A TRANSITION
A TRANSITION
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)
The verse above, Galatians 2:20, came to my attention when I first became a Christian, about 70 years ago.
I realized that this had something to do with my being a Christian. Yet, in all my years I do not recall hearing anyone preach that this verse applies to us. I am sure, however, that many faithful pastors and evangelists have preached Galatians 2:20 so the believers would understand where Christ was taking them.
I know that Paul urged us to follow him as he follows Christ. Also Paul said, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded," referring to his single-minded effort to know Christ.
Before I venture into the little bit I know about our transition from our first, adamic personality to living by the Life of Christ, I must present some warnings:
First, we are not to take the attitude that we will do nothing until Jesus speaks to us. This is to fall into the error of passivity. We will become the prey of demons, and be indecisive in all that we do. If you find yourself in this traps, ask Jesus to help you jump out of it.
You have to continue being your old, mean self and allow Christ to modify your behavior.
You never lose your first personality. You always will be "you." The Apostle Paul always will be Paul. Rather, Christ helps you remove the parts of your personality , such as lying or self-will, that are destructive; and puts to death your good features, such as generosity, and then raises them as part of Himself.
Christ has been begotten of God, is the Word of God, and is an integral part of God. You and I have been begotten of God, are being made the Word of God as Christ is written in our mind and heart, and are becoming an integral part of our Lord Jesus Christ as we eat and drink His body and blood. We are being made "faithful and true."
But you always will be "you"; and while you never will be as exalted in the Kingdom of God as is the Lord Jesus, you will be a glorified "you"—changed into the image of the Lord.
It is going to be a while before you hear the Lord's voice accurately. There are numerous voices in the spirit world. There is only one voice of the Lord.
Learning to be led by the Spirit of God is drawn from a difficult curriculum. Notice how Jeremiah was not certain of the validity of what he had been told until the word was verified by circumstances.
So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. (Jeremiah 32:8)
Sometimes what we hear is not the Lord. We discover this, when what was told us does not bear out in the circumstances.
If we will adopt an attitude of meekness and learn from our mistake, this incident will lead to an increased knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus.
But if we are arrogant and say our word was true but people just did not have enough faith to make it happen, then we will learn nothing from our error.
When it is God who has spoken, miracles take place!
What Jesus tells you to do will never be absurd, like going to the beach and jumping into the water with all your clothes on.
It will never contradict the Scriptures. Sometimes the Lord will direct Christians to go against the government, as the Christians did when they hid Jews from the Nazis. This sort of thing requires the prayers of mature Christians.
The midwives defied the government in the matter of keeping the Israeli boys alive. God blessed them for this deceit.
Some evangelists have smuggled Bible into countries where the Bible is forbidden.
But, as Peter said, we must obey God rather than men.
However, this sort of thing is rare. When a voice tells you that you are free to go against the Bible, that voice almost certainly is not that of the Lord.
When you are certain God has spoken to you, but the ensuing circumstances do not agree with what you have been told, do not panic. Pray carefully and ask the Lord Jesus how you should proceed. Do not attempt to force the issue. If you stay calm and keep looking toward the Lord, He will guide you along the path of common sense.
With these disclaimers it may be safe to proceed.
The Apostle Paul claimed to be crucified with Christ. This means the original Saul of Tarsus no longer thought, spoke, or acted out from his original personality—that is, this was his goal.
God did many things to Saul to make Saul's goal a reality:
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (II Corinthians 1:8,9)
There are many statements in the Book of Second Corinthians that record the afflictions of Paul.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (II Corinthians 11:24-27)
If these experiences were not enough to kill Saul of Tarsus, God used Satan to injure Paul's eyes. Paul prayed three times that God would lift this affliction. But Christ assured Paul the purpose of the affliction was to keep Paul looking to Christ for the strength to live.
Next Part "I am crucified with Christ."