My Thoughts on the Incarnation

In the beginning God existed entirely in spirit form as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All things that now exist were created by the Son (John 1:3). He created man from the dust of the ground, but made him in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 2:7). When God breathed into him, he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). The Scripture often uses the same word for spirit and wind. So it appears to me that when God breathed into Adam He was giving him spiritual life as well as physical life. Several things seem apparent to me. First, man is a spiritual being living in a body made of dust and second, God is not against the body as those with a gnostic viewpoint believe. God created the physical world, including our bodies and He pronounced it good.

Adam disobeyed God and the result was both physical and spiritual death as well as a curse on all of the surrounding creation. In the plan of God to remedy this situation, the Son, also known as the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He is the image of the invisible God; the express image of His person (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Because of His virgin birth, Jesus was spiritually alive and yet He was in a very human body that was itself subject to the curse. His body felt pain, wept tears, became weary and ultimately bled and died.

During His life, Jesus was tempted in all point as we are and yet never succumbed to the point of sinning (Hebrews 4:15). In living this kind of life, He condemned sin in the flesh. He defeated it on its own turf, the human body! (Romans 8:3) Even though He had not sinned, He died on a cross as the punishment for our sins, since He didn't have any of His own to die for (1 Corinthians 15:3).

The Bible tells us that by believing in Christ, we've been given life through His name (John 20:31). That means spiritual life has been restored to us, but we are still in a body that is dying and living in a world that is cursed. Paul says it this way, “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10). The same Spirit that gave life to Jesus' body will give life to our mortal body (Romans 8:11). He will transform our lowly body so that it conforms to Christ's glorious body (Phillipians 3:21).

What was Jesus' glorious body like? For one thing, it was visible and He had the capacity to eat. When He appeared to His disciples He said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). So we will also have a recognizable, visible body capable of many normal physical activities including eating. So we see that even in the resurrection, God is not opposed to bodies. He Himself took on a body. Because of the fact that our bodies are still in a cursed body, we wait eagerly for the redemption of our body at the resurrection (Romans 8:23).

How is the body raised and what kind of body will we have? Paul writes that it is sown in corruption, dishonor, weakness – a natural (soulish) body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). But it is raised in incorruption, glory and power – a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Note the fact that even though it is raised a spiritual body, it is not a spirit body. It is like Christ's glorious body which was an actual physical body, although not subject to the curse that our current bodies have. Paul explains that just as we have born the image of the earthly, Adam, so we shall bear the image of the heavenly, the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:49). In other words, we shall be changed from corruption to incorruption and from mortal to immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52,53). Death is swallowed up in victory! (1 Corinthians 15:54; see also Hebrews 2:14, 15).

The incarnation is not just a theological concept, it is a very real and important truth that will have a tremendously powerful impact for those who have trusted Christ.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 11:3

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

As a chemist I think of the end of this verse where we find that the things that are seen are not made of things which are visible and I immediately think of atoms, protons, and even smaller components of matter. The deeper we go into these things, the more I think it is obvious that they were created and did not come into existence randomly.

Hymn of the Week - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Victory in Christ - Summary

Here is a summary of the principles developed during the Victory in Christ series.

Principle Summary

Principle 1: Sin abounds but grace abounds more!

Principle 2: Our identity is Christ and our position is 'in Christ'.

Principle 3: Because we died with Christ, we have been released from sin's power and authority.

Principle 4: Based on the truth we should reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God.

Principle 5: Consciously take your eyes off of earthly, sinful ways and focus them on righteous heavenly things because you died with Christ and have been raised with Him.

Principle 6: Since you have died to sin, do not allow it to reign by giving your members to sin to be used as weapons against you.

Principle 7: You are not under the law but under grace.

Principle 8: In effect you are a slave to who you obey--either sin which leads to death or righteousness which leads to life.

Principle 9: Remember yielding to sin leads to ever increasing lawlessness and ultimately to death.

Principle 10: When you died with Christ you died to the jurisdiction of the law and are set free to bear fruit for God.

Principle 11: We serve now with the Spirit being the motivator of our actions rather than the external command of the law.

Principle 12: The law gives sin its power.

Principle 13: Sin in me is the problem.

Principle 14: It is not me but sin in me.

Principle 15: There is a war between me and the sin in my members.

Principle 16: God through Jesus Christ is our deliverer.

Principle 17: There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Principle 18: The Spirit has released me from the law of sin and death.

Principle 19: Sin in the flesh has been condemned even though you are not.

Principle 20: The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us as we walk in the spirit.

Principle 21: To live according to the Spirit we must set our minds on the things of the Spirit.

Principle 22: To be carnally (fleshly) minded is a destructive, death-producing way to live.

Principle 23: If the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you are in the spirit and not in the flesh. So don't spend time being what you're not.

Principle 24: Even though we struggle with sin and it's physical consequences in our bodies, we can be assured that this mortal body will be fully redeemed and raised as a new body.

Principle 25: Use the power of the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body.

Principle 26: Remember that as a Christian you've been adopted into God's family and are a son of God and brother to Jesus Christ.

Principle 27: As a son of God, you are a brother and joint-heir with Jesus and will appear with Him in glory when He returns. (See also 2 Thess 1:10)

Principle 28: We wait with patience for our complete redemption when our body will be made new to match our spirit that was made new when we were saved.

Principle 29: God is working all things together for our good.

Principle 30: Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ!

Victory in Christ - Part 22

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Paul goes on to explain who those called ones are. He starts out with God's foreknowledge. He is saying that those He foreknew, those are the ones He predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. The language makes it clear that all those He foreknew He predestined. That is a comforting thought because it means that God won't fail in His plan and effort to conform His people to the image of Christ. If you have trusted Christ as your savior, you can be assured that the conformation process will be successful. God wants Christ to be the firstborn among many brethren. There is to be a family of sons of God-- Christ and all believers.

In addition, all of those He predestined, those He called. Notice the tense of all of this. He called – past tense. Nobody can come to Christ unless God calls them and so to be certain that His will is accomplished, He specifically calls those whom He intends to conform to the image of His son.

Wait, there's more. He goes on to tell us that those He has called He has justified. He has declared them righteous. When someone comes to Christ by faith, God justifies them; He gives them His own righteousness in place of their sin. If that is true of you, then you are one of these people He is talking about here. The final step is that He has glorified us. Notice again the tense. There is a sense in which our glorification is so certain that in God's eyes it's already accomplished!

So think about it. If you are a believer, God foreknew you. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,” (Ephesians 1:4). If He foreknew you, He predestined, predetermined and provided everything needed so that you would ultimately be conformed to the image of Christ. Having planned all this, He then called you to come to Himself. As Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Notice the success which Jesus promised. “I will raise him up at the last day.” If God calls, He also justifies. That means He declares us righteous, under no condemnation whatsoever. And the final step is the ultimate and certain glorification of everyone God has called to Himself. There is great peace and joy in this truth.

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” ³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

With these glowing words from Scripture we end this short study of Romans chapters 6-8. If God has done all of the things described in these chapters, who is going to be able to bring any charges against us? The answer is, “nobody”. Jesus Christ makes intercession for us, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us, we've been adopted into His family, we've been given a new spirit and His Spirit. No matter what our struggles and no matter how many times we fall, if we've trusted in Christ, we've been redeemed and rescued from the law of sin and death. With Paul we should be persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities no powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Principle 30: Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ!

Victory in Christ - Part 21

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

The Holy Spirit who indwells every believer makes intercession for us. We know that Jesus Christ intercedes for us, but also the Holy Spirit who lives right within us intercedes. The intercession he makes is deep and involves “groanings which cannot be uttered.” This is not what some people call speaking in tongues because speaking in tongues is uttered. These prayers are not uttered. But God, who is listening to our prayers, knows what the mind of the Spirit is. The Spirit always prays according to the will of God and so even though our prayers may not always be accurate or we may not even know how or what we should pray for properly, the Holy Spirit makes sure the prayers God hears are according to His will.

This is also encouraging with respect to the struggles that we go through to live a God-honoring life. The Holy Spirit is not dormant. He is active and working and praying for us as we grow in grace. As we work out our salvation, “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

God is working all things together for good. So many times that is where people stop the quotation. God is working all things together for good for certain people. It is for those who love God and who are “the called” according to His purpose. God is calling out a people for Himself and it is for those He works everything together for their good and His glory.

For those people God is at work blending and combining events in such a way that it works good for us. God's view of good does not always match our opinion but we can be assured that His plan is best for us and for the glory of God.

Principle 29: God is working all things together for our good.

Victory in Christ - Part 20

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

It's not only creation that groans. You and I groan. We know there is something wrong. Things are not as they ought to be. Those of us who know Christ have an eager anticipation for the completion of our adoption as children of God. That adoption is totally complete when not only our souls but also our body is redeemed and made new. We don't see this right now, but it is a certain hope. It is not an I hope so hope. It is a certain expectation. And so we wait with perseverance.

This is the way Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

So the Holy Spirit is the guarantee or the firstfruits now as a promise that God will fulfill the complete work of redemption including the redemption of the body. The body may be dead and dying now, but the same Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us right now. The internal has changed. We are jut waiting for the external change as well.

Principle 28: We wait with patience for our complete redemption when our body will be made new to match our spirit that was made new when we were saved.

Victory in Christ - Part 19

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

The Spirit of God within us bears witness with our own spirit that we are the children of God. This is something that the Holy Spirit communicates to us in some way. There is a bond there. Peter tells us we have become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). There is a oneness between us and God. Paul tells the Corinthians that no one knows a man really. Only the man's own spirit knows himself. But he goes on to say that we have been given the Spirit of God so that basically we can know God. Here is the way he puts it in 1 Corinthians 2:

¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

The culmination of what he writes in verse 17 of Romans 8 is that since we suffered with Christ, we will also be glorified together with Him. And when Christ, who is our life shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4 Italics added)

Principle 27: As a son of God, you are a brother and joint-heir with Jesus and will appear with Him in glory when He returns. (See also 2 Thess 1:10)

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

The sufferings that we experience now cannot be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. Not only to us, but in us. Even creation is waiting in eager expectation for us to be revealed as the sons of God. When God brought a curse to bear on all of creation, He did so with the idea that when man's redemption is complete, creation will be released from the bondage it is in. When we are ultimately set free from all that binds us now, all creation will also be set free. This is God's plan and design for the ages.

Victory in Christ - Part 18

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

So we have found that the important thing in our battle against sin is to yield to the Spirit. It means to stop setting our minds on earthly or fleshly things but rather on God and spiritual things. The last thing the previous verse said was that if we through the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body we will live. Now, beginning with the word "for" He explains the deeper truth involved. The sons of God are those who are led by the Spirit. We've seen several expressions involving flesh and spirit. There's the phrase, “mind the flesh”, or “mind the spirit”. This has to do with where we set the focus of our minds. We've seen the phrase “in the flesh” or “in the Spirit”. This has to do with our nature. A Christian is in the Spirit. He doesn't go in and out. He is in the Spirit. And finally we see the phrase in this verse that speaks of being “led by the Spirit.” Here too a person who is truly a Christian is led by the Spirit. So a Christian is led by the Spirit, is in the Spirit, and therefore is expected to mind the things of the Spirit.

So if you've trusted Christ as savior you are led by the Spirit of God. Being led by the Spirit means you have the power of the Spirit available to you and the Spirit is working in you to give you the motivation and power to do the right thing. Remember from previous discussions that under the new covenant, God's Spirit is given to us to provide the internal motivation and change of heart needed to live out the law of God from inside without needing the outside rules and regulations. As you live the Christian life then you need to yield to the Spirit that is within you. Through the power of the Spirit you then put to death the deeds of the body. It's not a matter of just using your self effort. It is a matter of submitting to the Spirit within you and through His power putting to death the deeds of the flesh. It's a matter of reckoning the old nature to be dead to sin. It's a conscious thing, a moment by moment thing.

¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

The Spirit we have received is not the spirit of bondage and fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Hebrews 2:14, 15 - ¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The fear of death is a strong fear. People are in bondage to it. But the gospel frees us from those fears. This is indeed good news. When we go to God, we go to Him not as our judge, but as our Father, or if we may respectfully say so, our Dad.

This Spirit who indwells us is not a spirit to be feared. He loves us and is at work to make us all God would have us to be. This is encouraging because we can go to God and trust that He is not against us but for us.

Principle 26: Remember that as a Christian you've been adopted into God's family and are a son of God and brother to Jesus Christ.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 11:1

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hymn of the Week -- Immanuel by Michael Card

A sign shall be given
A virgin will conceive
A human baby bearing
Undiminished deity
The glory of the nations
A light for all to see
That hope for all who will embrace
His warm reality

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

For all those who live in the shadow of death
A glorious light has dawned
For all those who stumble in the darkness
Behold your light has come

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

So what will be your answer?
Will you hear the call?
Of Him who did not spare His son
But gave him for us all
On earth there is no power
There is no depth or height
That could ever separate us
From the love of God in Christ

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

Victory in Christ - Part 17

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

So this is the conclusion Paul draws by beginning the verse with the word “therefore.” With all that has gone before in the discussion, and with the most recent comments about our bodies going to be made new, we are debtors, but not to the flesh. We do not owe the flesh anything. The power of God through His Spirit is present in our lives. We've been redeemed and set free from bondage to sin and death. So we are not a debtor. We don't owe sin or the flesh anything. They do not have dominion any longer. Sin has been condemned in the flesh.

In verse 13 he repeats what I have been emphasizing all along and that is that if we live according to the flesh we will die. Christian or non-Christian, there is death in the flesh and in following the desires of the flesh. What that death is and how it works may be different in different people, but we must not deceive ourselves into thinking nothing is going to happen as a result. The death may come in terms of relationships, it may come in terms of peace and joy. It may come in terms of loss of testimony and effectiveness for God, but it will come.

The verse goes on to say that on the other hand, if we put to death the deeds of the body through the power of the Spirit, we will live. It seems to me that this is a key statement. We have all of the spiritual resources we need but it is something we need to do.

What does putting to death the deeds of the body mean? We know that the flesh has certain desires and attractions that are typical of all of us. John describes them as the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. These areas exert tremendous pull. Putting them to death means not to permit them to have their way. It means not making provision for the flesh in any way (Romans 13:14). To make provision means to prepare for it and make accomodations for it. This is what we are to avoid. We are to basically snuff out all of the oxygen for our lusts and fleshly desires. But the key here is that we are to do this through the power and motivation provided by the Spirit of God within us. The Spirit has been given to provide the motivation, the strength and the supporting intercession to accomplish this. We've been made new creatures in Christ. Our normal human nature is not strong enough to accomplish this. We must take advantage of the power of the Holy Spirit at work.

At this point it appears to me that there is a transition from the key role of the Spirit in our victory over sin to the general work of the Spirit in our lives. This doesn't mean there is a complete break but the lens zooms out so to speak and we see a bigger picture. What we see is related to our topic but in a different way. These remaining verses help us see the overall activity of the Spirit on our behalf. Knowing these truths and believing them to be true also helps us to gain the victory we so earnestly long for.

Principle 25: Use the power of the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body.

Victory in Christ - Part 16

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

¹⁰ And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Even though I'm a Christian, my body is dying and will die because of the consequences of sin. But the fact that the Spirit of God dwells in a believer, there is still real life there. Those who do not know Christ are dead both in their body and their soul. The good news is that even though these bodies are dying now, the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is going to give life to our mortal bodies. The Holy Spirit is given to us as a down payment of the fulfillment of our full redemption which ultimately will include our bodies (Ephesians 1:13, 14). Christianity is not concerned only with the soul, but with the body as well.

Here is the way Paul puts it in another place:

1 Corinthians 15:⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.

So, the bottom line is that we live in this fleshly body with the Spirit of God dwelling in us as believers. Even though the body is dying, it will be made new in the future. Most of the time a plant seed looks pretty dead. But when you put it into the ground, it seems to miraculously come to life. Of course there had always been that germ of life inside that dead-looking seed. Sometimes a seed is actually dead. You plant it and nothing happens. To me this illustrates the difference between a person who has the Spirit of God in him and an unbeliever. An unbeliever is like the dead seed. A believer is like the seed that looks dead, but has the spirit of life in him. When he is sown as a natural man, his body will be raised a spiritual man. In the mean time, here and now, setting our mind on fleshly things somehow brings death into our being. This death will not bring eternal death because we've been set free from the law of sin and death, but it does bring damage and corruption to our lives.

Principle 24: Even though we struggle with sin and it's physical consequences in our bodies, we can be assured that this mortal body will be fully redeemed and raised as a new body.

Victory in Christ - Part 15

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

So we have the principle reiterated that it is an issue of death when we mind fleshly things. Living is found in focusing on spiritual things. As I mentioned earlier, sowing to the flesh reaps corruption. We need to come to the point where we actually believe this. When Adam was told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he was told that he would die. I imagine that after he disobeyed, he probably thought to himself, “Well, that wasn't so bad. I'm still here.” I think we sometimes do the same thing. We spend time focusing on the flesh and earthly, sinful pleasures and we don't feel any worse as far as life and death is concerned. But we need to challenge ourselves with the question, “Do I believe God in this matter?” To be carnally minded is a destructive, death-producing way to live.

Principle 22: To be carnally (fleshly) minded is a destructive, death-producing way to live.

⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Here we have an explanation that clarifies a couple of things. He speaks here of being “in the flesh.” That is different than being carnally or fleshly minded. He very clearly says in verse 9 that if the Spirit of God dwells in us, we are not “in the flesh.” If the Spirit of God dwells in us, we are “in the Spirit.” Then he further goes on to explain that if someone does not have the Spirit of God dwelling in him, then he does not belong to God.

So let's start with this recent information and work backwards. Someone who does not know God through Christ does not have the Spirit of God in him and therefore does not belong to God. Such a person is “in the flesh.” This person cannot please God. This person is separate from God and is on a path to death. Now if I, as a Christian, spend time minding the things of the flesh, I am dabbling in the same kind of thought patterns and focus that a person who does not know God does. He is in it full time. I, when I think this way, am spending time there as well. Paul is telling us that to have that sort of mindset brings us into the arena of death and is somehow bringing the corruption of death into our lives. The more time we spend there, the more damage is done. Even if we are ultimately saved, we will have damaged our lives tremendously compared to what they otherwise might have been.

Here is what J.I. Packer wrote in Knowing God:

We are familiar with the thought that our bodies are like machines, needing the right routine of food, rest, and exercise if they are to run efficiently, and liable, if filled up with the wrong fuel -- alcohol, drugs, poison -- to lose their power of healthy functioning and ultimately to 'seize up' entirely in physical death. What we are, perhaps, slower to grasp is that God wishes us to think of our souls in a similar way. As rational persons, we were made to bear God's moral image -- that is, our souls were made to 'run' on the practice of worship, law-keeping, truthfulness, honesty, discipline, self-control, and service to God and our fellows. If we abandon these practices, not only do we incur guilt before God; we also progressively destroy our own souls. Conscience atrophies, the sense of shame dries up, one's capacity for truthfulness, loyalty, and honesty is eaten away, one's character disintegrates. One not only becomes desperately miserable; one is steadily being de-humanized. This is one aspect of spiritual death.

When Paul told the Colossians to put to death sinful behaviors, he warned them that it was because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience (Colossians 3:6). Why would we want to spend our time doing the very things that those in the flesh are going to be condemned for?

The key to victory then involves setting our minds on the things of the spirit. While we don't do this perfectly, we are under the umbrella of “no condemnation”.

Paul summarizes some of this in Galatians 5:16-18: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

In this passage he reminds us that we can avoid fulfilling the lust of the flesh by walking in the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit are against each other and there is a battle going on. My dad used to teach us that the phrase at the end of verse 17 “so that you do not do the things that you wish” really means, “so that you will not do the things you otherwise would have done.” The NASB translates this phrase, “so that you may not do the things that you please.” In other words, this may not be like the Romans passage where Paul laments the fact that he cannot successfully do the right thing. This passage may be saying that the Spirit is victorious. The battle rages, but the Spirit is the victor. He keeps us from doing what we otherwise would. I'm not a Greek scholar and so I don't know if this meaning is accurate or not, but it is worth considering. We should not minimize the capability of the Spirit to be victorious. After Paul's despair of Romans chapter 7, he brings the Spirit into His explanation as a reason for hope and praise. It is the Spirit that gives victory and so it makes sense that if the Spirit is against the flesh, He has the power to be victorious.

Principle 23: If the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you are in the spirit and not in the flesh. So don't spend time being what you're not.

Victory in Christ - Part 14

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The goal is for the righteous requirement of the law to be fulfilled in us through the Spirit that God has given us and not through attempting to obey external commandments. Granted, the commandments of God reveal His nature and will for us. They are good and righteous and holy. But obedience has to come from the inside and the only way for that to happen is for us to walk according to the Spirit of God and not according to the flesh. It's like what we were saying earlier about yielding our members to God as weapons for righteousness.

As Paul had said in Romans 7:6, “...so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” For as he says in 2 Corinthians 3:6 “...not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The idea is that God's covenant with His people is that He would change their hearts and give them His Spirit. He promised that He would change our motivation and cause us to walk in His ways. He said that He would put His fear in our hearts so that we would not depart from Him (eg., Jeremiah 32:40, Ezekiel 36:26,27). That's completely different from having an external list of laws that we are supposed to try to be motivated to follow. The point of the gospel in the New Testament is that that approach didn't work throughout the whole Old Testament. That's why even in the Old Testament God predicted the coming of the New Covenant.

Think about two of the major life stages of a human being. When a person is a child, his parents put all sorts of fences around him. They make rules about playing in the street or how to act around a swimming pool. They tell him he must eat his vegetables and go to bed at a certain hour. Life is pretty regimented. Once a child reaches adulthood, he doesn't need these rules. He will still follow most of them because it is dangerous even for an adult to play in the street. It's important to eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep. But these choices are his and come from inside of him rather than from the outside. The Bible compares human history to these stages of development. I'll quote the verses for you shortly, but the idea is that under the old covenant, people needed to have laws and regulations as to how to function well in relationship to God. This would be like the childhood stage. They didn't have the changed heart and the presence of God's Spirit in their lives. However, once Christ had come, died, been resurrected and returned to glory, and the Holy Spirit had come to indwell believers, those external regulations were no longer needed. Under the new covenant, a man's heart, spirit and motivation are all changed and he has the resources to live a life pleasing to God. And as our passage says, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us as we walk according to the Spirit.

Now, as promised, here are the passages where this comparison to childhood and adulthood comes from.

Galatians 3²³ But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Galatians 4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, ² but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. ³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Principle 20: The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us as we walk in the spirit.

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 10:35-36

Heb 10:35-36 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Hymn of the Week -- The Final Word

 The Final Word - by Michael Card

You and me we use so very many clumsy words.
The noise of what we often say is not worth being heard.
When the Father’s Wisdom wanted to communicate His love,
He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

He spoke the Incarnation and then so was born the Son.
His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.
Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.
And so was born the baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Father’s fondest thought took on flesh and bone.
He spoke the living luminous Word, at once His will was done.
And so the transformation that in man had been unheard
Took place in God the Father as He spoke that final Word.

He spoke the Incarnation and then so was born the Son.
His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.
Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.
And so was born the baby who would die to make it mine.

And so the Light became alive
And manna became Man.
Eternity stepped into time
So we could understand.

He spoke the Incarnation and then so was born the Son.
His final word was Jesus, He needed no other one.
Spoke flesh and blood so He could bleed and make a way Divine.
And so was born the baby who would die to make it mine.

Victory in Christ - Part 13

This is the next installment of a series I am writing concerning what Romans 6-8 teaches about our sin problem and God's plan for victory. To find previous installments do a search for the title: Victory In Christ. You can find the first installment here.

³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

Again, he starts this verse with the word 'for'. Can you see the fact that each verse builds upon the truth of the preceding verse? The principle of the life of the Spirit of Christ is able to free us because of what verse 3 says. There are things that the law cannot do. The writer of Hebrews says it this way, “¹⁸ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:18,19). Here he describes the law as being weak and unprofitable. As we read earlier, the law was brought in that sin might abound.

But the praise here comes from the fact that what the law could not do, God did! He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. In other words Christ had a flesh like we have even though He did not sin. He was tempted though, so He knew what that was like. In the process of living this life in the flesh without sinning, He condemned sin in the flesh. He demonstrated its utter weakness to control a human being. Sin does not have the dominion it once had, and Jesus Christ demonstrated that fact. What the law could not do, Christ did!

But He not only defeated sin in His own flesh, He came as a sin offering. So in addition to condemning sin in the flesh by living a sinless life, He condemned it to death on the cross when He died. So here's what we have. Paul, looking at himself as a human being separated sin from himself. He said, “It's not me, it's sin that is doing these things.” He says this without relinquishing responsibility for the sin; he's just saying there are two entities at war with each other. Now here's the point I want to make. If you compare verse 8:1 to 8:3, you see that there is no condemnation for the person, but, sin as an entity has been condemned. It has not been condemned out in space somewhere. It has been condemned in the flesh where it normally takes up residence. So, if you are a Christian, you stand uncondemned by God, but the sin in you has been judged and condemned. You died with Christ to the law. Death no longer has dominion. Sin no longer has dominion. Your old man was judged on the cross. You've been given the Spirit of God.

Principle 19: Sin in the flesh has been condemned even though you are not.

Victory in Christ - Part 12

Romans Chapter 8 ¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now comes the wonderful explanation of victory that we can enjoy. The first thing we need to understand is that if we are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. A person who has trusted in Christ has been justified freely by the grace of God (Romans 3:24). The righteousness of God has been given to us when we come to Christ in faith (Philippians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Christ became the curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

I look at it as an umbrella. While we are learning to live by faith and learning to be faithful disciples, we live under the umbrella of no condemnation. There is absolutely no judgment for sin awaiting the believer. All of the punishment that was due us because of our sin was laid on Christ. All of the ways that we fail to do what is required – all those failures were placed on Christ. All of the things we have done against God and against His law have been laid upon Christ. If we are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. That's the first thing we should know. If we are a believer, this is true no matter how difficult a time we have trying to be obedient. It is our protection and our only hope of eternal life.

Principle 17: There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

As he mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, there is a law of sin and death at work and it has taken us captive. We are bound to it because of the warring that takes place between our flesh and our minds. This verse tells us that there is another law or principle that is superior to the law of sin and death. That law is the law of the Spirit of life. Whether we feel it or not, this law has made me free from the law of sin and death.

I don't know if I'm correct or not, but I look at it like the law of gravity. If you step off the roof of a 10 story building, you're going to get hurt. The law of gravity is in place. But there are other laws as well. There are laws of aerodynamics which also apply. If you step off that same building with a parachute or some kind of glider, the law of gravity in it's normal way of working on a human body is trumped by a different law. That's what this seems like to me. There is a law of the Spirit of life and this law sets me free from the normal principle of sin and the resulting death that comes from it. This doesn't remove the fact that there are consequences to our sin, but I think the point here is that God in His saving work for us has provided not only a way of salvation, but a way of victory. Jesus after all was named “Jesus” for He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). So first, there is no condemnation and second, the law of the Spirit of life has countered the law of sin and death. That cycle is broken. Notice that this principle is based on the Spirit. It is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that frees us. Remember, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.

Paul began this verse with the word 'for'. There is no condemnation because the principle of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the death consequences of sin. The Spirit of life that is in Jesus Christ is a powerful person who is at work, freeing us and loosing us from the perpetual cycle of sin and death.

Principle 18: The Spirit has released me from the law of sin and death.