January 7, 2021 THE GREAT EXCHANGE
Romans 8:13 “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die: but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Scripture makes it clear; if I live according to my own desires and preferences, by my own strength and determination-in other words, according to my flesh, I will die spiritually. We make the choice of living according to the Spirit, or according to the flesh. The good news for us is that we can exchange our life for the life of Christ-the greatest exchange we will ever make. It is possible for a person to be born again, to be a believer, and yet live according to their flesh. A great portion of the New Testament contains instructions and admonitions, encouraging believers to live according to the life of Christ who indwells them. As we think about dying to self, about not living according to our flesh, we must be alert to a potential error that we can make. It is ironic, but we can try to die to ourselves in our own strength! That in itself is a work of the flesh. We often hear others telling us what we should and should not be doing; many live by a list of rules. It is my belief that, and I believe that it is true to scripture; when we come to know of our true identity as sons and daughters of God, when we come to know in our inner man that God is our Father, and when we come to experience His love personally, we then have a desire to live in a way that pleases Him-according to the Spirit. Knowing God in this way changes our desire to live for self, and we begin to live out of our relationship with Him; we find great joy in living in a way that is pleasing to Him; when we live in such a way, we are fulfilled and the longing of our soul is satisfied. It is all about knowing that Christ lives in us and that He came that we might have life to the fullest-no matter our circumstances. Nothing compares to living in and experiencing the kingdom of God here on earth. His kingdom is unlike this worlds kingdom; life in His kingdom is about giving, blessing, serving, preferring others, godly character, being patient and long-suffering, forgiving, trusting God, being kind-hearted, and etc. Again-this life comes as a result of knowing God and being conscious of His presence in us. Trying to live by a list of rules simply does not work; what does work and what makes a difference is truly loving God-not with lip-service only, but from the heart. Dying to ourselves and choosing not to live according to the flesh is something we do as a way of life-it’s not a one-time deal. The Spirit is constantly guiding us; it is our place to live according to the Spirt and not according to our flesh. As believers, let us not hesitate to exchange our life and our ways for the life of Christ.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Colossians 1:27 “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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