Author: newmanforchrist

Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph   in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

   The precious phrase, “in Christ,” is found over eighty times in the New Testament to describe our glorious spiritual inheritance in Jesus Christ.  God has made us joint-heirs in Christ (Romans 8:17).  He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  He has predestined us to spiritually reign in Christ (Romans 5:17).  According to the Bible, this should be our normal Christian experience in Christ.

   But first, how do we get “in Christ?”   There is nothing we could possibly do to put ourselves   in Christ.  This is a miraculous work only God Himself could do.  The moment we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and were born again of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-7), God placed us in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30).  The Bible says that we were spiritually immersed into Christ. This is the true spiritual significance of baptism, which means immersion in the Greek (baptisma).  “For all of you who were baptized (immersed) into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27).”  A brother in Christ once used the analogy of inserting a piece of paper into a book to describe this event.  Then whatever happened to the book also happened to the paper in the book.  If the book was immersed under water, the paper was also immersed under water.  This is what spiritually happened to us when we were immersed into Christ.

   Christ’s redemption (His death, burial and resurrection) was an eternal event in the spiritual realm.  Because we have been immersed into union with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17), we have been spiritually incorporated into every aspect of Christ’s redemption.  Our union with Christ starts at the cross when we were immersed into His death.  “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (Romans 6:3).” When Christ died, our old sinful nature died in Christ and was buried (removed) in Christ (Romans 6:6; Colossians 2:11).  When Christ was made alive and raised from the dead, we were made spiritually alive and raised in Christ (Romans 6:4-11; Ephesians 2:5-6).  Since Christ has been seated in the heavenly places, we are also seated in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6).  Because Christ has triumphed over the world through the cross, we have also triumphed over the world in Christ (Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 2:14).

   What does the Bible mean to triumph in Christ?  It means that only in Christ are we able to overcome the power of Satan and sin.  By His death on the cross, Christ triumphed over sin (John 1:29; Romans 8:1-2).  Because we are  in Christ, we have also overcome sin (Romans 6:11; 1 John 3:9; 5:4-5).  When Christ died, God freed us from the power of sin by including us in His Son’s death (see Romans 6:3-7).  Before we died in Christ, Satan had power over our sinful nature (Ephesians 2:2).  However, since our sinful nature has been crucified and removed by Christ’s death (Romans 6:6), we have been freed from sin (Romans 6:7) so that sin no longer has power over us (Romans 6:14).  Thus, by His death on the cross, Jesus Christ disarmed the power of the devil to make us sin (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).  “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15).”  Because Christ has triumphed through the cross, all spiritual powers and authorities are subject to Him (Ephesians 1:20-22; 1 Peter 3:22).

   Since we are in Christ, we have also overcome the devil, the enemy (1 John 4:4; 5:18-19).  When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2).  He told them, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall injure you (Luke 10:19).” Because we are in Christ, we also have authority over the power of the enemy.

   How do we triumph in Christ?  We overcome the same way we received forgiveness of sins.  We believe what God says is true and act on it.  If we are in Christ, we believe that God has forgiven us because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (Ephesians 1:7).  In the same manner, if we are in Christ, we believe that God has made us overcomers because of Christ’s triumph on the cross (1 John 5:4-5).  Christ has already done everything for us.  Christ, who lives in us, has become our Savior and He has also become our Overcomer.  Salvation did not depend on our self-effort.  We receive God’s grace, Christ’s forgiveness of sins, because of His sacrifice on the cross.  In the same way, overcoming does not depend on our self-effort.  We receive God’s grace, Christ’s overcoming life, because of His triumph on the cross.  This leads to good works born from faith in Christ’s completed work on the cross.  There is no other way to bear true fruit.

   If we are still trying to overcome sin and Satan by our own ability, we will be defeated. If overcoming depended on us, we would never make it.  However, since we have died in Christ, we no longer have a sinful nature.  Our sinful nature has been crucified and removed in Christ; therefore, we do not have to keep trying harder to overcome.  Instead, we can depend on the power of the cross of Christ by which we have been crucified to the world and the world has been crucified to us (Galatians 6:14). In our natural strength, we cannot overcome the devil and sin, but now we can look with confidence to our Lord Jesus Christ who overcomes through us.  What is victory?  Victory is fixing our eyes by faith on Jesus Christ who has already triumphed on the cross (Hebrews 12:2)!  God has immersed us in Christ’s victory!  This is the truth that sets us free!

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:57

“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block.”   1 Corinthians 1:23; see also Galatians 5:11

  The message of Christ crucified is a stumbling block because it strikes at the root of man’s self-righteousness and rebellion toward God. To receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must humble ourselves and acknowledge our unrighteousness before God.  By faith, we then depend on Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for our righteousness.  This is what is called saving faith.  Unbelievers reject the message of Christ crucified because they do not want to acknowledge God and give up their soul-life by submitting to the sovereignty and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who has found his soul-life will lose it, and he who has lost his soul-life for My sake has found it (Matthew 10:38-39).”  The message of the cross confronts each person with a spiritual crisis – a decisive moment in their life to choose whether to give up their self-identity, self-life and self-righteousness and submit to Christ’s authority. Many people are so fiercely determined to protect and control their soul-life (self-rule) that the   Holy Spirit cannot convict them of their unrighteousness and their need for Jesus Christ to save them.  Anyone who wants to maintain their own self-righteousness and self-sovereignty instead of submitting to Christ’s righteousness and sovereignty will stumble over the cross of Christ (see Romans 9:30-10:4). The Bible says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36).”   

   However, the word of the cross goes far beyond just cleansing us from sin.  Christ’s death on the cross not only provided us forgiveness for sins; His death also provided us deliverance from sin’s power.  Christ not only bore our sins on the cross, He bore our sin nature on the cross with Him.  If we believe in Christ, then when Christ died we died with Him.  Since our sinful nature has died with Christ and been removed from us, we have been freed from sin’s power (Romans 6:6-7).  Jesus Christ not only died in our place, He now wants to live in our place.  This is Christ’s complete provision for us as a result of His crucifixion.  But why is this complete truth of the cross a stumbling block to even many Christians?  Why don’t more Christians want to embrace the exchanged life that is provided for us in Christ?  Why would any Christian be satisfied with a life that is just an outward cultural or moral change?

   Once again, the cross strikes at the root of our self-identity, self-righteousness and self-will.   The real crux of the matter is whether we are willing to lose our soul-life and submit to Christ’s authority.  In order to “see” that you have died with Christ so that He can live in you, you must be willing to completely surrender your whole life to Jesus Christ.  The exchanged life means you give up control of your soul-life in return for Christ’s Sovereignty and His divine life.  You cannot enter into the experience of Christ’s exchanged life unless you are willing to give up your soul-life (your natural attitudes, affections and abilities) for Christ’s attitudes, affections and abilities.  Jesus said, “He who loves his soul-life loses it, and he who hates his soul-life in this world will keep it to life eternal (John 12:25).”

   This means when Christ becomes your life, you died to the right to run your own life.  Knowing and acknowledging the truth that you have been crucified with Christ will affect all of your life’s decisions, such as whom you marry, which friends you choose, what job you have, how you spend your money, where you live and how you live.  “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple… none of you can be My disciple who does not give up everything he has (Luke 14:27 & 33).” Submitting wholeheartedly to Christ’s Sovereignty will impact every area of your life – spirit, soul and body.  “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Matthew 16:24).” Christ’s Lordship will completely pervade your daily life and all your pursuits, activities and associations. Christ’s Sovereign Spirit will ultimately transform even your natural temperament and your affections and attitudes.  If knowing Christ and submitting to His Sovereignty is what you really desire, then entering into the knowledge that you died with Christ is liberating.  However, if you do not want to wholeheartedly submit to Christ’s authority, then the message of the cross will offend you. Tragically, many so-called “Christians” love their soul-life too much to give it up for Jesus Christ and misuse God’s grace as an excuse to practice sin.  Just as the apostle Peter warned, “Do not use your freedom as a cover for evil (1 Peter 2:16).”

   Some Christians sincerely want to surrender completely to Christ, but they do not know how and their experience makes them feel that they will always fail.  The gospel of Christ crucified is indeed good news for these people, for the Word of God teaches us that because Jesus surrendered His life to God (to the point of death), we are capable by faith of doing the same thing because we no longer have a sinful nature and Christ now lives in us.  If you are willing to lose your soul-life so that you can find it, you do not need to suffer from defeat anymore.  Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:31-32, 36).”  The message of the cross is only a stumbling block if you do not want to submit to Christ’s Sovereignty.  If you are willing to lose your soul-life for Christ’s sake, then the gospel of Christ crucified is great news!

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:19-21

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  James 2:26

   The Bible says that faith must produce works.  Very few Christians understand the relationship between faith and works or which works are acceptable to God and which are not acceptable.  What does the Bible mean by “faith” and “works?”  Faith is “what we believe” and works are “what we do.”  The Bible says we are saved solely by faith in Jesus Christ because there are no works which could ever earn us righteousness.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith… not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9; see also Titus 3:5).”  But once we are saved, the Bible says we must then express our faith by our works; otherwise our faith is not valid.  “Faith apart from works is inactive and ineffective and worthless (James 2:20).”  Therefore, salvation is not a result of our good works, but good works should result from our salvation if our faith in Jesus Christ is real.

   At this point, it is important to note the difference between what the Bible calls “dead works” and “good works.” In the early church, new Christians received discipleship training on the need to repent from dead works in order to serve the living God (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14).  From a Biblical perspective, “dead works” include anything we do to establish a religious or moral identity outside of faith in Christ.  Many works of service done by Christians today fall under this category.  Dead works have three distinguishing features that separate them from what the Bible calls “good works.”  The source, the power and the outcome of dead works are different than the source, the power and the outcome of good works.  Dead works are initiated by our natural mind, are empowered by our natural ability, produce what we can achieve and get man’s approval.  Good works are initiated by the mind of God, are empowered by the Spirit of God, produce what only God can achieve and always result in God’s approval.  The Son of God is the perfect example of someone who always did good works. Jesus Christ never did any works independently of God’s will.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing… I can do nothing on My own initiative… because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (John 5:19 & 30).  By His good works, Jesus showed us that the work of God is God Himself at work.  Jesus said, “The Father abiding in Me does His works (John 14:10).”  Even though Jesus was the Son of Man, He never did any works that sprang from the strength of his human soul.  Jesus showed us the only works acceptable to God are those initiated and empowered by the Spirit of God.  “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Romans 8:14).”  All good works must spring from true faith in Jesus Christ.  When some people asked Jesus what they must do to do the works of God, He replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent (John 6:29).” 

   If God Himself is not doing the work, it is not the work of God.  If we can do a work without relying on God’s wisdom and power, then such a work is likely to be natural and void of the Spirit.  Since dead works are not authorized by God, they are disobedient works.  For this reason, it is crucial for Christians to hear and obey the Holy Spirit in order to do good works and not dead works.  We simply cannot do good works if we cannot hear God’s voice.  Jesus emphasized this truth when He said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches… My sheep hear My voice and they follow Me.”  If we cannot hear the Holy Spirit, we will naturally do dead works that spring from our soul but mistakenly think they are good works.  They may even appear to be “Christian” works but they are still dead works if the Spirit of God did not initiate them.  Many Christians are doing dead works because so few are able to discern the difference between the spirit and the soul (Hebrews 4:12).  If we are used to living by the strength of our soul and being led by our soul (our natural personality and ability), we will be deceived into doing dead works.  In fact, others may even encourage us to do them.  The Bible says we must stop doing our own works to enter into God’s rest and His works (Hebrews 4:10).  The only way we can stop doing dead “Christian” works and enter into God’s works is if we believe the truth of the cross.  If we believe that we have been crucified with Christ and our sinful nature is dead and gone (Romans 6:6), then we can hear and obey Jesus Christ who will initiate and do His good works through us (Galatians 2:20).  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 3:10).”

   At the end of this age, every Christian will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).  On that day, Christ will assess our works and allot our rewards and responsibilities for the age to come (Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17).  The works we have done on earth will not only be judged for their quantity but also for their quality (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).  Every good work we have done in obedience to the Holy Spirit will be treated as gold, silver and precious stones.  But every dead work we have done will be treated as wood, hay and straw and be burned up.  On that day, Christ will judge the hidden motives of everyone’s heart (Romans 2:19).  If your dead works were done out of spiritual ignorance, your works will be rejected but you will still be saved.  But if your dead works were done lawlessly for selfish ambition and personal profit, you will be rejected.  The angels of God will cast you out of Christ’s presence and you will face God’s judgment and eternal punishment with the rest of the hypocrites and unbelievers (Matthew 7:21-23; 13:41-42; 25:26-30).  Knowing then the kindness and severity of God, we should do the works of true faith to make sure we are doing the true works of God.

“So then, my beloved… work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:12-13

“’As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life… And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.’  But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.” John 3:14-15; 12:32-33 

   In this passage of Scripture, Jesus compared His impending death on the cross to Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. This Old Testament story can be found in the Book of Numbers (see Chapter 21:4-9).  When the people of Israel journeyed in the wilderness, they complained in unbelief against God.  As a result, poisonous serpents bit them and many of them died.  After the people confessed their sins and repented, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and fasten it to a standard or stake.  God said if anyone was dying from the poisonous venom and they gazed at the serpent on the stake, they would live.

   Why did Jesus compare His death on the cross to this story of the serpent on the stake? The Bible says Satan is the serpent of old (Revelation 12:9) who rules this world (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4).  Sin and spiritual death entered the human race when Adam disobeyed God and yielded to Satan (Romans 5:12-21).   Since then, everyone (except for Jesus Christ the Son of God) who is born into this world is born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1-3).

   Therefore, the story of the serpent in the wilderness is initially a picture of how Satan poisoned man’s nature with sin leading to spiritual death.  But thanks to God’s plan of redemption for mankind, this is not the end of the story.  For ultimately, the serpent nailed to the stake in the wilderness helps us understand how Christ’s death on the cross has freed us from Satan’s power of sin.  The Bible calls this   the “mystery of the gospel” (Colossians 1:27). The mystery is this: How can a man born with a sinful nature be reborn with God’s divine nature? This is essentially the same question Nicodemus asked Jesus: How can someone be born again and enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-7)?

   Since we were born sinners and our bondage to sin came by our birth, God in His wisdom and power delivered us from our sin nature by including us in His Son’s death (Romans 6:3-5).  God’s plan of salvation was not to improve our serpent-controlled, sin nature but to kill it and remove it (Romans 6:6).  Therefore, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He took our sin nature upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13).  When Christ died, we died with Him (Romans 6:3-8).  Thank God that old serpent nature of our sinful man has been crucified with Christ!

   John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!”  Thus, by His death, Jesus Christ completely redeemed us from sin.  He redeemed us from the penalty and condemnation of sin (Romans 8:1; Ephesians 1:7).  He also completely delivered us from the power of sin (Romans 6:7). He delivered us from the power of this fallen world (Galatians 1:4; 6:14).  And finally, Christ redeemed us from the power of the devil (Colossians 1:13; 2:15; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).  What a complete redemption we have obtained through Christ’s death on the cross!

   Our redemption was accomplished through a “divine exchange” that took place on the cross.  By dying on the cross on our behalf, Jesus Christ willingly paid the price for our sins and exchanged His own holy life for our sinful life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 1:21-22; 1 Peter 2:24).  By this holy and mighty sacrifice of His only Son, God translated us from our sinful Adam nature into Christ’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).  Therefore, when we receive Jesus as our Lord and are born again by God’s Spirit (John 3:3-8), our sinful, self-centered nature is removed (Colossians 2:11) and we become a new spiritual creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).   In a sense, God performed a divine heart transplant and replaced our terminally sin-sick heart with His Son’s divine heart to save us from the power of sin and certain doom.  Thus God included us in His Son’s death so that His resurrected Son might now sovereignly live in us (2 Corinthians 13:5; Colossians 1:27).

   When the people of the Old Covenant faced death in the wilderness, God told them to fix their eyes by faith on the serpent fastened to the stake in order to physically live (Numbers 21:8).  God is now telling us, His people of the New Covenant, to fix our eyes by faith on Jesus and the power of His cross in order to spiritually live (Hebrews 12:2).  When we abide (stay rooted by faith) in the Biblical truth that our old sinful nature was put to death with Christ on the cross, we will experience deliverance and healing from the power of sin (Romans 6:6-7).  Therefore, the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16) is the message of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18) that Jesus Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8) and we also died with Him (Romans 6:8).  Thus the serpent in the wilderness was a prophetic picture of how our sinful nature would be put to death on the cross with Christ.

   Jesus’ last words on the cross were, “It is finished (John 19:30).”  When the Galatians lost sight of Christ’s finished work on the cross and tried to live the Christian life based on their human efforts, the apostle Paul warned they were severed from Christ and had fallen from grace (Galatians 3:1-4; 5:4).  If we are trying to serve Christ through our natural ability, we are practicing a moral code, which nullifies the power of the cross in our lives.  The basis for our living Christ’s resurrection life (the Spirit-filled life) is to know by faith that our sinful nature has been crucified with Christ.  When we know that our sinful nature is dead and gone, then our life will not be based on trying to imitate Christ through our willpower and self-effort.  Instead, we will trust Jesus Christ to live His life through us.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body  I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  Galatians 2:20

“And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him (Christ) to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”  Ephesians 1:21-22

   Many Christians think that church has a pastor, a building, and a church service.  Without these three, they do not believe a church is legitimate.  But what does the Bible say church looks like?  The Bible says the first century church regularly met in homes rather than in special buildings.  Yet even this New Testament practice does not form the church’s identity.  The Bible says the first century church was normally led by a group of mature brothers or elders instead of a single pastor.  Yet even this form of Biblical leadership does not establish the church’s true identity. The Bible also says the first century church did not have programmed church services; instead, whenever the church met, the Holy Spirit led each member to share their spiritual gifts with one another to build up the body of Christ. But even this New Testament way of functioning together is not the basis of the church’s identity. 

   What then is the real source and basis of the church’s identity? The primary feature that identifies the true church is Christ’s life (the Greek word is zoe).  This is the divine life that Jesus described when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).” This is the divinelife the apostle John referred to when he wrote, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life (1 John 5:12).”  The true church is not a building or an organization. She is the church of the living God – the body of Christ. “Now you are Christ’s body and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:27).”  Because she is the body of Christ, the church must be properly submitted to Jesus Christ in order for her members to function and grow together in Christ’s zoe life.  “Christ is head of the body, the church… so that in everything He might have the supremacy (Colossians 1:18).” Thus we are exhorted to “…stay connected to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God (Colossians 2:19).”

   Once we know that our old sinful nature has died with Christ and was buried with Christ, we are free to lose our soul-life for Christ’s sake (Romans 6:3-11).  Jesus said in order to follow (or be connected to) Him and experience His zoe life, we must give up our soul-life (the Greek word is psyche).  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his psyche soul-lifeloses it, and he who hates his psyche soul-life in this world will preserve it for eternal zoe life (John 12:24-25).”  When we are born again, God plants the seed of Christ’s zoe life into our heart.  We will then grow in Christ’s zoe life if we lay down our psychesoul-life daily.  What does it mean to lay down our soul-life for Christ and how do we do this?  It means we give up our natural attitudes, affections and abilities for Christ’s attitudes, affections and abilities.  It also means we no longer depend on the power of our natural personality to live the Christian life and do Christian work.  Instead, our power to live the Christian life comes by our faith in Jesus Christ who lives in us and our faith in what He accomplished for us on the cross. This dynamic relationship between Christ and His body is only possible if we believe and act on the Biblical truth that our sinful nature has died with Christ and was removed from us.  Then we can live by faith in the Son of God so that His power and not our soul-power reigns in our lives (Galatians 2:20).

   It is entirely possible for Christians to meet together in homes, minister together in the spiritual gifts, and have a plurality of elders who together provide pastoral oversight and yet still not have Christ’s zoe life.  If we are not taking up our cross and laying down our soul-life for Christ’s sake, then we are not truly submitted to Christ’s headship and we are not spiritually growing in Christ’s zoe life.  Remember that the only way we can take up our cross and lose our soul-life is to believe God’s Word to the point that we act on the truth that we have died with Christ.  Then we will be free from bondage to sin and our spiritual ears will be opened to hear and obey the Lord.   In the natural realm, when the body’s major organic systems (such as the nervous system or cardiovascular system) become obstructed, the body quickly loses its vitality. The body’s immune system becomes compromised; its members stop functioning; and the body itself can die.  In the same way, if we try to function as Christ’s body by relying on our natural abilities and church traditions instead of submitting to the headship of Christ, we block the power of Christ’s zoe life from vitally nourishing His body, the church. The outcome is spiritual apathy and lifelessness.  “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain (Psalm 127:1).”

   Although there definitely are Biblical principles that govern church life, the devil is not overly concerned whether we belong to a mega church or a house church, as long as we never come into a true knowledge of what Christ’s death on the cross means.  In fact, the devil does not care whether the church does everything according to a New Testament pattern as long as she never walks in the power of Christ’s crucifixion.  Jesus said, “I am the life (John 14:6).”  The only way the body of Christ can experience Christ’s zoe life is if it stays connected to Jesus Christ its head.  And the only way the body can remain united to Christ is to abide (stay rooted by faith) in Christ’s death and resurrection.  But death always comes before resurrection life.  This is the divine order. When the church learns to abide by faith in the power of Christ’s death, she will express the power of Christ’s zoe life.  Then heaven and earth will see the glorious manifestation of the sons of God and the zoe life that comes from Christ alone. 

“God’s intent was that now, through the church, His manifold wisdom should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Ephesians 3:10-11

“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”  Philippians 2:8-11

   The word of the kingdom and the word of the cross are inseparably linked.   Together, they form the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ.  The word of the kingdom is the message that God the Father desires for Christ to reign as absolute King in our life.  The word of the cross is the message that Christ died for us to make this possible.  Coupled together, these two divine truths can be expressed as: Christ died for us and included us in His death so He might sovereignly live in us.

   The kingdom and the cross are one gospel.  We cannot have the kingdom without the cross nor can we have the cross without the kingdom.   The kingdom of God is the Kingship of Christ.  But Christ can only rule as King in our life if we embrace the transforming power of His cross.   All of us were naturally born with a rebellious sinful nature which could never submit to Christ’s Kingship.  Therefore, when we were born again of the Spirit, God performed a divine heart transplant.  When Christ died on the cross, God exchanged our sinful heart with His Son’s holy heart.  This divine exchange has made it possible for God to now reign in us through Jesus Christ.  This was the apostle Paul’s testimony: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20).”   

   It is impossible for us to spiritually embrace the cross of Christ unless we also embrace His Kingship.  God will not share the precious truth of the cross of His Son with us unless we are willing to submit wholeheartedly to His Son’s authority.  Our heartfelt prayer is for anyone who desperately struggles with besetting sins because of spiritual ignorance concerning the divine exchange of the cross.  However, we also need to be aware that there is a counterfeit Christianity that gives lip service to the kingdom and the cross.  Many so-called Christians who claim that Jesus is their Lord are not even born again.  And many of those who are “born again” are willful enemies of the cross of Christ because they love their soul-life too much to give it up for Christ.  Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his soul-life will lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake will find it… whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple (Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 14:27).”

   Anyone who professes to be a Christian but does not carry his own cross, deny himself and lose his soul-life for Christ’s sake is practicing lawlessness and does not truly know Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46).”  He also said, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:22-23).’”

   There are many false teachers today who profess to know the cross of Christ.  However, anyone who chooses to govern himself instead of submitting to the power of Christ’s Spirit is practicing a counterfeit Christianity.  Anyone who does not bear the fruit of the cross, which is sanctification, is not a true disciple.  Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruit.”  He did not say, “You shall know them by their gifts and ministries.”  Anyone who is trying to fulfill their soul-life through ministry instead of losing their soul-life for Christ’s sake is walking in darkness.  The Bible says, “If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6).” The Bible also says of such people, that they hold to “a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men of these (2 Timothy 3:5)” and “What fellowship can light have with darkness? … Therefore, come out from them and be separate… and I will be a Father to you and you will be My sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).” 

   Everyone who is destined for eternal salvation as the bride of Christ will wholeheartedly embrace the gospel of the cross and the King.  Every child of God that wants Jesus Christ to reign in their life will rejoice to learn that God has removed their sinful nature by Christ’s death on the cross.  Knowing that we have been crucified with Christ, we are now free to lose our soul-life for His sake (Galatians 6:14).  We gladly submit all our attitudes, affections, associations and activities to Christ’s Sovereignty so that He might rule our soul-life.  We present ourselves each day as a living and holy sacrifice to God so He might transform our soul and conform us into His Son’s image.  We joyfully give up trying to fulfill our soul-life in this world so that we might be eternally joined to our beloved bridegroom Jesus in the age to come.  “Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).”
  
   When we are ready to submit ourselves to Christ’s Sovereignty and lose our soul-life for His sake, God will reveal to us the mystery of the cross, which is also the mystery of the gospel.  Then God will be glorified since we will no longer live for ourselves but for Christ the King who lives in us.  “One died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).” This is the eternal gospel of Christ.

“And I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people.”  Revelation 14:6

Jesus said, “Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized in water but in a few days you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be My witnesses.”  Acts 1:4-8; see also Luke 24:49

   Jesus commanded His disciples to be baptized in water and He also commanded them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. When Jesus appeared to His disciples on Resurrection Sunday, He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).”  This was the moment when the disciples were born again of the Spirit.  In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul gives two conditions for salvation: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).”  Before His resurrection, the disciples had already confessed Jesus as Lord.  But now for the first time, they also believed God raised Him from the dead.  This was the moment of their new birth when God replaced their old Adam nature with Christ’s new nature.  This is when the Holy Spirit came to dwell within them.

   Yet, even though the disciples had now received the Holy Spirit for salvation, Jesus made it clear they also needed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit for empowerment (Acts 1:5-8; also Luke 24:49).” This was fulfilled when the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday.  “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4).” The apostle Peter then explained to all present what had happened: “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus) has poured out what you now see and hear (Acts 2:33).”

     The Greek word for baptism means immersion.  In the natural, there are two ways we can be immersed under water.  The first way is we can go down under the surface of the water.  This is what happens when we are water baptized.  The other way is if the water is poured over us until we are completely immersed under it.  In the natural, this experience would occur if we stood underneath a pouring waterfall.   This is the type of immersion that happens when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.  This is why the Bible describes Holy Spirit baptism in language such as “I will pour out My Spirit” and “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word” and “the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles.”  We should also note the Bible uses the terms “the baptism in the Holy Spirit,” the promise of the Holy Spirit” and “the gift of the Holy Spirit” interchangeably to describe the same experience (Acts 1:4-5; 2:38; 10:44-47; 11:16-17).

   When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, our entire being is immersed and filled with the power of Christ’s Spirit.  Yet Jesus did not intend His baptism in the Spirit to have only a one-time impact; He also meant it to be the spiritual gateway for us to walk continually in the power and the gifts of His Spirit.  Jesus knew we needed His power to be His witnesses. Without the power of His Holy Spirit, it is impossible for us to live the holy Christian life.  Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot overcome Satan. 

   However, the only way for the power of the Holy Spirit to be effective in our lives is if we spiritually know (and act on this knowledge) that we have died with Christ (Romans 6:8).  Calvary comes before Pentecost.  This is the divine order.  Jesus had to die at Calvary and then ascend before the Father’s promise of the Spirit could be poured out on Pentecost (John 7:39).  In the same way, our baptism into Christ’s resurrection power is only effective because we have been baptized into Christ’s death (Romans 6:3).  The divine fact is our sinful nature died and was removed from us when we were born again (Romans 6:6).  However, if we don’t know this fact by divine revelation, we will try to live the Christian life by our natural ability.  We then quench and block the power of the Holy Spirit from working in us.

   Therefore, it’s essential that we know (believe and act on) the truth that we have died with Jesus Christ so He can continually manifest the power of His Spirit in us (Galatians 2:20).  Otherwise, even though we may have been baptized in the Spirit, we will end up living by the power of our soul.  The Bible calls this starting in the Spirit but finishing in the flesh (Galatians 3:3).  Tragically, this has been an all too common experience for many Christians, even “charismatic” Christians.  However, when you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and know you have been crucified with Christ, then Jesus Christ can train you each day to walk in the power of His Holy Spirit and to place no confidence in the power of your personality and your natural abilities and talents (Philippines 3:3).

      Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, He empowers us to be His witnesses and overcome our enemy, the devil.   At the same time, He gives us a personal prayer language and enables us to pray in the Spirit for the body of Christ (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6; and Ephesians 6:18).  He also empowers us to employ the spiritual gifts to build up His church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).  The baptism in the Holy Spirit is also called the baptism with fire (Matthew 3:11).  Fire represents the holiness of the Lord.  Therefore, when Jesus Christ baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, He intends His Spirit to not only to empower us but to also purify and sanctify us.

   We can receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit the same way we received Jesus Christ – by faith (Galatians 3:14).  The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father.  His Son is the One who baptizes us in the Spirit.  Ask Jesus Christ to baptize you in the Holy Spirit and He will.

“If you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13

“He (Christ) must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets.”  Acts 3:21

   Five centuries ago, the Protestant Reformation dawned when God gave divine revelation to a Catholic monk named Martin Luther that “the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).” The truth of the gospel, which had been obscured for nearly one thousand years, became the torch that spread the fires of evangelism around the world.  Yet the Reformation restored only a part of the gospel; certainly a major part, but something very crucial was still missing from the gospel.  In practice, the Protestant Reformation restored the gospel of “the just shall be saved by faith,” but never restored the whole gospel of how “the just shall live by faith.” There is a vast difference. As a result, each generation of believers since then has known their sins were forgiven but has struggled unsuccessfully against the power of sin. This is the great dilemma that has challenged Christians to this day: After Christ saves us, how can we be His witnesses in the world without being overcome by the world?  Unless we find God’s divine solution, each generation of believers that is added to the church starts their Christian life by the Spirit but ends up vainly trying to overcome sin by their natural ability. It is evident that the body of Christ desperately needs the whole gospel.

   Through the centuries, many Christians have looked to the Bible to solve this dilemma.  In the 1500s, a band of believers thought they had found the answer.  They advocated a return to practicing adult water baptism by immersion. They believed this Biblical truth would restore the whole gospel by insuring there are true converts to the church.  Yet as time passed, it became apparent that something significant was still missing from the practice of the gospel.  In the 1600s and 1700s, companies of Christians once again thought they had found the answer to the dilemma.  They championed a return to holiness as the way to restore the gospel.  Yet as time passed, once again it became apparent that something significant was still missing from the gospel since a zeal for holiness was not enough to sustain true sanctification.  In the 1800s, dedicated Christians once again thought they had found the answer to the dilemma and called for a return to the church’s mission of world evangelism.  Millions of new believers were brought into the church through this vast and noble undertaking.  Yet as time passed, once again it became apparent that something significant was still missing from the gospel as many if not most of these new believers drifted away from the true faith.  Then, in the early 1900s, a group of Christians thought they had finally found the answer to the dilemma.  They believed the baptism in the Holy Spirit would give Christians all the power they needed to be Christ’s witnesses in the world.  Yet as time passed, once again it became evident that something significant still needed to be restored to the gospel in order for the church to become the pure bride ready for Jesus Christ’s return.

   In our present time, many sincere Christians are returning to a simpler, more Biblical model of practicing church.  Of course, other groups of believers in the past have also attempted to practice a New Testament pattern of church with the aim of restoring the whole gospel. All of these – water baptism, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the pursuit of holiness, global evangelism and a return to simple and organic church – are important parts of God’s plan to restore everything before Jesus Christ returns.  Yet none of these, in themselves, will enable the church to overcome Satan and his evil forces during these dark and perilous last days.  

   The answer to the church’s centuries old dilemma is found in the cross of Christ.  The mystery of the cross is like the centerpiece of a divine jigsaw puzzle that is the key to understanding the whole gospel of Jesus Christ.  When we see the full meaning of Christ’s crucifixion, the whole Bible and all its truths fit together to form the eternal purpose of God in Jesus Christ.  God knew we needed forgiveness for our sins; He also knew we needed deliverance from our sin nature.  Otherwise, we could not overcome sin.  Therefore, when Jesus died, He not only bore our sins on the cross; He also bore our sin nature on the cross.  Since our bondage to sin came when we were born sinners; our deliverance from sin came when God included us in His Son’s death.  When Christ died, God performed a divine heart transplant and replaced our sinful heart with His Son’s divine heart.  Therefore, we no longer have a sinful nature; we now have Christ’s holy nature.  Thus Christ not only died in our place; He now wants to sovereignly live in our place.  The cross of Christ is the secret to the victorious Christian life.  When we know we have died with Christ, we can live by faith in the Son of God who lives in us.  The gospel of the cross is the power of God to not only save the elect but to sanctify the church to be the bride of Christ.  This is the whole gospel.

   God has given us His Son to be our hiding place during the coming tribulation.  This is a great promise but if we don’t know Christ as our hiding place, we won’t be able to experience God’s provision when we need it.  Jesus Christ becomes our hiding place when we know (believe and act) that we died with Christ and our life is now hidden with Christ in God.  Therefore, the only way to prepare for the trouble ahead is to believe we have been crucified with Christ and enthrone Him in our hearts everyday as our Lord and King.  If we practice living out this truth of the cross, Christ will be our shelter in the coming great storm.  When God divinely reveals the mystery of the fullness of His Son’s crucifixion to the church, she will overcome the world.  Then our Lord Jesus Christ will return to crush Satan and claim His bride.  This is the eternal gospel.

“And I saw another angel flying in midair, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.”  Revelation 14:6

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Matthew 13:44-46

   Jesus Christ is the Pearl of Great Price! The Bible says that “Christ is the radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3)… in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).”  When we really see Jesus Christ and who He is, we will want to sell all we have in order to know Him – the Pearl of Great Price.  How much will it cost us to “sell all” for Christ?  For two thousand years, the price has always been the same.  Even if there are only a few “buyers,” God has never lowered the price.  The cost of knowing Christ is to believe in Him to the point that we want to give up our whole life for Him.  Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his soul-life will lose it, but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it (Mark 8:34-37).”  What does it mean to give up our soul-life for Christ and how do we do this?    It means we give Jesus Christ complete control over our lives and become His bondslaves out of love.  We then exchange our desires, interests and abilities for His desires, interests and abilities so that He can motivate us and work through us.  We let the mind of Christ totally permeate our entire being because we want to know Him and love Him more than we want anything else in this world.  And we do this by faith “for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). 

   Jesus said, “Whoever loses his soul-life for My sake will find it to life eternal (John 12:24).” The only way we will want to give up our soul-life is if we see that the Pearl of Great Price is worth far more than anything we have to give up. We first begin to see Jesus Christ clearly when we are born again into His kingdom.  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).”  If we do not see Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price, we will not be able to “sell all” for His sake.  If we do not see the eternal value of knowing Christ, we will not be able to lose our soul-life for His sake.  Without seeing the Pearl of Great Price, the magnetic pull of the sin of the world is irresistible.  Why do so few people give up their soul-life for Jesus Christ?  Many never see the Pearl of Great Price.  “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).  In the case of others who once were saved but now live only to fulfill their soul-life in this world, they have lost sight of the Pearl of Great Price.  They now simply love their soul-life too much to give it up for Christ.  They are like Esau who sold his inheritance for a bowl of beans (Genesis 25:27-34).  “But what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).”  Here is the glorious truth: It is possible for us to give up this world and all its pleasures because God, through the death of His Son, destroyed our sinful nature and removed it from us.  When Christ died, God performed a divine heart transplant and exchanged our sinful heart with His Son’s holy nature (Romans 6:3-11).  Because our sinful nature died with Christ, we have died to the world (Galatians 6:14).  We no longer have to practice sin.  “No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God’s seed (Christ) abides in him, and he cannot go on sinning because he is born of God (1 John 3:9).”

   Gaining Jesus Christ is worth far more than everything we have to sell.  Knowing Jesus is worth far beyond anything we have to lose.  When Jesus told His disciples they must bear their own cross, deny themselves and lose their soul-life for His sake, what did He give them in return?  He gave them Himself – the Pearl of Great Price. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3).” If we underestimate the worth of Jesus Christ and overestimate the value of what we have to lose, we will feel sorry for ourselves because we have to give up so much.  We will have lost sight of the Pearl of Great Price.  How much we “sell all” is in direct proportion to how much we see Christ.  As we obey Jesus Christ and His Word, He will increasingly reveal Himself to us.  “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.  He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and disclose Myself to him (John 14:21).” Giving up your whole life for the One you love and the One who loves you is the most beautiful experience you can have in this life.  We lose our soul-life so we might gain the indescribable experience of close companionship and deep communion with Jesus.

   How did Moses endure ill-treatment and resist the passing pleasures of sin?  How could Moses consider disgrace for Christ of greater value than the treasures of Egypt?  The Bible says Moses endured “by seeing Him who is unseen (Hebrews 12:25-27).” This was also the apostle Paul’s testimony: “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I might gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8).”  

   So let us fix our eyes on Jesus and, like Moses, see Him who is unseen for He is the author and finisher of our faith.  Let us endure this race to the end so that we might receive the crown of glory He has for us.  Nothing on this earth can compare to seeing Him and knowing Him – He is true riches!  He is worth far more than anything we might lose, even our very lives.  Jesus Christ died to make it possible for us to see Him and know Him. Let us sell all to buy the Pearl of Great Price!

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  Matthew 13:44-45

Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Mark 3:25

   Do born again Christians have a sinful nature? Absolutely not!  The Bible is very straightforward on this.  Yet many Christians mistakenly think they have two natures within them, a new nature and a sin nature, which war against each other.  They believe that their new nature loves God and wants to practice righteousness but that their old sinful nature loves sin and wants to practice lawlessness.  They think that their Christian life reflects whichever of their two natures they yield themselves to the most. This lie is one of the greatest deceptions the devil has “sold” to the church and many Christians have bought this lie.  Tragically, these Christians are then overcome by sin because they do not understand or believe   the truth about Christ’s triumph on the cross.

   Jesus Christ said if you know the truth of His Word, He will free you from slavery to sin (John 8:31-36).  With this in mind, let us look at three Scriptures that plainly state we no longer have a sinful nature after we are born of the Spirit.  Here is the first one: “We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin (our sinful nature) might be removed so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:6-7).”  Here is the second one: “You are not in the flesh (the sinful nature) but inthe Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8:9).  And here is the third one: “In Him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of flesh (the sinful nature), by the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11).”  In all three verses, the apostle Paul teaches that we no longer have a sinful nature after we are born again of God’s Spirit.

   The Bible contains two powerful pictures to show us that our sinful nature was removed from us when we were born again.  Circumcision was the seal of righteousness in the Old Covenant. In circumcision, the foreskin was removed. Paul taught that this portrayed that our sinful nature was removed from us in Christ (Colossians 2:11). Water baptism is a seal of righteousness in the New Covenant.  In baptism, the old man is given a water “burial.” Again Paul taught that this portrayed that our sinful nature was removed from us in Christ (Romans 6:3-6).  Thus both the Old Covenant and New Covenant clearly portray what happened to our sinful nature when we were born again.  Our sinful nature died and God completely removed it from our being.

   This is what Paul called the mystery of the gospel (Colossians 1:27).  How could Christ, who is God’s Holy One, spiritually live in a people who were born with a sinful nature?  God solved this dilemma by performing a divine heart transplant so that we would be born again.  When Christ died on the cross, He not only bore our sins on the cross; He also bore our sinful nature on the cross with Him.  Therefore, when Christ died, God exchanged our terminally sin-sick heart with His Son’s divine heart to deliver us from the power of sin and death (2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 4:6).  This divine operation of the cross, by which God removed our sinful nature and replaced it with Christ’s nature, is the promise of the New Covenant, the purpose of Christ’s Atonement and the power of Christ’s gospel. It was also foretold by the Old Testament prophets: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27; see also Jeremiah 31:31-33).”

   Some Christians are confused when they read Romans Chapter 7, and think perhaps the person described in this passage is a Christian.  But Paul wrote this particular chapter to his fellow Jews (see Romans 7:1) to convince them that in Christ, they died not only to sin; they also died to the Mosaic Law.  Paul describes the frustration and anguish of a person who is not yet born again and wants to obey God but who cannot do so because of his sinful nature.  That person finally cries out, “I am a wretched man!  Who will set me free from this body of death (this sinful nature)? (Romans 7:24)”  Paul then provides the answer based on his own personal experience, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25)” God knew that man’s sinful nature was his Achilles heel, which Satan would use to continually snare him in sin.  This is why the Old Covenant could not accomplish God’s eternal purpose since man’s sinful nature prevented   him from truly obeying God’s commandments.  Therefore, what the Law was powerless to do because of our sinful nature; God did in the New Covenant by sending His Son who perfectly fulfilled the Law and then become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

   When God completed His divine heart transplant, He did not leave us with two natures.  If God had left a sinful nature in us, we would be divided in heart and mind.  We could never stand up to Satan’s attacks and accusations.  If we still had a sinful nature, the devil would always have a spiritual foothold of sin within us to defeat us.  This would have been a woefully incomplete and pitiful salvation. But thank God that Christ’s death on the cross has given us complete victory over sin!  By the cross, God delivered us not only from the penalty of sin; He also delivered us from the power of sin by destroying and removing our sinful nature.  We are now a holy new creation in Christ.  But if our sinful nature is dead and gone, then why do we still sin?  Because our spiritual mind needs to be renewed and transformed by God’s Word to the point that we act on the truth that we have died and been freed from sin (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23).  This is the whole gospel that Paul practiced: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20).”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinth 5:17