2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
God directs me to continue discussing what it means to have our lives merged with Christ’s in the Covenant of Grace. Inspired by God, Paul wrote about this subject in his epistle to the Colossians, describing it as dying and living with Christ. COL 2: 20, he begins, “You have died with Christ and are set free from the ruling spirits of the universe. Why do you live as though you belonged to this world?…” The idea of “dying with Christ” is the same concept expressed in RO 6: 3-4, “For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with His death. By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.” I never cease to marvel at how Scripture interprets Scripture, as has happened here.
When we repented and came to faith, we “died to sin,” as Paul explains it in RO 6: 6. “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” What all of this means, is that participants in the Covenant of Grace can choose not to sin! Before we entered into this covenant, we didn’t have that choice, because we had inherited our sinful nature from Adam. Christ’s death on the cross intervenes and “disconnects” sin’s power over us. Now, this doesn’t mean that we will never sin; it just means that if we sin, it’s a foolish choice we make. More importantly, since we have had righteousness imputed to our accounts by our loving Abba, we are motivated to choose not to sin and surely feel convicted when we knowingly do.
We all know that Christ remained buried for three days and then rose again to eternal life. Because RO 8: 29 tells us He is “the first among many brothers,” we can bask in the comfort of knowing that when we die and live in Christ, we too can look forward to following His path to eternal life. RO 6: 5, “For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with Him by being raised to life as He was.” And there it is in God’s words spoken by Paul! There is no mistaking the remarkable and great blessing that comes our way from being participants in the Covenant of Grace. In COL 3: 1-4, this blessing is repeated along with some sage advice. “You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, when Christ sits on His throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.”
In case there is any question about the single ultimate Source of these words, listen to the advice Jesus Christ Himself gave in MT 6: 19-21. "Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.” Paul’s God-led words in RO 8: 16-17 bring extraordinary clarity to this important blessing, something that should allow us to maximize its impact on our lives. “God’s Spirit joins Himself to our spirits to declare the we are God’s children. Since we are His children, we will possess the blessing He keeps for His people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for Him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share His glory.”
What do I mean by us maximizing its impact on our lives? For us to enjoy the greatest measure of God’s blessings, we must be willing to make whatever changes in our lives that lead us to making righteous, God-led decisions and acting on them. While it is God that “transforms us inwardly by the renewal of our minds” [RO 12: 2], it is we who open our hearts to Him, through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. When the world has taught us to value and possess things that belong to it, we must refocus our energy on the things of heaven-those which transcend the grave. That is not always easy. It is a real paradigm shift away from slavery to bodily desires. Our goal is beautifully described in COL 3: 13b-15, “You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in one body. And be thankful.” God’s greatest desire is for us to have full knowledge of Him. COL 3: 10b, “…This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself.”
PRAYER: O Lord, when we have questions that arise in the early phases of our walk with You, You wait until we are ready to understand and then share the clear explanation given to us in the citations given here today to explain what is mean by merging with or being hidden in Christ. As we meditate on these Pauline teachings that You inspired, we begin to see the magnificence and depth of the love that You have for each of us. Your heart-wrenching sacrifice of Your only Son on the cross and generosity in commanding Him to send the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of believers should never be underrated or ignored. What great power You compassionately use when you make it possible for a person to shuck off the old self, which is a slave to sinful desires, and become the new self, alive in the Spirit! No ordinary man could accomplish that. For You to bring us into the Covenant of Grace when we were Your enemies led by worldly appetites is nothing short of amazing. For that and so much more, we approach You in humility and reverence to offer You our heartfelt adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at more citations about the merger between God and participants in the Covenant of Grace and a comparison of the terms of covenants under the OT and the NT. The great blessing of anticipating eternal life because of being the recipients of God’s grace is ample proof that each of us is loved deeply by our Father. He promises us eternal life and gives us guidance and help to get to it while we are still here on earth. That love is there for us every day of our lives. All we have to do is to ask for it. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn