A weekly devotional by John Woodward
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
(2 Cor 12:9a)
What kind of questions do you like on tests? Do you prefer true and false, multiple choice, matching, or essay? If you didn't have time to study, "none of the above"!
Let's look at some matching questions. Yes, this is a pop quiz!! Please match the words on the left with the most accurate corresponding actions:
| 1. Promise | a. Understand it |
| 2. Revealed Fact | b. Claim it |
| 3. Exhortation | c. Obey it |
| 4. Explanation | d. Believe it |
So how did you do? Let's get out the good old "answer key." A promise...should be claimed; a revealed fact should be believed; an exhortation should be obeyed; an explanation should be understood. Go to the head of the class!
With these issues clearly in mind, let's take another look at Romans 6:1-14. This section of Romans (chs. 6-8) is the Bible's most extensive description of the provisions and responsibilities of living a righteous life in Christ.
Notice first, an EXPLANATION in vs. 3-5 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Through spiritual union with Christ believers are partakers of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension! (Col 3:1-3).
Next we have a revealed FACT to believe: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God" (v.7-10).
Many of us have wondered, "How can I be crucified with Christ?" The Scripture's answer is that this is something to KNOW (a fact) not an exhortation to obey.
Watchman Nee found this observation to be nothing less than revolutionary. He testified,
" For years after my conversion I had been taught that the way of deliverance was to reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:11), I reckoned from 1920 to 1927, and the trouble was that the more I did so the more alive to sin I clearly was. I simply could not believe myself dead, and I could not produce death. Sin was still defeating me, and I saw that something was fundamentally wrong. So I asked God to show me the meaning of the expression, 'I have been crucified with Christ. ' It had become clear to me that when speaking of this subject God nowhere says 'You must be,' but always 'You have been.' Yet in view of my constant failure this just did not seem possible, unless I was to be dishonest with myself. I almost turned to the conclusion that only dishonest people could make such statements. Yet whenever I sought help from others I was sent back to Romans 6:11. I appreciated its teaching , but I could not make out why nothing resulted from it. No one, you see, had pointed out to me that 'knowing' (verse 6) must precede 'reckoning' (verse 11). For months I was troubled and prayed earnestly, reading the Scriptures and seeking light. I said to the Lord, 'If I cannot be brought to see this which is so fundamental I will not preach any more. I want to get clear on this.'
"I remember one morning - how can I ever forget it! - I was sitting upstairs reading Romans and I came to the words: ' 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. ' (6:6). KNOWING this! How could I know it? I prayed, 'Lord open'my eyes!' and then in a flash, I saw. I had earlier been reading 1 Corinthians 1:30: 'You are in Christ Jesus. ' I turned it up and looked at it again. 'That you are in Christ Jesus, is God's doing!' It was amazing! Then if Christ died, and that is a certain fact, and if God put me into Him, then I must have died too. All at once I saw my oneness with Christ: that I was in Him, and that when He died, I died. My death to sin was a matter of the past and not of the future. It was a divine fact that dawned upon me. Carried away with joy I jumped from my chair and ran downstairs to the man working in the kitchen. 'Brother,' I said, seizing him by the hands, 'do you know that I have died?' I must admit he looked puzzled. 'What do you mean?' he exclaimed, so I went on: 'Do you not know that Christ has died? Do you not know that my death is no less truly a fact than his?' Oh it was so rea l to me! I felt like shouting my discovery through the streets of Shanghai. >From that day to this I have never for one moment doubted the finality of that word: 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me ' " (Galatians 2:20a). [1]
Fellow believer, have you come to understand and believe this truth? Your "old man" (the unregenerate human spirit) is no longer in you; you are a "new man" (with your spirit made alive and united with Christ ) -Col 3: 9,10; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:1,5. Any choices to walk according to the flesh are contrary to your essential identity in Christ (1 Pet 2:9).
Next, Romans ch 6 reveals an EXHORTATION to obey: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (v. 11-13).
To "reckon" coveys a mathematical idea; it means to add up and draw a conclusion. I should add up the explanation and facts in the preceding verses and draw a proper conclusion about its implications for me PERSONALLY. If I really am united with Christ spiritually, and am set free from the MASTERY of sin, I can and should yield my mind, will, and body to be in line with God's truth and His holy purposes!
And we also have a promise to encourage us in this walk: "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" ( v. 14).
May God illumine us to understand, know, reckon, and yield as this passage in Romans instructs us to. These are vital steps in the process of experiencing Christ's power for daily living. We have His promise to reassure us: "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thes 5:24).
JBW
March 6, 2000
Notes :
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version.
1] Against the Tide: The Story of Watchman Nee, by Angus Kinnear, pp.95,96
Ministry notes: I'm writing from a computer in the office of Grace Fellowship in Tennessee. We would appreciate prayer for an Exchanged Life Counseling institiute here, being conducted this week by Charles Solomon, Stoney Shaw, and myself.
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