“And not only so, but we also joy in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Romans5:11
We began in the previous
lesson discussing the exchange that happened at the Cross. The first part of
the exchange happened on the Cross. Jesus became who we were and we became who
he was. He took what we deserved and we took what he deserved.
In this lesson we shall
discuss the second part of this exchange which was the separation that happened
between Jesus and His Father when He became our sin on the Cross and how as a
result we were reconciled with the Father through this.
We died with Jesus on the
Cross and we were buried together with Him.
The mistake we make is we
fail to behold the burial of Jesus. We see and agree with the Cross in as far
as it talks about the death of Jesus and His resurrection but rarely His
burial.
It is not enough to
acknowledge that we died in Christ. It is not enough to acknowledge that we are
dead to sin and to the Law. We must also recognize that we are buried with
Christ.
We usually recognize that
we are dead to something. To the old nature, to sin, to the Law etc. and yet we
still see them operating in our lives. We wonder how something that we are dead
to is still having power in our lives. The reason is because we haven’t seen
the burial. We haven’t seen the putting away of that thing from us forever. It
is like we are still moving around with its carcass strapped to us.
There is an order to
this. God has ordained an order and we must see this order. There is first
Death then burial then resurrection and finally glorification.
We must comprehend and
receive revelation of the death of Jesus and our baptism into that death, His
burial in which we are also buried, His resurrection and His glorification.
We are usually very
willing to agree with The Lord about what is dead but are unwilling to see the
dead buried. We still want to look at them. We still want to relive the life of
the dead. We still want to live in their memories. We want to live their old
life. The life we lived before we died in Christ.
Most Christians are
hypocrites. They are alive in Christ and yet they are still living as the dead
person they were previously. They are righteous and holy and yet they still
insist that they are sinners and are still living the life of sin and religion.
Most of us are still
trying to live the life of a dead person (who we were in the past) instead of
embracing our new life in Jesus. All of this comes because we have still refused
to bury the old nature. We have refused to reckon ourselves buried in Christ.
Even naturally, it is
obvious that when people die, we bury them. The moment death happens we
immediately begin to plan for burial.
Why? Because once someone
has died, they can no longer be useful for life. They are no longer useful in
this world. In fact they become a source of death. If they stay longer, they
will produce death in those that are still living.
They have to be buried.
Yet, it doesn't seem to work like that in our Christian journey. We accept
death but then refuse the burial that should naturally follow. We are content
to leave the dead nature there in our heart. We refuse to get rid of it.
This is like having
someone die and instead of burying them you put them in the sitting room and
let them be there.
There they are every day,
completely dead and yet completely left in view. You see them all the time.
They assault you with their deadness every day.
The truth is in such a
situation you don’t really believe the person is dead. That is why you refuse
to bury them. Otherwise, if you truly believed they were dead you would bury
them.
So why do we bury the
dead?
Because it removes the
dead from view. It puts them out of sight.
Why should we bury the
old man?
So that the dead man
ceases be the motivation for anything in our life.
So that we are free to
live according to the Living.
We need to allow the Holy
Spirit to bury that which no longer defines us. Our old sin nature. We should only be motivated by what is alive
and what is real.
We need to realize this.
The reason we are constantly running into the same things that we know we are
dead to and yet they never seem to leave our lives for example sins, habits,
legalism etc. is because we haven’t buried them. They are still in our living
room. They still have a place in our heart.
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh:
yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we
him no more.” 2Cor5:16
Now because Jesus died
for all mankind and all mankind died in Him we know nobody after the flesh
anymore. Why? Because they all died in Christ and are now risen in Him. We
should not regard anybody after the flesh any more. They have all died in
Christ. We should regard them in Christ.
He is telling us to stop
judging people based on their physical appearances and capabilities. Even for
those who have not yet received Christ, we have no business judging them after
the flesh. God is not judging them after the flesh. Flesh has been taken away
from His presence.
God doesn’t know or deal
with any of us according to the flesh and according to who we are in the flesh.
God deals with us according to who we are in Christ. He knows no man after the
flesh anymore. And He wants this to be the way we know our selves and the way
we know other people.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2Cor5:17
We don’t know others
after the flesh because they are now in Christ and have become a new creature.
Old things have passed away and everything has become new. And everything is of
God.
When a person is in
Christ they are no longer the same old person they used to be. Something life
changing happens to them. Old things pass away, the old life passes away and in
its place a new life comes. Everything becomes new. Look at what The Living
Bible translation says;
“When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand
new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!” 2Cor5:17
TLB
There is a change that
takes place on the inside of us that makes us a brand new person. All the inner
corruption, perverseness, impurity and sinfulness that is true of us is taken
away by the taking away of the old man at salvation.
God does a work in us in
an instant that takes away that which we have tried to take away from us for
all of our life and yet failed miserably. The corruption and inherent badness
and sinfulness that all of us are aware of. That undeserving unworthy nature
that all of us are always condemned about is taken away when we have faith in
Christ. This is what all religion tries to do and yet always fails miserably.
In its place we receive a
brand new righteous and holy nature which is exactly like God. We receive a new
heart, a new purity, righteousness, holiness and goodness that is completely of
God. We become righteous on the inside. We receive a new spirit which are
exactly like God.
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and true holiness.” Eph4:24
This has nothing to do
with what you do. It is who you are. Your nature. You cannot be anything else.
You are always right with God. You are always pleasing to Him. You are always
acceptable and agreeable to Him.
This new nature in our
spirit is exactly like God. This is how God views us now. Righteous and holy as
He is. God finds no fault in us.
Something significant
happens when we come to the Cross. God takes away the old. And gives us the new
as the NIV bible says, '...the old has gone, the new is here'
We need to see that we
are completely and utterly dead and buried in Christ. Everything of us died and
now everything in us is of Him.
At the Cross God buried
everything in us that was of the old nature. This means that He has put it away
from His view. Our old nature, our sins, our habits, our failures etc. He has
put it away from Him. He doesn’t see it anymore.
It is up to us now, to
let Him put it away from our view. To embrace our burial in Christ. To relate
only with who we are in Christ and in no other way.
How does this happen?
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life…” John14:6
All of this happens as we
lay a hold of Jesus as THE TRUTH.
The way is in His death,
the truth is in His burial, the life is in His resurrection.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” John8:32
The truth is what has the
power to set us free. As we know and meditate on the truth we are made free
from the past and from the old which is dead. The truth buries it. The truth
puts the dead out of our sight.
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