(tm) From self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
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In the first death and resurrection, that of salvation, we pass from spiritual death into spiritual life in the Presence of God.
In the second death and resurrection, that of sanctification, we pass from sinful behavior to holy behavior—behavior free from the lusts of the flesh.
In the third death and resurrection, that of conquest, we pass from self-will to God’s will, from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, from self-love to the love of God, from self-seeking to the serving of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As soon as we possess the fullness of Divine Life in body, soul, and spirit, perfect liberty in body, soul, and spirit, and perfect obedience to the Divine will in body, soul, and spirit, having been joined perfectly to God through Christ, then we have been redeemed fully. We are able to receive the fullness of the abiding of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
The product of all three deaths and resurrections is our acceptance by the Lord God and our rest in Him. In the third death and resurrection we die to the imperfections of our will and are raised into the Presence and fellowship of the Father. It is a reaping to the Father. It includes the crucifixion of our self-will.
How blessed to be released from the bondage of having to have our own way! God strikes down our youthful glee, our striving for position and preeminence, our impulsive enthusiasms. We rest in His will.
The means to the righteousness of the first resurrection is the blood of Christ. We overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb of God.
The means to the liberty of the second resurrection is the Holy Spirit, who brings us into accord with the written Word of God. We become and we declare the Word of God, and this testimony overcomes the accuser.
The means to the fruitfulness and dominion of the third resurrection are the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. We overcome the accuser by loving not our own life to the death. This is the path to the throne of Christ.
Every Christian, through the blood of his Redeemer, has access to the Throne of God, there to offer adoration and to make his needs known to the Father. The extent to which the believer is able to abide in the Presence of God in every situation depends on his willingness to allow the grace of God to work full redemption in him.
The third death requires a period of time for its accomplishment. It is a protracted death to our tendencies toward presumption, toward the desire to be pleasing to our hearers, to gain the admiration and support of people. The third resurrection is a protracted entering into rulership with God and into restful service to Him in our land of promise.
As soon as we have been saved from wrath, set free from the bondages of sin, and transformed from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness, we are ready for the making alive of our mortal body. This will occur "in the twinkling of an eye" for those who have prepared themselves, at the appearing of our Lord and Savior, Christ.
The third death and resurrection is necessary for the fullness of the image, union, fruitfulness, and dominion that accompanies coheirship with Christ. It is a death to attempting to serve God in our own wisdom and power. It is judgment on us as individuals, on the deepest center of will and being.
The fullness of the inheritance will be assigned to those who are faithful to God at this level of redemption.
The third death and resurrection is typified by the crossing of the Jordan River. It is a change from Christ as Moses, the shepherd, to Christ as Joshua, the commander of battle. It is the throne phase of Christianity.
The third death and resurrection brings us into the rest of God, into the image of Christ, into the realm of power, into the consummation of redemption. The Servant of the Lord must be in the image of Christ, of the Divine Substance of Christ, of the Divine Nature of Christ.
The composite Servant of the Lord is Christ—Head and Body (Isaiah, Chapters 42 and 43).
As soon as God has brought His sons through the three areas of redemption it will be time for the Lord Jesus to appear, the hour of the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). The entrance of Christ and His brothers into the earth will cause the Battle of Armageddon—the confrontation between Christ and Antichrist.
Prior to Armageddon the sons of God must come to know Christ, to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. Then they will be prepared to put down all opposition to the rule of Christ. Christ is King of all kings and Lord of all lords. The creation, whether of the heavens, the earth, or the spirit realms in the interior of the earth, must bow the knee to Him.
Are we willing to have the "sentence of death" in ourselves until we do not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead? Are we willing to be troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down, as we attempt to follow the Lord? Are we ready to say yes to the death of the "I will"?
If we consent to die the death God requires of us as an individual we will cross the Jordan, speaking figuratively, and begin to conquer our land of promise. We will enter the Most Holy Place and abide there. We soon will be eating of the "old corn of the land" with the Lord Jesus. We will know and understand as we are known and understood.
We have termed the third area the conquest phase of redemption. Every believer who would rule with Christ must appear here. We must learn to depend on the power of His resurrection. The power of Christ’s resurrection will be developed in us as we are willing to share in His sufferings. This is the route to becoming part of the Servant of the Lord and to fighting alongside the Lord in His war against His enemies.
We must accept the sentence of death in ourselves and learn to trust in God who raises the dead. We must never attempt to serve God out of ambition or presumption, or neglect to serve Him because of fear, double-mindedness, or disobedience.
Experience teaches us to serve from our position on the cross, and to bear our own cross behind Jesus. Our personal cross converts us from the rule of self to the rule of Christ. The cross is the wisdom of God.
Until a disciple consents to serve Christ after this fashion he may be alive unto God and he may have victory over many of the sins of the flesh. However, he still is in bondage to his own will. Now he is to allow Christ to bring him over Jordan until he can testify: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:.. ". (Galatians 2:20).
The material creation is waiting in the chains of corruption and futility until God’s sons have died to their self-centeredness, until King Jesus, rather than King Self, is sitting on the throne of their personality (Romans 8:19-21).
Death to self is the third area of redemption. From this vantage point the sons of God will be revealed.
Redemption includes the establishing of a relationship with God such that freedom from the guilt, bondage, and effects of sin is obtained along with release from the bondage of self-will.
The person who is wise, whether he or she is young or old, will turn away from everything else in life, if need be, in order to more perfectly lay hold on the fullness of redemption. It is the Father’s good pleasure to bring many sons through every aspect of redemption—all the way to the full measure of the Glory of God.
There is no route to complete redemption other than by battle against the adversary. Satan is our enemy. He will utilize every device to block our attempts to escape from his influence. But Christ is greater than Satan.
One of God’s greatest joys arises from beholding His son or daughter lay hold on the grace and Virtue He has provided through Christ, and by them escape from every unclean influence. God anoints us with the Holy Spirit when we love righteousness, hate lawlessness, and are perfectly obedient to Him.
Christ asks you: "Will you be saved?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you through death and resurrection.
Christ asks you: "Will you follow the Holy Spirit in sanctification?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you a second time through death and resurrection.
Christ asks you: "Will you lose your life for My sake and the Gospel’s?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you a third time through death and resurrection.
What are your answers to His three questions?
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