Obeying Completely, Respectfully, Immediately, and Joyfully

By Gary Cox, reprinted from December 1996 Newsletter

Obedience involves discipline. Willful obedience  means from the bottom of our heart, with all that is within us, we delight to do thy will O God. Willful obedience is the means by which we can have joy in life.

         In terms of a fundamental principal, you can have obedience in the third dimension or you can have obedience in the fourth dimension. When we talk about three dimension we are talking about that which is visible and can be experienced and determined through our senses in the physical world. Fourth dimension obedience is perceived beyond the third dimension and includes the spiritual dimension which encompasses everything from the heavenly reality. That is the fourth dimension.

            Let us discuss this issue of discipline from the fourth dimension.  When I am obeying in the fourth dimension this is the wonderful advantage that I have. I do not see the authority that is over me as coming from someone who is self-possessing of authority. I see that authority as representing God’s deliberate interest in my life. I see that authority in my life as God’s treasure chest for me, a very particular blessing for fruit in my life. When I look at the fourth dimension of authority, I see a treasure chest from God. Now that is real spiritual training for my soul. What happens is that freedom comes because I can now willfully obey in the third dimension.

            George Washington, one of our founding fathers, the first president of the United States, was trained to obey by a little acronym, “CRIJ”. That acronym stood for Completely, Respectfully, Immediately and Joyfully.  That is a great picture of obedience. That really is defining obedience of the fourth dimension.

            Completely  means that we cover all the bases that we are asked to cover. Incomplete obedience is the first enemy of real obedience. Nearly all of us will obey a little. We have all been conditioned toward some kind of obedience. There is always a little bit of compliance somewhere along the line. But complete obedience is covering all the bases. Making sure it is done exactly like we were asked.

            Respectfully, is probably the greatest secret to obedience. You cannot have respect in your obedience if you are looking at your obedience through just three dimensions.  Respectfully, means that I treasure the vessel of blessing that God has put over me. I treasure it because it is the gift of God in my life. The scripture text is Romans 13. All authority comes from the Father. When I am respectful in my obedience, I am respecting God. That is the secret of true obedience. It is not possible to know liberty until I know obedience built on respect for God and His gift toward me.

            Immediately, is fairly easy to both train and do except for our rebellious nature. Immediately means that I respect the time frame of what was expected of me to do. I do it within that time frame. I don’t lollygag around and drag my feet and eventually get around to it. Until you learn immediate obedience you are not learning obedience of the heavenly sort.

            The enemy of immediacy is my opinion of how important it is compared to whatever else I am doing. So, whether or not I do something immediately tells the story exactly as to whether or not I am being obedient and respecting God’s authority in my life. Remember one thing about obedience, God has chosen to give to man the moral capacity to rule his own will by his own choices. So, it lies within man to make decisions as to what he will or won’t do. Willful behavior occurs from the deliberate expression of my own intent. I act constantly according to my will. Every kind of behavior or activity is expressing and exerting my will.

            The process of walking in obedience with God is learning to take the natural sense of expression of my own will and use it as God tells me how I am supposed to function. I take my cue from God; at the moment I have opportunity I have trained myself to immediately obey.

            Joyfully is the crown. Joyfully means I have truly mastered my will and that I have said, “I delight to do thy will O’ God.” Human nature always connects a sense of joy to what it applies its will to. Here is a secret of Christian joy and this is why we disobey. We believe that there is some form of joy that our obedience to an authority is going to keep us from. In the selfish pursuit of our own joy we contend with that opportunity to obey. When I obey joyfully, I have overcome in that instance. I have overcome the temptation to use myself as a judge and a rule in a matter that God has given to another. I have embraced the merciful kindness of God in giving me direction at that point. So, I joyfully obey.

            Obey with CRIJ!