“We don’t live for Christ, but rather Christ lives for us”
Scripture References: Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3-4, 2 Corinthians 4:10-11
Reading the above verses of scripture clearly reveals that it will the very “Life of Christ” that will be the manifested life of those who have truly been saved and born of God. Notice carefully if you will to what Paul said to the believers in Colossians 3:3 that they are dead, and their life is hid with Christ in God. To say they are dead means they are dead to sin and they no longer respond to sin. Paul saying that their life is hid with Christ in God means that their sinful life was no longer being manifested, but rather as verse four tells us it was Christ or the “life of Christ” who’s life was being manifested through their mortal body. Notice how Paul also refers to the “life of Jesus” in what he said above in II Corinthians 4:10-11. He tells us there that we bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the “life also of Jesus” might be made manifest in our body. The “dying of the Lord Jesus” refers to the dying of our sinful nature. Christ’s physical death on the cross represents the spiritual death of our old carnal man that must be crucified on the spiritual cross that he tells us that we must take up in order to follow him. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, is an example for every believer meaning that our old carnal man must be crucified as he was crucified. Many has been led to believe that just believing on the finished work of Calvary saves them, but as Christ was physically crucified on his cross we as followers of Christ must spiritually put to death our sinful nature on our cross that he tells us to take up and follow him.
This is accomplished by believing and obeying the teachings of Christ revealed within his gospel, which is the new Testament covenant that he died for. The shedding of his blood put the New Testament covenant into power and all who believe and obeys it will be conformed to his image. It was Paul that reveals this truth in what he says in Romans 8:29 saying, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The followers of Christ will be like him in so far as their nature is concerned. We become partakers of the divine nature of Christ and it will be his sinless and eternal life that takes over the reigns of our heart and life. There are no doubt many confessing Christians struggling in vain to live for Christ, but this is an impossible task to achieve, because we are not given power so that we can live a sinless life. We are given the needed power to crucify our sinful nature so that the sinless and eternal life of Christ can live in and through us. Listen to what Paul tells us about the life of Jesus in what he tells us as stated in II Corinthians 4:10-11above that says, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” And John tells us these words in John 1:11-12 that says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Christ in us by his Spirit is the needed power so that we can put our old carnal man to death so that Christ can in time take over our life and live it for us. This is exactly what Gods eternal salvation is, which is Christ in us the hope of glory. Satan has a counterfeit view of what a born again follower of Christ is and countless millions of people has been deceived into accepting and believing it only to be deceived and believing lies to be damned. Its being taught in Christianity today that God counts a person righteous in his sight when they say they receive Christ into their heart and life and that God no longer can see their sins even as they continue to commit sin in their daily lives. This is one of the many doctrines of devils that Satan’s many ministers are proclaiming today, as well as in times past. Their believing this causes them to have a form of godliness, denying the power of God in their life, which is proven by the fact that they still live in and commit sin against God daily even as they confess to be saved.
No man can live a sinless life simply because sin is more powerful than man’s will. Listen to what John tells us in John 1:11-13 that says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” To be born again is the work of the Spirit and certainly not a work that we can do. Listen to Paul tell us exactly this in what he says in Ephesians 2:10 that says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” If God himself does not make us his son, then we will never be his son. There is only a few people that knows and understands the truth of how God spiritually makes us a son of God. Look again if you will at John 1:12 that tells us that God gives the power to us so that we can “become the sons of God.” This power is the power of the Spirit of Christ in us that leads us into the very truths that will in time crucify our old sinful nature, if we believe and obey those truths. These truths that we must believe and obey is revealed within the gospel of Christ, which are his many teachings of the new testament covenant that he is mediator of. Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 these words saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Obedience to these many truths is what brings us unto righteousness, as Paul tells us in Romans 6:16 that says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” This righteousness is the very righteousness of Christ that will now be manifested in and through our mortal body. Our obedience consists of obeying the truths that will crucify our old carnal man so that the Spirit of Christ in us can take charge of our total being and live a sinless life through our mortal flesh as he did when he walked this earth as a man. Christ lived a sinless life in the flesh for all the years that he lived on this earth, which was no less than 33. 5 years. The very same “life of Christ” will once again be manifested in and through the mortal flesh of all those who will be born of God and they will be called the sons of God that were spiritually conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. These sons of God are not Christ, but rather they have been spiritually transformed to become partakers of the divine nature of Christ. The apostle Peter tells us this in what he says in II Peter 1:3-4 that says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” These promises that Peter refers to here are the same promises that the apostle Paul tells us about in what he said in II Corinthians 7:1 that says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” These promises that both Peter and Paul refers to are the many truths revealed within the gospel of Christ. Notice that Paul tells us that having these promises, which are the many truths that Christ came to reveal, its those truths that will cleanse us from all the filthiness of both our flesh and spirit. This filthiness is the sin that yet indwells both our flesh and spirit. As we begin to believe and obey the many truths of Christ’s teachings it’s the cleansing power of those truths that will in time cleanse us from all inbred sin and by doing this it will perfect the holiness of Christ in us.
It was the apostle John that that reveals this great truth in what he tells us in I John 1:6-7 that says, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” This cleansing of all sin is accomplished by walking in the light of truth and its how we present our body unto God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, as Paul tells us to do in what he said in Romans 12:1 that says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Our body is to be the “temple of God” and it must be holy, completely cleansed from all sin for God to dwell in. The spiritual body of Christ is what the one true church is, and its made up of individual members that has been spiritually baptized by the one Spirit into that one body. It was Paul that reveals this truth in what he said in I Corinthians 12:13 that says, “ For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” The Spirit baptizes the believers into the body of Christ as they believe and obey the truths of Christ’s teachings. These truths will cleanse the believer from all sin before they can become a member of the his church. Christ is the head and builder of the one church and to think there will be sin in his church is to be ignorant and totally void of truth. We have millions of confessing Christians today claiming to be members of his church that still live in and commit sin. When a person has become a member of Christ’s body, which is the church, it will be the very life of Jesus that will manifested in and through their mortal body, as Paul clearly reveals above in !! Corinthians 4:10-11. If you are trying to live for Christ you will fail miserably, but if you will allow him to live for you, then you will understand Gods eternal salvation, which sis Christ in us the hope of glory. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 3:22 AMEN