Paul said, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord". I must have read that statement a thousand times before I by the Holy Spirit, found my life in Christ, as to identification and position. Before I knew, in my Christian experience, that there was a way to apprehend my new birth outside of the old nature I had no other choice. Now however I find in the knowledge of Christ, learned by the word of God, I occupy a place far superior than the world/flesh religious place I once held. I now find myself by the will of my faith sanctified in Christ in Heaven. This new life must have an object to be perceived and the Father has given us one who is not here,not of this world. Being Sanctified in Heaven is our connection with the Lord Jesus Christ, our life in glory. Everything is now new, our life our character are all found in the object[Christ], we are separated by the Holy Spirit, outside of this world entirely. By this faith understanding I am learning to be a Biblical Christian. Now lets look at that high road of our new citizenship in Heaven.
We as Christians now are, constituted citizens of Heaven, phil. 3:20, "For our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" Note the use of the words FROM WHICH, that should alert us to our current spiritual position.. It is the lack of apprehension of this which keeps us bound up in a worldly walk. Ill admit a difficult concept, only attained by self searching, struggle, and faith.
Much of the following was inspired by my reading the writing's of C. H. Mackintosh,highly recommended! Paul whose Epistles convey most all of what we know as Christianity wrote," I through the law have died to the law ,that I might live unto God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me". The I in no longer is the old man Adam ,who is now crucified. The new I is Christ ,position /identification," and the life I NOW live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God[ heavenly position], who loved me and gave Himself for me: Gal.2:19,20. My friends this is true Christianity. It is not our old man being religious or following rules for living. These words display the death and burial of our old nature, The old I, and show us recreated in the spirit in Christ in Heaven. We have passed from the old to the new. The Bible says " For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, BUT a new creation, Gal. 6:15. In other words our form and function, religious works etc. are of no value in light of the new creation place we dwell in the Heavenly position in Christ.
Christianity is something totally new, heavenly, spiritual,divine. It is based upon the Cross, where who we are in the first Adam is completely dead, and all sin is put away, no more judgment, our old nature crucified, no longer in the sight of the Father, so far as we may be concerned. The history of the first man is closed forever, for we in our spirit have been raised with Christ, the second Adam, our new nature reveled by the Holy Spirit to our renewed minds. This sets us in our faith in Heaven where"all things are of God" hence nothing of the worldly first Adam ,our flesh!
This my friends is the lofty position you as Christians hold. There can be no other standing for a Christian to hold. We cannot enter our heavenly position by the first man ,unconverted to this truth, at least as to experience. To live this fact found in identification with Christ we must find it by the faith of our presence in the New Adam , the second man. If we are in Him we are as He is before the Father and " as He is so are we in this world". Not as He was, but as He is! We are viewed by our Heavenly Father as one with His Son,as all His favor and Love is toward the second Man. Of course He is Divine, and we are created, but never the less we are fully accepted in the Beloved; thank God.
Jesus bore all our sins, died our death, paid the judicial demand of a perfect judge, He took all our quilt, represented us in every respect in all that pertained to the Adam human nature, which by its very nature, did and will always turn from God to go its own way.. He rose from the dead and is now the federal representative and the ONLY true definition of the believer before the Father. You will find much of the evidence for this in Romans 6.
In Romans, we will find that we have died, we are buried with Him, and in Christ, raised. Our old man is totally dead by the cross and if we are dead with Christ ,sin can no longer rule in the belief system/faith of the Christian. Can we perceive the application of these truths in ourselves? We must search our heart. There is a multitude I am convinced who can profess belief in the atoning virtue of the death of the Saviour in our stead, but are held in there flesh, and have never gone beyond enjoying forgiveness of there sin. Not finding in their mind a concept of position and identification and then living in Christ as their life.
Many in my experience, never see the crucifixion, death and burial of Christ as applied to the Old man. The entire setting aside in death of the old system [Adam life, human natural understanding], there perfect identification with a dead and risen Lord." If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your MIND on the things that are above[heavenly position] NOT on the things of the earth[ Adamic man].. For you have died and you life is hidden in Christ IN God" Col. 2:20-23. Are we living in the world or in Heaven[as to conscious awareness]; by these words? What have we to do with this present evil world? For we are like Christ in the Fathers eyes." we who were once far off are made close to God by the Blood of Christ" Eph. 2:13.
We as believers are members of the citizenship of Heaven. We are Heavenly men walking the earth. As to function and form , we fulfill all the responsibilities in which the hand of the Father has placed us. We are guided in our family , church , and civic duties by His Spirit. We are heavenly spiritual people in the world , but NOT of it! As we understand our true spiritual position our condition as dwellers of the earth will be forever changed. We will be like foreigners, as to our residence here. We are now in this body, as a fact of condition, but not in the flesh as to the principal of position. We are men and women IN Christ. If this important blog work touched you, and you wish a deeper understand of Biblical position, please order a copy of William R. Newells, Romans Verse by Verse. Go directly to Romans 6 and very slowly read thru Romans 8.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
CONTINUING ON THE DIVIDED HIGHWAY
F. Scott Fitzgerald said " the test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed views in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function". It seems at times this is the difficult road I found myself on often[not able to function] when it comes to the teachings Ive heard and the application of of Biblical sanctification as learned, in my Christian understanding.
The light for me has begun to clear, I found the concept of position and its most important place in my understanding as to just what it looks like to be a sanctified Christian. I have learned by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God that my understanding of this all important aspect of my Christian life cannot be overemphasized! And never simply taken for granted. As I said in the last blog there are two aspects , really three; positional, practical or experiential, and then complete or permanent sanctification; which will occur at the time of our glorification when we will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Of course the aspect most often emphasized is the experiential , as the concern of believers is how may we be free from sinful thoughts and actions. The question is why are we Christians often not very saintly,and do not reflect the character of Christ very clearly? We often live lives that are much like any moral up rite person including unbelievers. So how are we different? You might answer we are going to Heaven. Yes true;but should not our lives not only be seen by others to be separate, and also to carry in our inward man a knowledge of the privileged place we hold in the sanctification we find ourselves in the spirit[mind], in Christ and Him as our Sanctification. I believe, at least for me, my ability to experience a sanctified life is found in pursuing the truth of my position, and in that understanding I find the ability of obedience, to the principal of following the will of my faith, directly to the Throne of God; Sanctified!
" God who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us.........has made us alive together with Christ..........and has raised us up together with Christ, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2:4-6. Could there be any better words to describe the sanctified position we hold?. I know in my life I simply was nor occupying my position. At the best I tried to maintain a victorious life by means of function and form,Bible study, commitment, surrendering over and over. When the answer to living in His sanctification was to abide in the truth of The Word, which tells me I have been placed in The Fathers sight in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. I found by the study of His word that I simple must abide above, not looking outward or up but down, for I am seen by God in His Son ,who is at His right hand. We can never know this kind of sanctification until by the will of our faith we accept the fact of having died with Christ, and therefor Heaven is our place now and where we are as to function and form {this world] is not our home!
The more we can abide with Christ where He is in Heaven in our spirit[mind] the less defeat and disappointment we will suffer here. When we live there with Him in our faith we are the importers of a new hope and joy into the old world, from a completely new place, by the Holy Spirit. In order to act for Him down here we must abide in/with Him in Heaven, thus we will find true service! The secret is to come from the Lord, most of us are trying to go to Him. What then is Christian experience? It is the measure of the apprehension of our position and that which is already true of us in Christ.
My friends from the bottom of my heart may God bless you as you seek to be transformed to your home in Christ by the washing of His word. Seek solitude, study His word, live moment by moment by the will of your faith, renew you mind at the start of each day, set aside the world and its dieing glitter. If you truly wish to seek a life found in Christ and know the things you have believed as real, ask God for that desire to be formed in you, and then by His Spirit you will be guided down the narrow road to life.
The light for me has begun to clear, I found the concept of position and its most important place in my understanding as to just what it looks like to be a sanctified Christian. I have learned by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God that my understanding of this all important aspect of my Christian life cannot be overemphasized! And never simply taken for granted. As I said in the last blog there are two aspects , really three; positional, practical or experiential, and then complete or permanent sanctification; which will occur at the time of our glorification when we will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Of course the aspect most often emphasized is the experiential , as the concern of believers is how may we be free from sinful thoughts and actions. The question is why are we Christians often not very saintly,and do not reflect the character of Christ very clearly? We often live lives that are much like any moral up rite person including unbelievers. So how are we different? You might answer we are going to Heaven. Yes true;but should not our lives not only be seen by others to be separate, and also to carry in our inward man a knowledge of the privileged place we hold in the sanctification we find ourselves in the spirit[mind], in Christ and Him as our Sanctification. I believe, at least for me, my ability to experience a sanctified life is found in pursuing the truth of my position, and in that understanding I find the ability of obedience, to the principal of following the will of my faith, directly to the Throne of God; Sanctified!
" God who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us.........has made us alive together with Christ..........and has raised us up together with Christ, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2:4-6. Could there be any better words to describe the sanctified position we hold?. I know in my life I simply was nor occupying my position. At the best I tried to maintain a victorious life by means of function and form,Bible study, commitment, surrendering over and over. When the answer to living in His sanctification was to abide in the truth of The Word, which tells me I have been placed in The Fathers sight in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. I found by the study of His word that I simple must abide above, not looking outward or up but down, for I am seen by God in His Son ,who is at His right hand. We can never know this kind of sanctification until by the will of our faith we accept the fact of having died with Christ, and therefor Heaven is our place now and where we are as to function and form {this world] is not our home!
The more we can abide with Christ where He is in Heaven in our spirit[mind] the less defeat and disappointment we will suffer here. When we live there with Him in our faith we are the importers of a new hope and joy into the old world, from a completely new place, by the Holy Spirit. In order to act for Him down here we must abide in/with Him in Heaven, thus we will find true service! The secret is to come from the Lord, most of us are trying to go to Him. What then is Christian experience? It is the measure of the apprehension of our position and that which is already true of us in Christ.
My friends from the bottom of my heart may God bless you as you seek to be transformed to your home in Christ by the washing of His word. Seek solitude, study His word, live moment by moment by the will of your faith, renew you mind at the start of each day, set aside the world and its dieing glitter. If you truly wish to seek a life found in Christ and know the things you have believed as real, ask God for that desire to be formed in you, and then by His Spirit you will be guided down the narrow road to life.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
DIVIDED ROAD AHEAD
Where would a rock be if it was not pushed ? Of course the answer is obvious; nowhere. That in short has been the story of my Christian walk for 37 years. often in need of a push. In light of my recent zealousness and the resultant shame, I have seen the fruit of Gods guidance in the need of a gentle shove. This has caused me to reevaluate my blog experience in hope of presenting to you my dear friends, a path, of His love and the patience of His Spirit as He guides us into deeper truths.
I really do not want to turn this into a Bible study or in any way take upon myself the provision of a well worded anthology for your spiritual guidance, at least as to experience. To be frank the thought of trying to present something more than my pilgrims progress weighs to heavenly on my heart. So I will endeavor to go upon the way and bring you my friends along. There will be Bible reference and suggestions for study, and let us keep in mind that as we progress down the road together, the only way we will arrive at our destination is if we take upon ourselves the hard work and study in solitude, necessary to mature in the things of Christ.
This blog, as mentioned in my last writing was to be about sanctification[to separate, make holy]. I have talked about this before. I learned in my travels there are two ways of looking at this term, positional and practical. You would be well advised to turn to Rom. 5, 6, 7 and read them slowly think about the positional aspects as we have discussed in much of the blog and then apply a practical approach to your Christian walk from what you have learned. I highly recommend J. Vernon McGee and his thru the Bible broadcast series, do directly to Romans 5 and listen onward. One thing I do know ,we that have had our eyes opened to positional truth and have found our very Christian spiritual existence to be found in the Man Christ Jesus and Him in Heaven. Will find deep new revelations in this study !
I want to briefly shift gears here, since our sanctification is really summed up in the person of Christ, not in what we do, but what has been done for us by Him. Our sanctification is found in heaven, that is where we are in spirit also. Which makes us Heavenly. Now that is what I call being sanctified.
When Jesus was walking on the earth , you could say that something was being accomplished by Him here. He caused miracles and greatly influenced the people He encountered. He was a present cause on the earth. Now since His Rejection He is siting at the right hand of the Father, there is no earthly hindrance in that place He is found, and we as to positional Sanctification are there with Him. The Bible in Eph. 1:3 says "in heavenly places". If we are blessed with a presence there, how can we expect to find any blessing here? This is a hard concept. The truth is we are spiritual and all earthly things can never find blessing, as can the place we are in the eye of the Father in Christ. My friends this is again the basic of identification. Simply put we are to apprehend this truth apply it to our faith by the knowledge of our will. Your continued study of these truths on you own will bring a result. If by Faith we see oneself in Heaven and learn our identification in Christ this apprehension will allow us to appropriate this truth as to our walk here.
I think of the story of the monk, who felt his need to close himself up in a monastery to not observe the world , that is not what we as the body of Christ are called to do. We are to be like the widow who after the great loss of her husband sat on the window sill looking out, could find nothing which pleased her. We Christians seeing our live found in Christ, sanctified in heaven, know that our joy is found outside this place; it is in heaven where our father has made us His in His Son. We can carry upon us the sense of the presence of the Lord Jesus as we look out and see no value in earthly things. Truly nothing of this place contributes to the people of God. It is only as we make our way into the identity of Christ we will have something which pleases the father to offer.
I really do not want to turn this into a Bible study or in any way take upon myself the provision of a well worded anthology for your spiritual guidance, at least as to experience. To be frank the thought of trying to present something more than my pilgrims progress weighs to heavenly on my heart. So I will endeavor to go upon the way and bring you my friends along. There will be Bible reference and suggestions for study, and let us keep in mind that as we progress down the road together, the only way we will arrive at our destination is if we take upon ourselves the hard work and study in solitude, necessary to mature in the things of Christ.
This blog, as mentioned in my last writing was to be about sanctification[to separate, make holy]. I have talked about this before. I learned in my travels there are two ways of looking at this term, positional and practical. You would be well advised to turn to Rom. 5, 6, 7 and read them slowly think about the positional aspects as we have discussed in much of the blog and then apply a practical approach to your Christian walk from what you have learned. I highly recommend J. Vernon McGee and his thru the Bible broadcast series, do directly to Romans 5 and listen onward. One thing I do know ,we that have had our eyes opened to positional truth and have found our very Christian spiritual existence to be found in the Man Christ Jesus and Him in Heaven. Will find deep new revelations in this study !
I want to briefly shift gears here, since our sanctification is really summed up in the person of Christ, not in what we do, but what has been done for us by Him. Our sanctification is found in heaven, that is where we are in spirit also. Which makes us Heavenly. Now that is what I call being sanctified.
When Jesus was walking on the earth , you could say that something was being accomplished by Him here. He caused miracles and greatly influenced the people He encountered. He was a present cause on the earth. Now since His Rejection He is siting at the right hand of the Father, there is no earthly hindrance in that place He is found, and we as to positional Sanctification are there with Him. The Bible in Eph. 1:3 says "in heavenly places". If we are blessed with a presence there, how can we expect to find any blessing here? This is a hard concept. The truth is we are spiritual and all earthly things can never find blessing, as can the place we are in the eye of the Father in Christ. My friends this is again the basic of identification. Simply put we are to apprehend this truth apply it to our faith by the knowledge of our will. Your continued study of these truths on you own will bring a result. If by Faith we see oneself in Heaven and learn our identification in Christ this apprehension will allow us to appropriate this truth as to our walk here.
I think of the story of the monk, who felt his need to close himself up in a monastery to not observe the world , that is not what we as the body of Christ are called to do. We are to be like the widow who after the great loss of her husband sat on the window sill looking out, could find nothing which pleased her. We Christians seeing our live found in Christ, sanctified in heaven, know that our joy is found outside this place; it is in heaven where our father has made us His in His Son. We can carry upon us the sense of the presence of the Lord Jesus as we look out and see no value in earthly things. Truly nothing of this place contributes to the people of God. It is only as we make our way into the identity of Christ we will have something which pleases the father to offer.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
A ROAD BUMP ON THE WAY TO THE CROSS
" Our acceptance is in Christ, and therefore eternal ;the enjoyment is by the Spirit, and therefore [because of the working of the flesh] often hindered" J. B. Stoney. No truer words were ever spoken. The Word says " not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit " Zech. 4:6. As you all might know I, in my blog zeal ,was brought to a place of better understanding of these very things, I had been writing about Namely the far superior position we occupy in Christ, and the weakness of our flesh. Made so clear in my self desire to be affirmed in my writing efforts, a weakness of ego. I was looking for the affection of my Christian blog group, and I did not get it, because as the Lord showed me, I was going about it in just the opposite way I had been writing about. I was, seeking to make myself the object of consideration; not Him who is my Life and in whom I am found. Thank you for your forgiveness and feedback and advise. I am humbly encouraged to carry on, and have learned much!
Colossians, 3:3 says " For you have died and you life is hidden with Christ in God. This describes our spiritual position and fully describes the depth of where we have been placed by the death of Jesus. It is only for us to realize it in our life , as dwellers of the earth. That really is what this blog is about my effort ,and I pray your understanding, to adopt this truth. I'm sure many of you have, but as I only know to well, we always have much to learn as the depth of the truth of God, knows no bottom. By the verse above we can see the need not only to see our self as having died unto sin with Him[ a doctrinal truth], but also to take it up as a way of life. That we, as to the flesh, our held in the death of His Son. We will not be free to" seek the things above, or to set our minds on those things if we have not taken our position of having died with the Lord Jesus-see Col. 3:1-3.
We are living day by day in this world ,so how do we take account of ourselves spiritually? If one had indeed died with Christ, the improvement of man in the flesh has no value; and so much that we value is out of consideration. What shall we then consider? The Lord has taken our place in death, on the Cross. If we consider the man Jesus Christ having taken the place of our death;it is then in Him we will find our affection and have been taken into the position of having died and also risen with Him. Why would we want morally to live in the place where He died[the world]? If we Love Him and understand our life is found in Him we will not want to live where He has died, It is our privilege and our responsibility to take up in mind and spirit a position of having died and risen with Him. It is really the only place of true life for the Christian!
It all rests on the place where the Lord is. If he was on the earth , that would be where we would want to be. But now He is sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven, so that is where our interest now are held. He is our source of life. Let us put our mind on the things above. We all know what is to be found in this world. We as I only know to well, tend to put our minds on, comfort, duty, wealth and as in my case, self gratification. Our minds are controlled by the object before it. As a practical matter it comes to just this for the Christian; as the world and the things of the world are always on the mind of those of the world, the Lord Jesus and our position in His death as to the flesh must be everything to the Christian. We by His sacrifice for us unto sin and the flesh are independent from the world, because Christ is our life.
All that is in the mind of the Father for us has as its source the risen glorified man, at His right hand. Yes we live our live as others as to drinking and eating clothed in the same suit as the others, no one call tell the difference in just looking at us, but in our mind we occupy a risen and glorified Man who is in Heaven. We then are hidden in the Father. We might be able to put on qualities that make us stand out and are observed by others, but the source of that life is hidden in Christ. If we wish to know and live the Christian life there is only one place we can learn it-- in the heart and mind of God, leaving behind everything connected with ourselves and the world. It is in that place of our mind we will find the only thought of the Father of us is found in His Beloved Son where we also are found. Most of these truths I took from a study by C. A. Coates. I have found, it is the old timers , not smudged by modern thought, where clearer truth most often is found. In my next blog I believe the Holy Spirit is leading me to study Sanctification. I hope you will join me.
Colossians, 3:3 says " For you have died and you life is hidden with Christ in God. This describes our spiritual position and fully describes the depth of where we have been placed by the death of Jesus. It is only for us to realize it in our life , as dwellers of the earth. That really is what this blog is about my effort ,and I pray your understanding, to adopt this truth. I'm sure many of you have, but as I only know to well, we always have much to learn as the depth of the truth of God, knows no bottom. By the verse above we can see the need not only to see our self as having died unto sin with Him[ a doctrinal truth], but also to take it up as a way of life. That we, as to the flesh, our held in the death of His Son. We will not be free to" seek the things above, or to set our minds on those things if we have not taken our position of having died with the Lord Jesus-see Col. 3:1-3.
We are living day by day in this world ,so how do we take account of ourselves spiritually? If one had indeed died with Christ, the improvement of man in the flesh has no value; and so much that we value is out of consideration. What shall we then consider? The Lord has taken our place in death, on the Cross. If we consider the man Jesus Christ having taken the place of our death;it is then in Him we will find our affection and have been taken into the position of having died and also risen with Him. Why would we want morally to live in the place where He died[the world]? If we Love Him and understand our life is found in Him we will not want to live where He has died, It is our privilege and our responsibility to take up in mind and spirit a position of having died and risen with Him. It is really the only place of true life for the Christian!
It all rests on the place where the Lord is. If he was on the earth , that would be where we would want to be. But now He is sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven, so that is where our interest now are held. He is our source of life. Let us put our mind on the things above. We all know what is to be found in this world. We as I only know to well, tend to put our minds on, comfort, duty, wealth and as in my case, self gratification. Our minds are controlled by the object before it. As a practical matter it comes to just this for the Christian; as the world and the things of the world are always on the mind of those of the world, the Lord Jesus and our position in His death as to the flesh must be everything to the Christian. We by His sacrifice for us unto sin and the flesh are independent from the world, because Christ is our life.
All that is in the mind of the Father for us has as its source the risen glorified man, at His right hand. Yes we live our live as others as to drinking and eating clothed in the same suit as the others, no one call tell the difference in just looking at us, but in our mind we occupy a risen and glorified Man who is in Heaven. We then are hidden in the Father. We might be able to put on qualities that make us stand out and are observed by others, but the source of that life is hidden in Christ. If we wish to know and live the Christian life there is only one place we can learn it-- in the heart and mind of God, leaving behind everything connected with ourselves and the world. It is in that place of our mind we will find the only thought of the Father of us is found in His Beloved Son where we also are found. Most of these truths I took from a study by C. A. Coates. I have found, it is the old timers , not smudged by modern thought, where clearer truth most often is found. In my next blog I believe the Holy Spirit is leading me to study Sanctification. I hope you will join me.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
DELIVERED BY HIS GRACE
As we continue on the road of the Cross we come upon the word deliverance often. A rich word with deep meaning, defined in the dictionary as , rescue from bondage or danger, and rescue from moral corruption and evil, and also simply the act of delivering. What was our Saviour delivering and for whom? The answer to that question is well know, but our search will start and finish at position/identification so that the meaning of Christ sacrifice can be personalized and brought home to your understanding in our spirit[mind].By the way let me say again my friends most of these thoughts are not mine but taken from studies by men like Newell, Stoney , Darby , Stanford and more. These men have served the Holy Spirit to open the door [at least a little] to my understanding of our new nature found in Christ. I hope you will seek them out. At the end of this study I will recommend some books to you. For this Christ life will only come by effort, to acquire a deeper life in Him.
The Word says "For we, alive though we are, are continually surrendering ourselves to death for the sake of Jesus" 2 Cor. 4:11. This statement is meant to show that in our reckoning[ count it as true] we are to see our life , as found in the death[Cross] of Christ and give over in our conscious mind to the reality that it is Christ suffering and death, that exists in a representative form in the Fathers eyes and that we are to count it so for our experience as Christians, we are now seen by the Father as ones who have received deliverance from the old life to a new life, found in His Son.
The simple facts are, it is the old life that is in the way of the new one, hence the need to see the old as dead, which it is by His action on the cross. The old stands in the way of experiencing the new in its full expression. The natural life of Adam obstructs the life and course of the new. So what has been done for us by Him must be done in us. And as it is done in us, our new life becomes more than a mere deposit,more than even a glorious possession; it will be a ever deepening , growing power which we can fully express in our Christian life.
In the Deliverance found in the cross you will be freed in you conscience from the old man"the body of death" and freed before God, and you can know that you are in Christ and the law of the Spirit of Christ has made you free. It is now not your behaviour our conscience that rules your life but Christ. Thus , in deliverance we find ourselves identified with Christ , as He died for us, as to the flesh, that by faith we may be found in Him.
There is no strength or power in ourselves against" the law of sin which is in our flesh" Rom. 7:23. The Father has left us dependant upon the Lords work upon the Cross for our deliverance and for our forgiveness. It is completely because we died with Him on the Cross, both to sin and the Law, that the power of sin is broken to those found in Christ
Paul was struggling with these concepts when he cried out "Who shall deliver me". And then said" I thank God [for deliverance] ,through Jesus Christ our Lord". This was a new revelation, identification with Christ in His death For Paul. Just as we search in vain to find peace, until we look outside ourselves, to Christ who brought peace by His blood of His Cross. And we who struggle in despair looking for victory over sin by self effort now can look outside ourselves, to a Risen Lord ,In whom we live and in whom we died, with Christ to sin and the law!
All Christians have these great truths in Christ, but many continue to see the cross and the Lord from a distance and have not experienced the freedom of Identification with our Lord. The busy life , the world, and duty, shape their time here. Many have not taken to heart the freedom of realizing our salvation as complete in seeing Jesus death on the Cross as ours in the Fathers eyes. This all important concept comes with prayer study and most important need! I will now refer a few books for your consideration which will help you along the busy road of our modern age and might help you into the quiet meadow of understanding.The Complete Green Letters ,by Miles J. Stanford, Romans Verse By Verse, by William R. Newell. and a new one I just found Romans, by Alva J. McClain. Also you might try a listen on line to thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, go directly to his broadcast series on Romans. I promise you will be blessed.
The Word says "For we, alive though we are, are continually surrendering ourselves to death for the sake of Jesus" 2 Cor. 4:11. This statement is meant to show that in our reckoning[ count it as true] we are to see our life , as found in the death[Cross] of Christ and give over in our conscious mind to the reality that it is Christ suffering and death, that exists in a representative form in the Fathers eyes and that we are to count it so for our experience as Christians, we are now seen by the Father as ones who have received deliverance from the old life to a new life, found in His Son.
The simple facts are, it is the old life that is in the way of the new one, hence the need to see the old as dead, which it is by His action on the cross. The old stands in the way of experiencing the new in its full expression. The natural life of Adam obstructs the life and course of the new. So what has been done for us by Him must be done in us. And as it is done in us, our new life becomes more than a mere deposit,more than even a glorious possession; it will be a ever deepening , growing power which we can fully express in our Christian life.
In the Deliverance found in the cross you will be freed in you conscience from the old man"the body of death" and freed before God, and you can know that you are in Christ and the law of the Spirit of Christ has made you free. It is now not your behaviour our conscience that rules your life but Christ. Thus , in deliverance we find ourselves identified with Christ , as He died for us, as to the flesh, that by faith we may be found in Him.
There is no strength or power in ourselves against" the law of sin which is in our flesh" Rom. 7:23. The Father has left us dependant upon the Lords work upon the Cross for our deliverance and for our forgiveness. It is completely because we died with Him on the Cross, both to sin and the Law, that the power of sin is broken to those found in Christ
Paul was struggling with these concepts when he cried out "Who shall deliver me". And then said" I thank God [for deliverance] ,through Jesus Christ our Lord". This was a new revelation, identification with Christ in His death For Paul. Just as we search in vain to find peace, until we look outside ourselves, to Christ who brought peace by His blood of His Cross. And we who struggle in despair looking for victory over sin by self effort now can look outside ourselves, to a Risen Lord ,In whom we live and in whom we died, with Christ to sin and the law!
All Christians have these great truths in Christ, but many continue to see the cross and the Lord from a distance and have not experienced the freedom of Identification with our Lord. The busy life , the world, and duty, shape their time here. Many have not taken to heart the freedom of realizing our salvation as complete in seeing Jesus death on the Cross as ours in the Fathers eyes. This all important concept comes with prayer study and most important need! I will now refer a few books for your consideration which will help you along the busy road of our modern age and might help you into the quiet meadow of understanding.The Complete Green Letters ,by Miles J. Stanford, Romans Verse By Verse, by William R. Newell. and a new one I just found Romans, by Alva J. McClain. Also you might try a listen on line to thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, go directly to his broadcast series on Romans. I promise you will be blessed.
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