Recognizing no man after the flesh. Meet the old things that have passed away, part 3

Recognizing no man after the flesh. Meet the old things that have passed away, part 3.

Friday, November 6, 2009

The old things which have passed away refer to the OSN losing its power over us as well as delivering us from our spiritual death and separation from God.

God often uses natural facts in order to teach the deepest spiritual truths.

He first teaches us about our natural, Adamic life, often called the flesh or the old sin nature before we can understand and appreciate our new spiritual life in Christ.

Adam was created in the “likeness of God” (GEN 5:1), but his descendants were born in his likeness, for we read in GEN 5:3 that Adam “became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image.”

All men born of Adam and his descendants by natural generation are the “sons of men” and it is only by being “born again” which is a New Creation that they can become the “sons of God” in the New Testament sense.

ROM 5:19a, For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners,
ROM 5:19b, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Progress is only advancing in the spiritual knowledge of what we already possess at the outset.

Our part is not production but reception of our life in Christ.

1PE 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.

A seed embodies in full the reproduction of the life from which it came.

The seed has been implanted within us, and now the entire question is one of growth and maturity.

1JO 3:9, No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin [why], because he is born of God.

The seed that is in us is the new life of Christ, the new species, the new creature, and that new nature is the nature which will live with God forever, and it cannot sin.

The development of the divine life in the Christian is like the natural growth in the vegetable world.

We do not need to make any special effort, all we need to do is only place ourselves under the conditions favorable to such growth, which in the spiritual life is the PPOG.

Those who have sought to grow by their own effort and who have failed and who are humble enough to admit it, are the only ones in the position to appreciate the fact that God is the aggressor in this realm of development.

All the powers of omnipotence which have already worked together in the accomplishment of the first part of God’s eternal purpose, (which was the revealing His likeness in TLJC),

are equally engaged to accomplish the second part, and work that likeness in each of God’s children, being conformed to His image.

When we try and fight to get the victory, then we have lost the battle at the very outset.

In order to live the spiritual life, there are two essentials: to see what is already ours in Christ; and to be aware of our need for it.

The word appropriate as used in this subject means to take possession of something or to make use of something that has already been given to you.

In order to live the spiritual life, there are two essentials: to see what is already ours in Christ and to be aware of our need for it.

Just to listen while he proclaims that wonderful series of great and eternal facts concerning them; and not until he has completed this list of realities about them does he ask them to do anything at all.

passed away
aor-act-ind of parerchomai
to pass away; to come to an end, to lose its power or hold.

The aorist tense points to that time when you were placed in Christ, which is the moment of salvation.

The active voice, the old things related to our position in Adam, our OSN, our spiritual death at birth, our slavery and bondage to the cosmic system, are all passed away.

The indicative mood, the old things being passed away are a reality.