February 26, 2019 DEAD BUT ALIVE
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
It’s another mystery of God, but we can find real, abundant life only after we have died. This death is not a physical death, but is a death to what the bible often refers to as the flesh. The flesh is that part of man that insist on living according to his or her own way. Man, apart from God, is convinced that he knows what is best for him and thus he pursues life according to his own dictates. As Proverbs tells us, there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death. Because man believes that he is the one who ‘is in charge’ of his life, he rejects the idea of a God who is ruling and reigning, and a God to whom he is accountable too. The flesh has many faces; it can express itself in the most hideous form of evil, or it can actually on the surface look good-but in either case or anywhere between, it is still the flesh that insist on its own way, independent of God. In Galatians, Paul is correcting the erroneous teaching of those who say that only by keeping the law can one be justified before God. Even though those who profess to know God, are still living according to the flesh if they believe that it is by their works that they are justified. A basic, foundational truth of the gospel is that Christ fulfilled the law and He died in our place, making us ‘justified’ before God. The truth and the blessings of the New Covenant hinge on the believer dying to himself and living as unto the Lord. In essence, dying to myself is saying to God that I choose to live according to His ways, not mine-in other words, I see myself, the flesh, as having been crucified with Christ. Just as Paul testified, we too have been raised with Him and He now lives in us. Here is the good news; the best thing we could ever do is to die to ourselves; trading our life for His is a no-brainer. We still live in the flesh, but we are no longer dominated by the flesh; the life we live now is the life of Christ in us. Now our flesh is under the rule of Christ. Dying to self is not a one-time occurrence but is an on-going process; Romans 8:12-13 tells us that we are to be ‘putting to death the deeds of the body.’ When we walk according to the Spirit, we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. If we want to really live life to the fullest, let us by faith declare that our old self, our flesh, was indeed crucified with Christ and that now we live according to the life of Christ in us.
Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Blessings,
Buddy
[email protected]
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
It’s another mystery of God, but we can find real, abundant life only after we have died. This death is not a physical death, but is a death to what the bible often refers to as the flesh. The flesh is that part of man that insist on living according to his or her own way. Man, apart from God, is convinced that he knows what is best for him and thus he pursues life according to his own dictates. As Proverbs tells us, there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death. Because man believes that he is the one who ‘is in charge’ of his life, he rejects the idea of a God who is ruling and reigning, and a God to whom he is accountable too. The flesh has many faces; it can express itself in the most hideous form of evil, or it can actually on the surface look good-but in either case or anywhere between, it is still the flesh that insist on its own way, independent of God. In Galatians, Paul is correcting the erroneous teaching of those who say that only by keeping the law can one be justified before God. Even though those who profess to know God, are still living according to the flesh if they believe that it is by their works that they are justified. A basic, foundational truth of the gospel is that Christ fulfilled the law and He died in our place, making us ‘justified’ before God. The truth and the blessings of the New Covenant hinge on the believer dying to himself and living as unto the Lord. In essence, dying to myself is saying to God that I choose to live according to His ways, not mine-in other words, I see myself, the flesh, as having been crucified with Christ. Just as Paul testified, we too have been raised with Him and He now lives in us. Here is the good news; the best thing we could ever do is to die to ourselves; trading our life for His is a no-brainer. We still live in the flesh, but we are no longer dominated by the flesh; the life we live now is the life of Christ in us. Now our flesh is under the rule of Christ. Dying to self is not a one-time occurrence but is an on-going process; Romans 8:12-13 tells us that we are to be ‘putting to death the deeds of the body.’ When we walk according to the Spirit, we will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. If we want to really live life to the fullest, let us by faith declare that our old self, our flesh, was indeed crucified with Christ and that now we live according to the life of Christ in us.
Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Blessings,
Buddy
[email protected]
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