yet to
be conquered.
What really prevents the increase of Christ is Self. The Law of Decrease
specifically says “I” am in the way – not the devil. It does not say anything about
the devil because the devil is not the issue. In order for Christ to be increased, the
“I”, the Self, must be decreased. Just as the increase of Christ must take place, so
the decrease of me must happen. The measure of the increase of Jesus is directly
related to the measure of the decrease of me.
Different Christian authors have, over the last two thousand years, described this
process of decreasing. Some call it dying to Self. Some call it the Dark Night of
the Soul. Some call it the crucified life. Some call it brokenness. I like to call it
being reduced to Christ. All these different words and phrases are essentially
describing the same thing. It is the practical application of John 3:30: “He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
This decreasing is part of God’s purpose because it paves the way for the increase
of Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is Lord, that He is Head over all things and
that all things are beneath His feet. But in Hebrews 2:8 the Bible says, “We do not
yet see all things submitted to Him.” If Jesus is Lord, why don’t we see all things
submitted to Him? Because all things have not yet been decreased. When a
person is decreased then Christ is increased; when a person refuses to be
decreased, Christ is unable (for the time being) to be increased in that person. In
other words, we can temporarily limit God through disobedience, pride, unbelief,
rebellion, or simply living our lives the way we want to live them instead of living
in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Now, I say a person can “temporarily” prevent Christ from increasing. This is the
condition described in Hebrews 2: “We do not YET see all things submitted to
Him.” Why not? Because, for the time being at least, there are many people,
places, and things that refuse to submit to Jesus. But the presence of the word
YET means this rebellion will not, and cannot, continue forever. Philippians 2:10,
11 says that every knee will bow – in heaven, in earth, and under the earth - and
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Remember The Second
Indisputable Fact of God’s Purpose? God will gather together all things in Christ –
things in heaven and on earth.
You see, John 3:30 says two things must happen. Jesus must increase and I must
decrease. The Law of Increase begins with the revelation of Christ, while The Law
of Decrease begins with the revelation of Self. When God wishes to increase
Christ, He begins by revealing Christ to us. When God wishes to decrease Self, He
begins by revealing Self to us. Knowing Christ leads to the increase of Christ.
Knowing Self – truly knowing ourselves – leads to the decrease of Self.
The Bible says in Philippians 3:21 that Jesus is able to subdue all things unto
Himself. Isn’t that a wonderful verse? But how is this accomplished? We’ll
discuss how this works in our next lesson – the Process of Decreasing.
QUIZ
Lesson 15 – “I Must Decrease” – The Beginning
1. The Law of Decrease is based upon the second half of John 3:30, which states that
a) Jesus must decrease
b) I must increase
c) I must decrease
2. There is something in this universe that always resists the increase of Christ. Although this
resistance takes on many different identities, the real barrier to the increase of Christ is
a) the devil
b) the world
c) the Self
3. Hebrews 2:8 says, “We do not YET see all things submitted to Him.” This means that
a) one day we WILL see all things submitted to Him
b) we will never see all things submitted to Him
c) we need to teach on submission more often
4. The Decrease of Self begins with
a) the revelation of Christ
b) the revelation of Self
c) the revelation of end-times prophecy
“I Must Decrease” – The Beginning
Now we want to turn our attention to The Second Universal Spiritual
Principle, the Law of Decrease, found in the second half of John 3:30:
“I must decrease.” Just like the Law of Increase, the Law of Decrease
also has a beginning, a process, a goal, and an instrument through which the
decreasing is accomplished. We’ll look at each of these as we proceed. Right
now, let’s look at the beginning of the decreasing.
When I teach the Theology of Everything I find that almost everyone is
enthusiastic about the increasing of Christ and they have no problem accepting it as
a reality. It is the decreasing of Self that people find difficult to accept. And a lot
of them want to know, why is decreasing necessary?
It is necessary because there is something in this Universe that resists God’s
Purpose of filling all things in Christ. It does not want to see the increase of Christ.
It actively resists God’s Will and struggles to maintain its own preeminence. It is
terrified of Jesus having absolute Lordship because it wants to be a king in a
kingdom of its own making.
Now, most Christians would say that this thing that resists God’s Purpose is the
devil – but that’s only partially correct. The Scriptures do declare that there is a
spirit of Antichrist fighting against God and God’s people. At the same time, the
Scriptures present satan as a defeated enemy who only has as much power as we
permit him to have. The real enemy is not “out there” at all. The real enemy is
much closer to home, and while the devil is already defeated, this enemy has yet to
be conquered.
What really prevents the increase of Christ is Self. The Law of Decrease
specifically says “I” am in the way – not the devil. It does not say anything about
the devil because the devil is not the issue. In order for Christ to be increased, the
“I”, the Self, must be decreased. Just as the increase of Christ must take place, so
the decrease of me must happen. The measure of the increase of Jesus is directly
related to the measure of the decrease of me.
Different Christian authors have, over the last two thousand years, described this
process of decreasing. Some call it dying to Self. Some call it the Dark Night of
the Soul. Some call it the crucified life. Some call it brokenness. I like to call it
being reduced to Christ. All these different words and phrases are essentially
describing the same thing. It is the practical application of John 3:30: “He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
This decreasing is part of God’s purpose because it paves the way for the increase
of Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is Lord, that He is Head over all things and
that all things are beneath His feet. But in Hebrews 2:8 the Bible says, “We do not
yet see all things submitted to Him.” If Jesus is Lord, why don’t we see all things
submitted to Him? Because all things have not yet been decreased. When a
person is decreased then Christ is increased; when a person refuses to be
decreased, Christ is unable (for the time being) to be increased in that person. In
other words, we can temporarily limit God through disobedience, pride, unbelief,
rebellion, or simply living our lives the way we want to live them instead of living
in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Now, I say a person can “temporarily” prevent Christ from increasing. This is the
condition described in Hebrews 2: “We do not YET see all things submitted to
Him.” Why not? Because, for the time being at least, there are many people,
places, and things that refuse to submit to Jesus. But the presence of the word
YET means this rebellion will not, and cannot, continue forever. Philippians 2:10,
11 says that every knee will bow – in heaven, in earth, and under the earth - and
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Remember The Second
Indisputable Fact of God’s Purpose? God will gather together all things in Christ –
things in heaven and on earth.
You see, John 3:30 says two things must happen. Jesus must increase and I must
decrease. The Law of Increase begins with the revelation of Christ, while The Law
of Decrease begins with the revelation of Self. When God wishes to increase
Christ, He begins by revealing Christ to us. When God wishes to decrease Self, He
begins by revealing Self to us. Knowing Christ leads to the increase of Christ.
Knowing Self – truly knowing ourselves – leads to the decrease of Self.
The Bible says in Philippians 3:21 that Jesus is able to subdue all things unto
Himself. Isn’t that a wonderful verse? But how is this accomplished? We’ll
discuss how this works in our next lesson – the Process of Decreasing.
QUIZ
Lesson 15 – “I Must Decrease” – The Beginning
1. The Law of Decrease is based upon the second half of John 3:30, which states that
a) Jesus must decrease
b) I must increase
c) I must decrease
2. There is something in this universe that always resists the increase of Christ. Although this
resistance takes on many different identities, the real barrier to the increase of Christ is
a) the devil
b) the world
c) the Self
3. Hebrews 2:8 says, “We do not YET see all things submitted to Him.” This means that
a) one day we WILL see all things submitted to Him
b) we will never see all things submitted to Him
c) we need to teach on submission more often
4. The Decrease of Self begins with
a) the revelation of Christ
b) the revelation of Self
c) the revelation of end-times prophecy
