Romans Verse four
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)
"We also should walk in newness of life."
The gospel preached today is not the Gospel of the Scriptures. It is not the new covenant. The true new covenant is the Gospel of "newness of life." The gospel of today is that of forgiveness with a view of going to Heaven to dwell forever in a land of joy and peace.
Contrast "newness of life" and "going to Heaven to dwell forever in a land of joy and peace."
But, one may object, these really are the same thing. They are not at all the same thing! The first is a change in what we are. The second is a change in where we are.
The tradition of today is that God takes us as we are, forgives us, and when we die (or in a rapture) takes us to a place where there is no pain, trouble, or dread.
The true Gospel of the Lord Jesus assigns us to the cross and our new born-again nature to the right hand of the Father. Then it sets about to change us totally, conforming us to the moral-and finally bodily-image of the Lord Jesus. It also brings us into total union with God through the Lord Jesus.
Notice the contrast between the two viewpoints:
Forgives us and takes us to a place where there is no pain, trouble, or dread.
Conforms us to the image of the Lord Jesus and brings us into total union with God through the Lord Jesus so that we are walking in "newness of life."
The two operations are not the same.
The first is of great benefit to us. The second is of great benefit to God. Why is our change into the image of the Lord Jesus of great benefit to God? Because God's purposes can be accomplished in and through us only when we have been changed into the image of the Lord and brought into total, restful union with God through Christ; only when we are living in newness of life in Christ.
Some of God's purposes are as follows. Please keep in mind that none of these purposes is possible to a forgiven adamic personality. Each is possible only to the individual who has entered the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, who as a result has been changed into the image of the Lord Jesus and brought into perfect union with Him and who therefore is walking in newness of life:
The creation of a bride for the Lamb (Revelation 21:9).
The creation of a living temple for God (Ephesians 2:22).
The creation of a body for Christ, the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1; I Corinthians 12:12).
The creation of a vehicle for the end-time revival (Isaiah 60:1,2).
The creation of people who can restore Paradise on the earth (Romans 8:21).
The creation of a royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9).
The creation of witnesses of God (Isaiah 43:10).
The creation of sons of God (Revelation 21:7).
The creation of brothers of Christ (Romans 8:29).
The creation of saints who gain victory over the accuser (Revelation 12:10,11).
The creation of governors for the nations of the saved (Revelation 2:26,27).
The creation of judges of men and angels (I Corinthians 6:2,3).
The creation of a wall of defense around the Glory of God (Revelation 21:14).
The creation of the revelation of Himself-God in Christ in the saints (Revelation 3:12).
These are purposes of God-purposes that will be accomplished in the saints who are walking in newness of life.
But how is the necessary change accomplished? How are we brought from our present adamic state to "newness of life" so that the purposes of God may be fulfilled in us and through us?
The answer is, by union with the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We consider ourselves to be crucified with Christ and risen with Him. We begin each day with the viewpoint that we are a dead-living person. We, through the Virtue, wisdom, and energy of the Holy Spirit, overcome the appetites and enticements that would keep us chained to the lusts of our adamic nature. Also, we draw on the incorruptible resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus for wisdom and strength to do all He has commanded.
The Law of Moses cannot condemn us because we are dead on the cross. The Law of Moses has no authority over the dead. The Spirit of God gives us power over the power of sin in our flesh in anticipation of the day when the Lord appears and, after ridding our body of the last vestiges of sin, will finally fill our mortal body with the Holy Spirit who today is dwelling in us.
The new life is infinitely more than a change in our habit patterns. It is the eternal, incorruptible resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus. It is Divine Life! Eternal life is given to us as we view ourselves as dead on the cross with the Lord and risen with Him to the right hand of the Father.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 2:6)
Water baptism is a drama that portrays our burial with the Lord Jesus and our resurrection and ascension with Him to the highest throne of the universe. This is the true Christian salvation. It is not the forgiving of Adam and the bringing of him in his untransformed state back into Paradise so he may eat of the tree of life and live forever as a rebel against God.
Rather, it is the crucifixion of Adam and the ascension of his new born-again nature to the Father through Christ so that Jesus through the Holy Spirit may transform his entire personality by the Virtue of God. Then the new Adam can eat of the tree of life and live forever because the wall of Christ, the wall against sin and rebellion, has been constructed in his spirit, soul, and body.