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GOD’S WORD DAILY

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 134                                                             MARCH 18 , 2002

     

JESUS CHRIST:
     The Foundation of Our Faith

     CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST
               NOW LIVE!!

 

     We live! That's very profound! Of course we are alive, we live, we have and enjoy
     fulness of life! But we do not live after the manner of our flesh, any longer, if our
     old man nature was crucified in Christ, and we have kept the old man nature dead
     and buried in Him. We live by faith instead.

 

     Galatians 2:20

          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.

 

     The word Greek, for "live" [zao] appears five times in this sentence, plus one time in
     the verse preceeding it. The number five is the number in Scripture that signifies God's
      grace. The number six [ five plus one] represents "the grace of God made of none
     effect by man's addition to it, or perversion, or corruption of it." It is the number
     of man. [ Number in Scripture by Bullinger]

     Sandwiched in between all these words for live and life [zao] is the phrase "in the flesh."
     This draws a lot of attention to the word flesh; it is emphasized. It is a figure of speech
     designed to draw attention to the point God wants us to take home: Paul lived by faith, not
     by his flesh.

     By worldly standards, in his flesh, Paul had it going on. He was intelligent and educated
     in the ways of various cultures of his day, he had mastered more than one language,
     he was a religious leader after the strictest sect and he was a skilled business
     man and tradesperson. But those things that were not for Christ or in Christ,
     he "counted as dung." In other words, it didn't mean "doo -doo" to him [Philippians 3:3-9].

 

Stripped down to bare basics, the only thing that really counts for something is what Christ did for us, not what we can do for ourselves in the flesh.

 

     In acknowledgment of this, let's decide to live now by the faith of the son of God, who
     died and gave himself for us. We can give ourselves to live for Him, (not to perfect
     our flesh,) but as a loving response to what He has already done for us.

     Our old man nature and the sins of our flesh, have all been crucified with Christ. We were
     even buried with him. Instead of digging up dead sins and strapping them back on,
     let's keep our flesh dead and live now, instead, a resurrected new life, by the
     faith of Christ.

     Had we been able to do it all on our own ability, in the flesh, we would not have
     needed a Lord and Saviour. Let's continue to rely upon God and trust in His ability to
     work in us. Let's rely upon the holy spirit that now dwells in us. Let's seek the things
     of God and set our affection on things above. Let's walk by faith not by sight. What pleases
     God is faith [Hebrews 11:6] not our natural talents, abilities, education, job,
     home, clothes, car, or knowledge[although these things are necessary].

     After all, "If it ain't in Christ, and if ain't by faith, it don't mean doo-doo."*
     Amen.

          * My apologies to the grammatical purists.

     -Carol Kenreigh

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