VICTORY IN CHRIST
How do we experience victory in Christ? How do we experience the victorious Christian life? This is the great and practical question for everyone who has put his trust in Christ. In Romans 1-3.20 Paul sets forward the problem of sin and its devastating effect upon the human race. In 3.21-5 he sets forward the doctrine for the solution to sin--faith in Christ. In chapter 6 he begins to talk about the practical aspects of the Christian life following salvation. That is, he begins to discuss sanctification. Chapter 6 is devoted to the doctrine, chapter 7 the defeat, and chapter 8 the deliverance.
In the first seven chapters of Romans, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only in Romans 5.5. But in Romans 8, he is mentioned 19 times! The way of victory in the Christian life is by the Holy Spirit. The Mosaic Law was powerless to achieve righteousness. Does this mean that the Law was defective? Not at all. The problem is with us. Paul refers to the problem as the "flesh". It is his description of our Adamic nature. The Law was holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7.12) but our flesh (the old Adamic nature) is incapable of keeping it. Paul says,
"For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8.3-4).
The moment a person puts his trust in Christ, he is baptized by the Holy Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12.13,
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit".
Paul also says,
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1.13-14).
All believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. It is he who has power, who has made us alive to God. When we yield ourselves to him, we can live a righteous and pleasing life before God.
Paul tells us that there a warfare going on between the flesh and the Spirit. He says,
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law" (Gal. 5.16-17).
There are two parts to sanctification and spiritual growth. One part is what God does through the Holy Spirit. The other part we do. Our part is to believe the Scriptures, what God says, and obey God. The Holy Spirit's work in us and our believing the Bible and obeying Christ are inseparably linked. It is much like a seed planted in the ground. Intrinsic to a seed is the ability of growth and maturity. But a seed's growth and maturity is also dependent on being watered, fertilized, and tended. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and our spirits have been quickened through the new birth. This is like a seed's intrinsic power to become a mature plant. Exercising faith is like the plant being watered, fertilized, and nurtured. Paul described this process:
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth" (2 Thes. 2.13).
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Topic: Victory In Christ! (Read 1993 times)