How so that he won't be challenged within himself and that by temptation?
The best I can do at the moment is agree that from our vantage point, testing and trial appears to require some unknown to be made known - to us, at least. But lest we lose sight of God's role in it all, what we believe about His understanding is very critical :
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Genesis 22:11-12
Did God have to learn something here?
. . .building on it by what instructions, taught by who?
Ultimately, the answer is the Holy Spirit - but not in a vacuum. Not in isolation.
That is an opinion, to be sure. Unless "abiding", as Jesus puts it, happens instantaneously, then the whole thing is up for grabs.
Only in outright denial, I am coming to believe.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
2 Timothy 2:12-13
The one who wants to be identified with Christ - once converted - will not deny him. He may well fail, but will not deny Him. Peter shows evidence of that (and even with his denial, Jesus did not cast him aside).
What can be the difference since being changed, as we speak of it , connotes a progressiveness.
I agree that we are being changed into His image. But the new creation itself is born instantaneously. The work is immediate, the outworking over time.
If radical, it will never be microcosm evidence.
I only meant that the example of forgiveness and its impact on the one who forgives is a microcosm of the new birth.
Yes, however, there can be no "resting on one's laurels". The test will most certainly, come again.
No doubt it will, but short of a radical internal change, the test will never be passed. And the success or failure experienced in any such test is proportional to one's trust in God to deliver. But unless someone has totally turned their backs on God, then there is something that will ultimately be salvaged in their lives (even if being saved "so as by fire"). I don't believe someone truly born again will ever buckle under the pressure of too many, too difficult tests. It would reflect at least as much on the faithfulness of God as the perseverance of man.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
I Corinthians 10:13
Bear in mind that that verse is written in the context of a "take heed". If any man thinks they stand then they are, more than likely, placing undue trust in the natural man. Such a person is ripe for correction. If they are born again, the correction will work in them that which God desires. If not, it may only serve to bring forth the inevitable denial of God.
Ironically, "if any man thinks he stands" could easily apply to the OSAS crowd. In that sense, I could see them being set up by deception - and I also now see how it is not the same as the "perseverance of the saints" doctrine.
Do you know any who now live their lives "unto" God?
I am not the judge of a man's life before God. I can judge fruit, certainly, but when you are talking about the difference between "for", "unto" and even "in", that requires discernment of often hidden motives. Hebrews 4:12 makes it clear, I think, that God does that with us personally but doesn't necessarily share that knowledge with others. It will eventually come out, but before it does (judge nothing before the time), it would only be a guess.
Having said all that, if were to look around and use what discernment I have (be it none or some), I would have to admit that I would think there are a handful I know that could be said to be living "unto" God. Could I be wrong? Yes.
And failure produces another. Why do you suppose they rejected at the outset?
Not sure I follow your thought here. What do you mean by failure? Who is rejected at the outset? Those that still wear filthy garments?
. . . and by their death will it be solidified.
Yes. Though I would say that the death involved in taking up one's cross need not always be martyrdom. So those that truly die to self have solidified something spiritually that will only be confirmed when they die.
That is already here on TOL.
Many have the indwelling. Few know that abiding is the key __ thanks to religion.
While I would agree, one cannot abide in one's own strength (in any sense of the word). Otherwise we end up holding on for dear life through the storms instead of resting in Christ. So I don't see the abiding as a challenge to remain but as a challenge to persevere in sanctification (more or less, anyway...). Continued submission. The key element in sin that destroys is pride. It is the very sin of Satan.
