Post by beloved on Aug 22, 2007 19:08:44 GMT -5
Excerpt from, "The Lost Secret of the New Covenant" by Malcolm Smith
"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Romans 6:3-6
He is speaking of what happened to them at their baptism [into Christ] at the beginning of their Christian life, not of and experience beyond baptism or second blessing. He does not present it as something to be prayed about or prayed for or sought after but as something that is true of every believer. He is saying, "I am talking to believers; therefore, you know what kind of people you are- those who are part of Christ and share His history."
He is reminder them of what is their status as believers and what constitutes the basic facts of their faith in Christ. The most basic fact of who hey now are as believers is that they are in Christ, united to Him, and share His history; and this has been true since the first act of heir faith in Him when they were baptized [saved].
The believer is together with Christ in His history and at this and every moment is in Him sharing His life. As you sit and read this, know that the Spirit has included you into the history of the Lord Jesus. You have died with Christ and risen with Him, and you now are seated in the heavenly realm of the Spirit. That is not something you go forward for hand to be laid on you that you "get it" but something that is, upon which you build your life and behavior.
Many believers live in the frustration of trying to arrive at where they already are! Imagine the confusion of the person who is sitting down while continually being told to sit down! Yet in meeting after meeting believers are urged to die with Christ, and they go forward to pray and be prayed for instead of realizing that the Spirit placed them in Christ and , therefore, into His death and resurrection when they believed upon Jesus.
The language of the New Testament continually points to the union of the believer with Christ. The expression "in Christ" and its parallels "in the Lord," "in (God's) love," and "in the Spirit" or the words of Jesus describing His life in the covenant "I in you and you in Me" are to be found throughout the New Testament.
We are in Christ- the "in" of being inside something - and He is "in" us. we are immediately present to Him and He to each of us. There is never a second in which we are apart from Him. I am now "in" the atmosphere of planet Earth. In that atmosphere, I find light and life and the food to sustain the life. Likewise, we are placed in Him who is our atmosphere, our very life.
The physical cells of my body are "in " my presence, even as my presence is in them. When I leave, the body disintegrates into dust, and we owe our true life to Him.
"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Romans 6:3-6
He is speaking of what happened to them at their baptism [into Christ] at the beginning of their Christian life, not of and experience beyond baptism or second blessing. He does not present it as something to be prayed about or prayed for or sought after but as something that is true of every believer. He is saying, "I am talking to believers; therefore, you know what kind of people you are- those who are part of Christ and share His history."
He is reminder them of what is their status as believers and what constitutes the basic facts of their faith in Christ. The most basic fact of who hey now are as believers is that they are in Christ, united to Him, and share His history; and this has been true since the first act of heir faith in Him when they were baptized [saved].
The believer is together with Christ in His history and at this and every moment is in Him sharing His life. As you sit and read this, know that the Spirit has included you into the history of the Lord Jesus. You have died with Christ and risen with Him, and you now are seated in the heavenly realm of the Spirit. That is not something you go forward for hand to be laid on you that you "get it" but something that is, upon which you build your life and behavior.
Many believers live in the frustration of trying to arrive at where they already are! Imagine the confusion of the person who is sitting down while continually being told to sit down! Yet in meeting after meeting believers are urged to die with Christ, and they go forward to pray and be prayed for instead of realizing that the Spirit placed them in Christ and , therefore, into His death and resurrection when they believed upon Jesus.
The language of the New Testament continually points to the union of the believer with Christ. The expression "in Christ" and its parallels "in the Lord," "in (God's) love," and "in the Spirit" or the words of Jesus describing His life in the covenant "I in you and you in Me" are to be found throughout the New Testament.
We are in Christ- the "in" of being inside something - and He is "in" us. we are immediately present to Him and He to each of us. There is never a second in which we are apart from Him. I am now "in" the atmosphere of planet Earth. In that atmosphere, I find light and life and the food to sustain the life. Likewise, we are placed in Him who is our atmosphere, our very life.
The physical cells of my body are "in " my presence, even as my presence is in them. When I leave, the body disintegrates into dust, and we owe our true life to Him.