The following is taken from and inspired by the spiritual anthologies complied by Miles Stanford, who's book The Complete Green letters will serve you well in growth of Christ as life. I hope you will acquire it.
"As we stand steadfastly upon the ground of what Christ is, we find all that is true of Him becomes experientially true of us".
Much of my difficulties stem from the sense of myself. I sin, I feel down, I have anxiety regarding the future, etc. etc. Soon my own concerns loom larger than the identification I have in Christ. Perhaps that is because my identification in Him is not adequate. Might that sound familiar to some reading this?
What we are in Him as to forgiveness is displayed to the Father by His blood shed for our sins, and His death on the Cross to the old Adam man, who we are. This means these two truths originated in Him, but are applied to us and are viewed by God in His Son; we are identified/associated in that view by the Father as He looks upon the Son. Unfortunately many Christians do not know securely or understand this in knowledge or in faith as their identification, and therefore cannot apply it to their life in experience; they view themselves from their own perspective or even perhaps a expectation of others, not God's. Therefore their Christian life is relegated to the interpretation of the old man. That is why much of Christianity is seeking merit with God by works.
For those that do identify with Christ's heavenly life however still many often try to sense it or to feel it's value. When we should be estimating its value based upon how God sees His son revealed in His Word. Why should we ? Because He is sovereign and has said so in that Word, 1Peter 1:18,19. Saints we must remember nothing of God originates from ourselves! That is why the faith path is the only path; all else is the old man. If God says He has accepted His Son's shed blood and death as the price for our redemption, then we can rest assured by faith that it is paid. Therefore our total satisfaction must be in the object of the Son and His identification to us, just as the Fathers is. Only faith in the revealed Word of God supplies this.
It is through the merit of the Son alone we may approach the Father, not anything we may ever do. Our being made alive to the Father must always come from His place, His view, His identification of us, in His Son. It was for the Fathers satisfaction He sacrificed His Son, not ours.
All that we are as to sins and the old man is finished in God's mind and if so our conscience should never be based upon anything we might accomplish ourselves subjectively. But only on the work of Christ and that in God's identification of us in Him as the object. The objectivity of the shed Blood deals with our sins, our justification, but the sin principal must be dealt with by knowing the death of Jesus makes our old man annulled, the sinner himself being finally completely pronounced dead in God's sight.Therefore there is no need to become a overcomer by studies and work or behavior. He has overcome for us. "It is finished". We are in the age of Grace; He is that grace wholly applied to us completely!
After we receive this mighty truth and forgiveness we discover something shocking; we still sin. We still also allow the old man to take the helm in much of our life decisions. So something dear saints is very wrong indeed. Yes we still have a sin nature! A inward inclination to sin. Yes we may always be forgiven and accepted in heaven seated at the right hand of God in Christ Jesus: but we most desperately need deliverance from what we are in Adam, in a conscious way. Focusing on Jesus Christ as the object in faith provides that way.
Our sins are forgiven by the Blood. But God acting by His Holy Spirit is showing us by our guilt and shame our conscience, that we are in great need of a new bolder sanctification awareness: That awareness is in knowledge that the Cross of Christ has procured our deliverance from what we are, by faith in the Revelation of the Word. We are identified in Christ. His death is our Adams death. Freedom is ours, faith has applied this truth. We may experience Christ only in believing it true and that by faith in His Word saying it is so.
There is no spiritual progress however until His identification and our union in it has been made clear by faith. If we do not see clearly Him bearing us on the Cross [leaving the old Adam identification there] we cannot grow in sanctification. Not only have our sins been laid upon Him, but we ourselves have been identified with Him, both as Adam men in His death; and in union with Him as a new creation in heaven now seated at God's right hand.
It is not simply reckoning are exclaiming this as true, but it is in the knowing of our all inclusive inclusion in a divinely reveled fact; His death is ours and for a purpose. So that we might know union, oneness with God! For otherwise faith has no legitimate foundation upon which to rest. When we know of a truth as fact we may act upon it spontaneously. We experience Christ at all times by belief in a factual revelation. We are then becoming experientially identified in Christ. Eph. 1: 17,18.
Now the case is; it is, because I have died....because I see now what God has done with me in Christ. Therefore we now may reckon ourselves to have died unto sin. We are even commanded to reckon, a definite attitude must be taken. When He was on the Cross so was I. I have died unto sin with Him. Knowing this is a question of faith, not in yourself by sense or feeling, but in Him, trusting in His Revelation. We must look at Him as the object, us out of the way, in His replacement of ourselves before the Father. This is identification in Christ lived out.
If we get to this wonderful life experience by faith we have everything if we try coming in ourselves by overcoming works we will find the old man always waiting; Satan's goal accomplished. But when we look to the glorified Jesus Christ as our life with faith in Him as our identification, us in union with His death and new resurrection life, we are actively alive unto God in Christ Jesus. We then may live in effortless grace waiting upon the transfiguration of our bodies. Yes we are the Body we have our role here, but now it is entirely by the Holy Spirit. We may rest!
Saints we all know that justification required no work on our part, but somehow most think sanctification is dependent upon our efforts; know more, study more, pray more; mold ourselves into overcomers by our own effort. We fear if we do nothing nothing will happen; this is the old man at work. Then God's Word comes "it is finished". He has done it all on the Cross, it is only for us to believe! In His Son all is accomplished. Our faith in this revelation of truth makes for Him as our experience forever: then as result of faith all that we are to be for the recovery will be revealed and accomplished by The Holy Spirit in us.
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