He Lives, And We Need to Remember That

"0I 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. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

Let us all praise God for His infinite wisdom and goodness for us. He infuses our daily walk with good things and makes all things ready for us to receive evermore.

Throughout many of his writings to the Body of Christ, Paul deliberately corrects himself, indicating what growth in grace is all about.

Here, in the above passage, Paul declares that he has died with Christ, as have all of us who believe in Him.

Then he declares: "Nevertheless I live, yet not I."

Wow! What is going on here?

Paul makes it abundantly clear to us: Jesus is our life and lives in us today.

We do not have to bring ourselves to life, nor do our efforts produce the living, lively results we desire.

Paul did not speak about "Our efforts through the Spirit" or "Our works with the Spirit's help."

Paul wrote:

" 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Galatians 5: 22-24)

Notice that Paul writes "the fruit of the Spirit".

This passages makes little sense to many Christians who still think that they must live "the Christian life".

He lives, and He lives in us, and Christ in us (Colossians 1: 27) lives the Christian life.

Just like Paul. we deliberately have to remind ourselves that He is very much alive and taking care of all things, including both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13)

Crucified Once and For All With Christ

"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. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comeby the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

There are some teachings out there which contend that we have to die daily, that we have to crucify our flesh over and over again.

That is patently untrue, and unscriptural to boot.

How many times did Jesus die?

ONCE!

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3: 18)

and

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1: 3)

and also

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10: 14)

Jesus was crucified once. So were we.

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Romans 5: 10)

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:" (Romans 6:8)

How many times can anyone of us die? Once.

Now, we have His Life, and this life is eternal.

Redeemed, Therefore Protected

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." (Isaiah 43: 1)

This verse records the promise of the Lord when He sent His Son to die for us, even though the passage appears in the Old Testament. Let us never forget that our Daddy God is in the business of declaring all things, the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46: 10)

In this verse, we see the mention of Jacob, the Israel.

God created man, which speaks of Jacob, and when God sent His Son to die for man, made dead in trespasses, received a new standing in Christ Jesus, Israel (which means prince with God).

The reason that we know that God protects us, is that we are redeemed.

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3: 24)

and

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" (Ephesians 1: 7)

and

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" (Colossians 1: 13-14)

This redemption speaks to the full and forever truth that all our sins are forgiven:

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1: 3)

and also

"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" (Hebrews 10:12)

Because of this full redemption granted to us in Christ Jesus through His blood, the New Covenant is enacted in our lives:

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)

There you find the perfect protection we have in Christ.

We are redeemed because of Jesus, and thus we know and believe that He protects us.

God the Father Promises Protection: Believe Him

"But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid." (Jeremiah 39: 17)

In the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, God still used men and women not yet in the Commonwealth of Israel, and showed grace to them.

In this verse, Jeremiah prophesies peace and safety to an Ethiopian eunuch.

This servant in the house of the king of Judah had rescued Jeremiah before:

7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. 10Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. (Jeremiah 38: 7-13)

Let us consider the types and shadows of our Lord Jesus in this passage.

"Ebedmelech" means "servant of the king". Jesus is the King of Kings, yet He submitted to the will of His father and became a servant for us:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:" (Philippians 2: 5-9)

God did not send His Son to save us because we worth saving. He loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5: 8).

Returning to the account in Jeremiah, why does God promise to rescue the Ethiopian?

"For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 39: 18)

It's all about believing in God.

Why does God save us today? Because of anything that we did? Not at all! Because we believe in Jesus!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

and

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2: 8-9)

Notice also that Jeremiah comforts the Ethiopian, that even though he is afraid, God will protect him.

Today, let us rest in the promises of our loving Father. He is for us because of Jesus, who died for us and as us. He is taken us from death to life through His Son Jesus, and all God asks us to do is believe on His Son.

He Is Our Strength, Here and Now

"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." (Isaiah 40: 29)

Too many of us still try to make ourselves strong.

Yet even under the Old Covenant, God offered Himself to us to be our strength:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." (Psalm 28: 7)

and

" God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46: 1)

He is our strength and help right now.

Why can we say this with confidence today?

Jesus!

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12: 2)

The name Jesus means "Salvation", and Jesus our salvation is our strength, because He is our life:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)

and then:

"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." (Galatians 2: 20)

and also:

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ,who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)

Paul would later write to Timothy:

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;" (1 Timothy 1: 12)

He would write to the Corinthians:

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

Jesus is our strength, ,,for He is our life, and He is here and now working within us to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2: 13) causing us to work mightily for Him through Him (Colossians 1:27, 29)

Held in His Hand, Because of His Righteousness

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41: 10)

This promise, from the prophet Isaiah, follows from one of the major prophesies about the Messiah, Jesus!

"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 40: 1-5)

and then

"1But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40: 31)

"Wait" in the above verse is better rendered as "hope" or "trust in".

Today, we have Christ Jesus living in us by His Spirit, and we can know and believe in His love for us, that He is holding us in His hands:

"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John 10: 29)

Now, what is the basis for this precious promise? Righteousness!

"I will uphold you with my righteous right hand," the LORD promises.

Today, we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), and we can rest assured that we are established in His righteousness:

"4In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

. . .

17No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54: 14, 17)

We can rest assured that we are OK, that we are safe in His hands, because of His righteousness.

No Longer Aliens, But Citizens of His Kingdom

"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: " (Colossians 1: 21)

At one time, all of us where aliens, or foreigners to God the Father.

Yet His Son Jesus came and reconciled us to Him:

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2: 13)

In fact, Paul calls all of us who believe in Jesus "fellow citizens":

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;" (Ephesians 2: 19)

In the next passages, we learn about our citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven, although rendered "conversation" in the King James Bible:

"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" (Philippians 1: 27)

and then

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:" (Philippians 3: 20)

Today, we are no longer aliens or strangers, but we are citizens in God's Kingdom through His Son Jesus, kings and priests (1 Peter 2: 9) through Jesus, the King of Kings and our High Priest Forever.

God is For Us Because Jesus Died For Us

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8: 31-32)

I remember reading in one book about faith: "How do we know that God is for us? What do we do or how to response to that word "if" in Romans 8: 31? We believe that God is for us because He chooses to."

There is no assurance in this arbitary "He chooses to."

Why does He choose to? And what is our proof of this love?

John records Jesus' own answer to both of these questions:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)

God so loved the world -- that includes you and me -- that He gave His only Son, the Son whom He loved.

We know that God is for us because He gave the best to redeem us, even when no one was paying attention, and we were lost in our sins:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5: 8)

God does not arbitrarilly forgive us of our sins and grant us new life in His Son. It is based on a righteous, judicial foundation:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" (1 Peter 3: 18)

and also

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

Today, we can come boldly to the throne of grace because of Jesus, our high priest forever. We do not have to wonder if God the Father is for us, because He sent His Son to die for us. the proof positive which testifies that He is good and loves us:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1: 9)

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

We Have Life in Christ

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5: 11)

When John writes "this is the record", that is all you need to know. This record must be read, received,  and believed. Nothing else is needed, and nothing else will suffice.

Now, what is the record for, specifically, or at least how do we get it?

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." (1 John 5: 9-10)

If we believe on Jesus, that He is the one whom the Father sent to save us from our sins (John 6: 29; Matthew 1: 21)

Through Christ Jesus, we have peace with God (Romans 5: 1) by His one sacrifice for sins forever (Hebrews 10: 12)

What is produced in our lives: eternal life. This life we  receive through Christ Jesus:

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6: 4)

and

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (1 Corinthians 8: 6)

and also

"For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you." (2 Corinthians 13: 4)

and thus

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." (1 John 4: 9)

We have eternal life not through our efforts, but through the gift of God, and this Gift comes through His Son.

Know that You Have Eternal Life

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5: 13)

Many Christians know that their sins are forgiven.

Yet even for those who know that all their sins are forgiven, they still find that they lack power, or found that they struggle through so much in their daily walk.

We also need to know that we have eternal life, and this Life is in Christ.

He is our life, and we are not walking on this earth in our own strength, but His:

"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. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comeby the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2: 20-21)

and

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)

This eternal life does not come from us, but from Him who has been from the beginning (1 John 2: 12-14)

Stop trying to create life or create the energy in your day. Relax in His life, and let Him live in you, because you have life. eternal life, the life of Christ in you. the hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27)

Not Condemnation, But Grace Motivates Us

"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8: 10)

The world in general and religious systems in particular operate along the lines of shame and condemnation.

 We are not set free from sin by being reminded of our sins and failures.

We do not behave right by being told what to do.

We behave right we know what we have the gift of righteousness, and we are righteous before God.

We do not live right by being told how to live. We live right when we believe right, then we know that we are right before God, and thus we live right.

Righteousness the eternal gift, allows His life to live in and through us.

Eternal righteousness gives rise to His eternal life, just as the Holy Spirit rushed in upon the one hundred and twenty disciples on Pentecost, and on the first Gentile believer, Cornelius.

"In righteousness you shall be established" (Isaiah 54:14)

The more condemned that we feel, the more we will see the very wrongdoing in our lives that we want to get rid of. Condemnation does not motivate. It kills and destroys, neutering growth and preventing life.

The grace of God teaches us to say "No!" to sin and to lead godly lives (Titus 2: 11).

He is our life (Colossians 3: 1-4)-- and I had not known that. Today, I now understand the fullness of His life in mine!

And I want to learn more!

Paul was very clear -- we keep on receiving the gift of righteousness and abundance of grace (Romans 5:17)

There is no condemnation, and let us not entertain it any further in our lives.

"There is now therefore no condemnation in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1)

If You Don't Have the Son, You Don't Have Life

"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5: 12) 

Our life is in Christ, and we do not strive for Him.

He works in us:

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15: 10)

and then

"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." (Galatians 2: 20)

and also

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2: 12-13)

and also

"Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." (Colossians 1: 29)" 

For many of us in the Body of Christ, we still think of Jesus as a mystical standard to follow or to give us courage.

The truth is that He is more than someone who is helping us along the way.

He is the way, as well as the truth and the life (John 14: 6)

Do we really believe that? Do we really believe Jesus when He declared to His disciples:

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 5)

John could not have made it clearer: He who does not have the Son does not have life. Period.