Like the water that plunges over the
falls, the river of life carries every man to his destiny. Life itself
dictates to man his every action and reaction. Driven from
deep within the essence of his being, every man continually seeks the fullest
possible expression of life, a search for perfection. Whether they understand it or not, all men
are on a journey--the journey to Jesus, who is the ultimate expression of life
for mankind. Life is experienced, salvation, under His Lordship.
Although this journey of life begins
with such hope and glory, it soon turns to
despair and shame. Most men, if not all men, eventually struggle with
life because there is mystery in experiencing the rich, full, complete
life. Surprisingly, it is the pursuit of life by man that destroys the
life of God already given to him.
Paul, of the first century believers
summarized this profound truth when he wrote to the church in Rome. He
said, ". . . the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord" (6:23). Man earns his hells (the wages
of lost innocence). However, he does not merit his
"heavens."
The search for perfection, the search for the rich, full, abundant life is not the product of
the pursuit of man. It is the lordship salvation of God, by God, and for
God. It is the unmerited gift of God. As Jesus said,
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you . . ." (John
15:16). Mysteriously, the fulfillment of life for man comes not from
the pursuit of life by man; rather, it comes from the pursuit of man by life.
Such was and is the story of my
life. After forty years of religious pursuits, I am now seeing the error
of my ways. I can express it only by saying that some way Jesus broke
through to me and arrested me. I am now continually being saved because
God is continually conquering me.
As a result of this rescue of my
life. I now see Jesus more distinctly as ". . . the way, the truth,
and the life" (John 14:6).
This redemptive revelation has delivered
me from the bondage of seeing Jesus as the object of my devotion, my piety, and
my worship. I now know that if there is any true (spiritual, as opposed to
fleshly) devotion, piety, or worship in my life, it is there because Jesus is
the Devotion, Jesus is the Piety, and Jesus is the Worship. Jesus Christ
is the Life and Light of all men (John 1:4,9).
This true revelation of Jesus Christ
can be illustrated in another way. I now can say, "My faith is in
Jesus." However, do I mean, "My faith is in
Jesus? Or, do I mean, "My faith is in Jesus?"
My faith always produces my devotion,
my piety, and my worship. Perhaps, it would be more honest to say my
attempt to be more zealous, more holy, and more serving to and for God.
Whereas, being in Jesus, He is always faithful to do what He said He would
do. The faithfulness of God is as sure as the essence of Himself.
I am justified (rendered, once again,
innocent, as "freedom from guile or cunning: simplicity") by the
faithfulness of God. The true faith that is now manifested in my life, is
the miracle (the faithless now experiencing faith) and mystery (the breathless
now experiencing breath) of life. It is His faithfulness, His glory, and
His life being reflected in me.
With the understanding that Jesus
Christ is my "Life and Light" (John 1:1-14; Acts 17:22-29; Isa. 42:5;
Prov. 20:7; and John 14:6), the quest to know Him, then, has become the
challenge of life itself.
With the innate desire within every man being to
experience the rich, full, complete life; the quest to know Jesus is the
challenge of every man's life. Although this inner craving of man is
largely misunderstood and seldom fully realized, it is, nevertheless, the driving
force that propels man to seek the fullest possible expression of life.
Mysteriously, all men seek Jesus. They seek life, the life of God.
Within this mystery of what it
means to be a living soul, man finds himself struggling continually for his
physical and/or emotional survival. Whether it is understood or not, every
man is on a journey, a spiritual journey to experience the quickening power of
Life itself. It is
as:
a grain of
mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is
less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when
it is sown, it growth up, and becometh greater than
all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that
the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadows of
it. (Mark 4:31,32)
The knowing of Jesus
Christ is a journey that moves the learner from an
understanding that is "less than all the seeds that be
in the earth" to become "greater than all herbs,
and shooteth out great branches." It is the process
of life itself.
The quest to know Jesus
Christ, the Way, is learning that is uniquely "Christian"
in that the emphasis is actually upon the learning
process rather than what is being learned.
This is not to
say that what is being learned, being experienced, is not
important. Rather, it is to imply that how one
learns what is being learned is more important.
Mysteriously, it is the process of the learning
experience itself that is the essence of life. For when
one stops learning he begins to die, even though he now
has a vast resource of things that has been
learned.
Life in the learning
process can be illustrated by the germinating
relationship between a man and a woman. When the
relationship begins, it, too, is like the smallest of
seeds planted in one's life. Yet, if the relationship is
allowed to grow to maturity, the process, the growing
together of two to become one, becomes the greatest
"event" of their lives.
It is the life long
adventure to know each other. For when both members of
the relationship are continually experiencing the growing
process, the knowing of each other then becomes a never
ending noble adventure in the experiences of life.
The
relationship that is formed between the man and the woman
actually becomes greater than the sum of the two
individuals. It radiates life not just to the two but to
all those who "may lodge under the shadows of it."
This process of moving from the smallest of seeds to the
greatest of herbs, the quest to know each other . . . as the
quest to know Jesus Christ, the Way, becomes the greatest
event of life.
Sadly, however, most
relationships between the man and the woman, as the
relationship between the believer and Christ stagnates
and ceases to be an exciting adventure. Rather, it
becomes stale and lifeless. It becomes a deadly boredom
that subjects the individuals to the temptation to
attempt to find life somewhere else.
For the Christian, as
with the man and the woman, to experience continual
(perpetual, eternal) life, life cannot be attempted by
living in the past experiences, as glorious as they may
be.
For abundant life, the search for perfection, is not based upon what has happened
but rather upon what is now being experienced. Continual,
abundant life can be found only in the current learning
of Christ, only in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is His
Lordship salvation.
A learner
(disciple) of Jesus Christ is not one who has learned
something (such as a glorious truth or even a glorious
experience) and then attempts to live life based upon
that knowledge or event. Rather, it is to base life upon
the Learning Process itself.
Simply stated,
a disciple of Christ is a learner, as opposed to
being one who has learned. Eternal (perpetual)
life is to experience the eternal (perpetual) learning of
Jesus. It is the quest to know Jesus Christ, the
Way
Jesus spoke of this
"mystery" of the perpetual life in this manner:
And he said
unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a
bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a
candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not
be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but
that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to
hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed
what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you; and unto you that hear shall more be
given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he
that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which
he hath. (Mark 4:21-25)
Failure to experience
the perpetual life is not a problem of the amount of
knowledge obtained but rather a problem of failing to
experience continually the "Learning Process" itself. With the coming of the God-Man,
Jesus Christ, all that is necessary for the experiencing
of the continual, perpetual life has been manifested.
Nothing has been held back by the Father in the giving of
His Son. Obviously, however, since His coming, there have
been many who have not experienced that abundant life.
Moreover, there are many who at one time experienced the
vibrant, victorious life of Christ but now have lost
their vitality ("he that hath not, from him shall be
taken even that which he hath"). Although still a
Christian in the sense of being an adopted son of God,
they no longer experience the wealth of the life that
should be in Christ.
The continual
experiencing of the learning process, continually having
an ear to hear, produces the continual experiencing of
the abundant life ("for he that hath, to him shall be
given"). On the other hand, if the hearing ear
becomes deaf, the believer not only stops hearing but he
loses the vibrant, victorious life he was experiencing.
As Paul implied, "[he has] this treasure
[Life in Christ] in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power [the capability to
produce life] may be of God, and not of [man]" (II Cor. 4:7)
The power to produce
life never becomes an attribute of the vessel. It always
remains with the Source of Life, the Treasure within the
vessel. It Is only the continual hearing of the Treasure
that enables the vessel to experience the continual life
of Christ.
Unfortunately, since
the time of the inception of evil into that which was
good (the Fall of Lucifer, the celestial cherub [Eze.
28]), creation has attempted to live life in what has
been learned or experienced. In other words, the vessel
experiencing the attributes of life from the Treasure
attempts to live life in those attributes themselves,
forsaking the One who has produced the
attributes.
Experiencing the
forbidden fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil" (Gen. 2:17), man has become trapped in the
knowledge of having experienced abundant life but now
unable to reproduce it. At best, he has "learned" to cope
with his plight to produce a somewhat stable society and
to prevent total insanity. At worst, he has become a
raving lunatic.
Thus, salvation for man
is the journey back from the various regions of insanity
to complete mental control by the Spirit. It is a journey
back to life in the Treasure, Jesus Christ, as opposed to
the attempt to find life in what has been produced by
Jesus. It is a journey back to life in the
Spirit:
Christ has come to set our
spirit free;
To give life as it was meant to be;
Glorious in immortality;
Christ has come to set our spirit free.
Free to soar above the
mountain tall;
Free from dying dust of Adam's fall;
Free to answer life's perplexing call;
Free, free at last, free for heaven's all.
Christ has come to set our spirit
free;
Journey's end this moment we may see;
Incorruptible our liberty;
Christ has come to set our spirit free.
Unfortunately, the
journey back is a continual struggle because man, once
experiencing the fruit "of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil," simply does not want to give up
his perception that he is "god" himself (Gen. 3:22). He
has become self-centered, taking his own creatureliness
to be the center, the object, and the norm of all
experience:
Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts
of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies
between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into
a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
(Rom. 1:24,25)
This "home-page" is an
endeavor to tell the story of my journey back to Jesus
Christ. It is a story of my movement back to a godly
"Way" of life. It is a record of my need to die
continually to my self-centeredness.
As I draw closer to my
sixtieth year, one thing has become increasingly clear.
Down in the deep regions of my inner self, I, also, find
one that does not want to give up his throne.
Although
the experiences of life keep forcing me to change my
outward behavior in order to have a more stable existence
with the least amount of trouble from others, I always
seem to scheme myself back into being the "god" of my
life. I find my self-centeredness rising again and
again.
I now can grasp,
perhaps, what Jeremiah meant when he said, "The heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who
can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).
I now understand with a
much clearer revelation God's statement after the great
flood, "I will never again curse the ground for man's
sake, even though every inclination of his heart is evil
from childhood . . ." (Gen. 8:21).
By God's mercy and
grace, I can now confess that the heart of James "is
deceitful above all things" and "every inclination
of [my] heart is evil from
childhood."
Even now with God's
mercy and grace, it is painful for me to confess those
words. Moreover, I now know that this confession is so
agonizing and destructive to my self-centeredness that I
will, at the first chance, devise schemes that will allow
me to deny "my" wickedness.
I keep striving to understand
and to develop a doctrine that will allow me to feel good
about myself from within myself, instead of having a
sense of well being from being in (experiencing)
Christ.
I will even create a
teaching that will give God credit for making me feel
good about myself from within myself. I simply will not
give up my throne.
Perhaps, this is what David meant when
he said, "[The wicked] plot injustice and say,
'We have devised a perfect plan!' Surely the mind and
heart of man are cunning" (Ps 64:6, NIV).
Unless God
is continually working in my life, I will forever rule my
throne and scheme cleverly devised plans to keep me
there.
Paradoxically, I will
proclaim that I live righteously, I have understanding, I
seek God, and I am a good person. Even though the
Scriptures state:
As it is
written: There is none righteous, no, not one; There
is none who understands; there is none who seeks after
God. They have all turned aside; they have together
become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no,
not one. (Rom. 3:10-12, NKJV)
Most assuredly, those
characteristics do not refer to me for "I" have chosen to
give my; life to God. Or, do they?
Alas, could it be also
true that ". . . my throat is an open tomb and my
tongue practices deceit." Is "my mouth full of
cursing and bitterness?" Are "my feet swift to
shed blood?" Has "destruction and misery been in
my way?" Is "the way of peace not known by
me?" Is "there really no fear of God before my
eyes?" "Am I really guilty before God?" (Rom.
3:13-19, paraphrased).
Sadly, in those rare moments of
honesty, I have to confess, yes, that is me!
Although I have learned
to modify my behavior to mask my real self-centeredness,
I am basically driven by my selfish vanity. To keep from
being too abrasive and thus totally alienating everyone
around me, I have learned to play the role of "caring"
for others.
However, I now see that I have continually
used others to meet my narcissism. Begrudgingly, I have
to admit I have been driven by the continual need of
having my self-centeredness stroked, "my" inner self
lifted up.
Hear me out. Do not
shut me off yet. I have worked for God. I have spent many
hours "building" His church.
I have traveled across
America and several other countries proclaiming the
message of God. I have been "Spirit-filled" as on the Day
of Pentecost, experienced and witnessed Divine healing,
participated in the exorcism of unclean spirits. I have
helped those in need. My family and I have sacrificed for
God.
Moreover, I have
faithfully done as the visible church has said. I have
been baptized in water, participated in the Communion,
washed the saints' feet, and practiced all the other
essentials of the church. I have assembled together with
other believers, paid my tithes, and spent many hours in
fasting and praying.
Finally, I have "kept"
the law. The rulings of my tradition have been practiced.
I have faithfully lived by the teaching of the church and
adhered to the advice given. I obeyed "those over me
in the Lord." Abraham may not have been justified by
his works, rituals, or law (Rom. 4), but surely my
efforts will not go unrewarded for I have given my life
to God and His church.
Perplexed, I wonder, in
view of all my labors, why is there no lasting
peace not disturbed by the storms of life? Why does it
seem that I am like a spinning yo-yo that continually
rises and falls by the forces of nature that work upon
me? Why am I constantly driven by every wind of adversity
that comes against me?
Irrefutably, I rejoice
in my zeal to work for God. The challenge of doing or
becoming what I want to be excites my inner drives. The
joy of beginning a new task, a new plan for
accomplishments, a new initiation of effort to find glory
floods my soul.
Yet, seemingly, the
goal is never reached. I wilt under the hot sun of
affliction. There is little, if any, hope that I can ever
make it to the top. I lose my sense of direction.
Although discouragement sometimes overwhelms me, I will
not succumb to its deception. I will ascend beyond its
deadly depths. I will rise above its tentacles. I will
climb over its obstacles. I will rise again to give the
best of my effort, to give the best of myself for the
cause of Christ. I will be victorious!
Yet, in the midst of my
dreams, my aspirations, I have this submerged
apprehension that forces itself into my awareness every
so often: I am without strength, I am ungodly, I am a
sinner.
Sometimes I feel I am really on the opposite side
of God. I have an overwhelming sense of guilt that I have
not "arrived." I am dying from within my soul.
The only sense of
relief I have is to experience the forgiveness of God's
love. However, the cycle becomes tedious. Even the cry,
"It's me again Lord, I have failed," grows wearisome. I
find myself tiring of the endless successions of failures
and absolutions. Is there no ultimate victory?
I "learned" that
ultimate victory would come in my death. I "learned" I
must die to sin. I must die to self. I must live the
crucified life. I must reckon myself to be dead to sin,
but alive to God. I must not yield my members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. I must yield
myself unto God. I must "identify" with the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Yet, in all my
attempting to be dead, I still find myself "living." All
I have to do is to take an honest look at myself, not at
the image of what I am trying to believe in my mind, but
the reality of what is happening in my "inner self."
I do
not find the fruits of holiness (life), but the wages of
sin (death). My peace, joy, and rest are often pushed
aside for gloom, despair, and agony.
In the still moments
of the night, after the busy activities of my frantic
efforts subside, the real essence of my being reveals
that something is still wrong. In those still moments,
the wages of sin (stress, despair, a sense of being
forsaken, and destroyed) bear heavily upon me.
I, as it seemed with
Paul, often find myself in a dilemma: "For that which
I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I" (Rom. 7:15).
Certainly,
"to will is present with me; but how to perform that
which is good I find not" (Rom. 7:18). Oh, ". . .
I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I
see another law in my members, warring against the law of
my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members" (Rom. 7:22,23).
"O
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24).
Who shall deliver me?
What a question! Suddenly, a ray of light pierces my
soul. "Who shall deliver me" has never been the question
I have raised.
My questions have always been, "How can I
get out of the mess I have made?" "Who will help me fix
the problems of my life?" "How can I solve the struggles
of my existence?" I have even tried to use God as a means
of "my" solution.
As the penetrating
burst of "light" pierces the wall of darkness within me,
amazing truth drives itself into the intercessions of my
heart. Understanding, mysteriously, begins to break forth
upon my reasoning. My eyes begin to see rays of
enlightenment. I slowly begin to grasp the deeper things
of life.
The difference between
my questions and the question, "Who shall deliver me,"
breaks forth into my inner being as the secret of life.
It is the difference between the distinction of deadly
religiosity and true believers in Christ.
One is a cry of
the individual for deliverance from the circumstances.
The other is a cry to be saved from himself. One is an
attempt to use God as a personal source for one's
accomplishments. The other is the realization of one's
total incompetence. One is the working of a "schemer"
keeping himself involved in the things of God. The other
is understanding where and who is the problem. One is
death. The other is life. The struggle of the two brings
forth the beginning exploration into the mysteries of
grace.
What a dilemma of
futility to know the real self-centeredness of one's
self. In perhaps the most thorough and precise statement
on the issue of life ever written by man, the Epistle to
the Romans, Paul clearly stated the plight of man to ever
come to know himself. He simply wrote, "for we know
not" (Rom. 8:2 6) .
He did not make this
statement in Romans Chapter Three, where he stated
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God" (3:23). It "stands to reason" that this chapter,
where it is revealed that all men have sinned, should be
the place where Paul would write "for we know
not." Yet, he did not state it in Chapter
Three.
Neither, did he make
the statement in Romans Chapter Four, where he proclaimed
that Abraham was not justified by works, rituals, or the
law. Again, if one is attempting to approach God in the
wrong manner, he certainly could be identified as not
knowing. However, the statement is not found in Chapter
Four.
Likewise, he did not
make the statement in Chapter Five, the "justification"
chapter, with its emphasis on the need to be justified.
Nor, is the statement made in Chapter Six, the
"sanctification" chapter, with its emphasis on "knowing"
that one is sanctified. It seems that both chapters could
be the place where he stated, "for we know not."
Yet, it is not found in either of those
chapters.
Paul did not even make
the statement in Chapter Seven, the "I cannot do as I
ought to" chapter. Surely, as one reads this chapter, it
would be assumed that this would be where Paul stated,
"for we know not." Again, it is not.
Amazingly, Paul
actually said "for we know not" in the
"Spirit-filled" chapter, Chapter Eight. It is in the
chapter in which Paul eulogizes life in the Spirit.
Surely, the Spirit-filled Christian should know his own
heart. However, Paul said, "Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered" (8:26).
Notice, the painful
similarity between Paul's statement, "for we know not
. . .," and Jeremiah's statement, "The heart of
man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked:
who can know it?" (17:9).
After forty years of being
a Christian, surely I should know for what I should pray.
However, I am finding that when I pray as I think I
should pray, it is always to feed the love of my
self-centeredness, Vainly, I pray for my own enhancement.
Painfully, I have come to realize I, too, "know not
what [I] should pray for as [I]
ought."
Could the statements of
Jeremiah (before Christ) and of Paul (after Christ)
actually mean that the heart of man will never change? My
self-centeredness trembles at the thought. I will
"adamantly" proclaim my heart has been changed! I have
been made a "new creature." I have been a Christian for
over forty years!
But, has it? Oh, in
high moments of religiosity, I will boldly proclaim "I
have been changed." However, in the reality of day-to-day
living, wickedness keeps raising its ugly head. All the
struggles of my life that have been previously enumerated
are a testament that "my" heart has not been
changed.
I must confess that I
can never know my heart, my true "inner self" other than
it is wicked. Like men of old, I will desperately,
continually devise plans to keep me on my throne.
At the
worst, I will completely ignore my Creator and live as I
dictate. At best, I will mix grace and law in order to
attempt to meet the demands of the Creator, but also
yield to the demands of my self-centeredness.
I desperately desire
the workings of God, but unfortunately only to enhance my
own being. It seems my heart ". . . plot[s]
injustice and say[s], '[I] have devised a
perfect plan!' [My] mind and heart . . . are
cunning" (Ps 64:6, NIV).
After over forty years of being
a Christian, how painful it is to say that my heart is
still wicked. Although I have tried religiously to change
my heart, it has not changed. I, too, cannot do as I
would.
However, there is hope!
The good news of Jesus Christ proclaims that the hope for
every believer is not the "changing" of a heart. It is
not the remaking of an old heart. The old heart will
never change.
It will always be desperately wicked and
cunning in its scheming. It just learns to be religious,
to "play the game" as if it has been changed.
The good news is that
in Christ there is the "creation" of a "new" heart for
man. The believer now lives, as if he has a new heart,
because he now experiences life in the heart of Christ.
However, he has a new heart not because his heart is made
over, or made new. His old heart is continually dying,
yet he experiences the life of a new heart because he now
lives in the heart of Christ.
The only answer for my
deceitful heart is Christ's new heart. I must experience
a "true heart transplant" from life in my heart to life
in the heart of Christ. I must experience the exchanged
life, Christ's heart for my heart.
Although my heart
remains in me, it no longer serves as the essence of my
life. It must continually die off. Christ now becomes the
essence of my life. He must continually live.
In experiencing this
exchanging of the hearts, one of the most profound
mysteries of grace has been revealed. Just as I fought my
"conversion" experience of being moved out of myself and
back "into" Jesus, my heart will continually, desperately
scheme to put me back on the throne of my life. Even
after "conversion," my heart will always resist the
sovereign power of God.
However, it is a
resistance that always fails. Moreover, the failure is
always two-fold.
First, my resistance to the sovereign
power of God fails to produce the life that I thought it
would as I began my resistance.
Secondly, my resistance
always ends (thus, failing to continue) when I begin to
experience the only consequence for that resistance, my
spiritual death.
Unless I have become a "reprobate"
(through the continual "blaspheme against the Holy
Ghost" [Mark 3:29; Rev. 9:20, 16:9,11], my
resistance to the sovereign power of God will always
begin to subside, amazingly, yet not so amazingly, when I
near the tragic "end of myself." Turning from God always
produces the "pressure" that brings me back to
God.
God in His love for me
is so complete, so perfect that He will always let me
turn from Him. Oh, He will weep for me in my rejection
(Luke 19:41), but, nevertheless, He will allow me to
reject His love.
For without the freedom of rejection,
His love would be nothing more than the selfish
gratification of a personal desire. True love always
gives the freedom to be rejected.
Who could and would
reject the love of God? Certainly, it would never be by
choice.
I know my rejection of His love was never by
choice. When the alternatives of life (love) and death
(apathy) are before me, I will never purposely choose
"not to live."
No man will purposely choose the death of
his true life. Even suicide is a testament to the value
of life by an attempt to end a life that is not
experiencing life.
Deception is the only
thing that will cause me to turn from life to death. I
will be deceived into thinking that something other than
Jesus Christ, the Way, can produce my life.
Although
there are many "things" that can be used in the
deception, those things are only tempting to me because I
want the perceived choice of what is good and what is
evil for my life. Ultimately, I am continually deceived
in thinking that "I" can produce life.
I now know that in
spite of myself by the grace of God, I will be brought
back into Jesus. Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John
l2:32).
With the literal meaning of the word translated
"draw" being "to drag," it reveals the true story
of my life, the true story of the "Way" of Christ. The
sovereign power of God is literally dragging me back
"into" Jesus Christ.
If Jesus is lifted up
(His death on the cross), He will drag me to my
redemption. However, Jesus being lifted up on the cross
must not only be an historical event of some two
thousands years ago, it must be my daily experience.
It
has been revealed that I must experience my dying off
daily by His death on the cross. As Paul wrote to the Romans:
What shall
we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead
to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life. For it we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall
be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For he that is dead is
freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing
that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no
more; death hath no more dominion over him. For
in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in
that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not
sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it is the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall
not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace. (6:1-14)
For me to experience
this new life in Christ continually, I must understand
this "tale of death" contained in this powerful
revelation of the mysteries of grace.
Paul emphasized my need
to experience the death of Jesus Christ continually by
his usage of the words "dead," "dieth," and
"death" in verse nine: "Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no
more dominion over him" (6:9).
Sadly, most English
speaking people will interpret the words "dead,"
"dieth," and "death" to mean the same
thing. However, each of them have a far-reaching
different definition.
For example, "Knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead [meaning, "a
corpse"] dieth [meaning, "to die off"] no more; death [meaning, "to die"]
hath
no more dominion over him." I now realize that the
struggles of my entire life have occurred because I did
not understand the meaning of the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ for my life.
What shall
we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead [to die off] to sin, live any longer
therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were
baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
death [to die]? Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death [to
die]: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead [a corpse] by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. For we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death [to die], we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is
dead [to die off] is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead [to die off] with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead [a corpse] dieth [to die
off] no more; death [to die]
hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died [to die off], he died
[to die
off] unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he
liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to
be dead [a corpse] indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not
sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead [a corpse] and your
members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not
under the law, but under grace.
In my past, I never
understood the word "death." meaning "to die," is
associated only with Jesus. It is never used in
conjunction with the believer.
Oh, how I have tried to
live the "crucified life." I tried to live life as if I
were actually dead. What futility! Only Jesus has died
and been raised from the dead to live the resurrected
life.
I did not know that
experiencing my "death" occurs only in His death as I
continually experience my "dying off." My "dying off" is
not a one time occurrence. It must be a continually,
daily occurrence.
I now understand I will
never experience the death of "to die" until I experience
the grave. However, thanks be to Jesus Christ, I can
experience my continual dying off in this life by the
grace of God, by being "baptized into Jesus Christ" (Rom.
6:3).
The continual "life of Jesus" is made manifest in
my mortal body, but only if my life is never attempted in
my mortal body, in my self-centeredness. I am alive but
dying, yet dying I live. It is a mystery, but continual
life is only experienced in the continual death (dying
off) of my "own flesh:"
Always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in
our body. For we which live are alway[s]
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal
flesh. (II Cor. 4:10,11)
The Good News, the
Gospel, has declared that the Father has sent His Son
into my world to baptized me with His Holy Spirit that my
"mortality might be swallowed up of life" (II Cor.
5:4).
If Jesus will
continually be lifted up (John 12:32), if I can
continually hear Him (John 6:63), if the Word can
continually be set with my heart (Matt: 13:18-23), I will
finally arrive at my destiny, complete oneness with Jesus
Christ. I will come to know what it means to be filled
with the Spirit. I will come to know what it means to be spiritual.
My salvation is His Lordship.
The continual lifting
up of Jesus in my life will eventually "drag" me into
submission to the Spirit. I know I will get there, but I
also know "another shall gird [me], and carry
[me] whither [I] wouldest not
[go]" (John 21:18). Since my hope is Jesus
and not my effort, I know I will arrive. Yet, I also know
I will arrive resisting it with every fiber of my
self-centeredness. The search for perfection is lordship salvation.
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