Identification Truths Plus 2012

We're going to read over Romans 6, and this is the identification class, lesson 15. And we're going over, just to get a gist of things, we'll read Romans 6, 1 through 13, and I'll start again since I have the tape problem here. So beginning in verse 1 again. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, in order that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is free from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again. Death no longer is master over him.

For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its lust. And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Okay, so just kind of takes us through the whole passage that we've been studying. Again, these are, I think, the linchpin of identification truth.

This shouldn't be some deep thing. It is Christian Living 101 or Christian Growth Beginning Step 1 are these truths. They hold both positional and conditional truth. So verses 1 through 10, what are they? Position. And now we're getting into, in the verses today that we're going to cover, 11 through 13, we get into conditional. Okay, so we'll just review again. What are positional truths?

It can't change. Can't change. That's right. It's true about us later, now. Right now it's true about us and it'll never change. It will never change. It can't be altered in any way. I go back and I encourage you to take a look at those things too. The thing that Randy handed out, and I think we still have them up here, the thing from Lewisbury Chafer, the 33 things, it's a good quick summary of what's true about you right now. The moment you believed and were placed into Christ, that's true about you right now. It can't be changed.

I just ask you to take a look at some of those, look at one or two of those, and as we went through those before in some of the other identification classes that we've taught, we've gone through those, and I just think if you take one or two of those and really just contemplate what that means, that has a great impact on you.

You know, mine, I say a lot about the intimacy that we have, the intimacy that we have with God right now. Once we have been placed into Him, You know, and that's why I took a lot of time on John 17, because of that intimacy being placed into him. And what did he say in John 17? He wants that union, that intimacy, the glory that he gave to his son, he wants to give to us.

Just think about that. Just, you know, instead of thinking about the Broncos or the Rockies or something for, you know, five minutes, just contemplate that, you know, or any of these things and what that means in the scheme of things. And I think those things can have a great bearing on your growth as you understand just a few of those little things that are true about you right now.

So what about, what are conditional? We talked about positional, what's conditional? It can change. It can change. Because you can change. Is it you, yourself, ourself? Right? Me, myself and I? Yeah. Yeah, it's my daily living, the living out of that faith or that position and whether I'm walking by the spirit or walking by the flesh.

I can walk in either one of those and that's in my condition. So those are conditional, it can change by who I'm listening to. So that's the conditional. The old brethren used to have standing and state. Again, we've moved that to position and condition. I think that's kind of a better one. Position, you kind of know, is kind of your set. Condition is whatever condition.

So now when we move into verse 11, we're getting into some of the conditional aspects of it. Conditional truths can change moment by moment, whether we walk by the spirit or by the flesh. Paul, if you'll notice in his epistles, what does he generally do? How does he lay out things? He talks about position and then condition. Right. He generally talks about positional things.

This is what's true of you. This is what's true of you. Then what does he do? He persuades you. This is why you're making it all up. This is why you're a basket case. He goes into the conditional, you know, things I want to do, I don't do, things I do, I don't, you know, etc. You have doctrine and then you have application. Application, or if this is true about you, I mean, if these facts are true, then this. And we'll get into these logical imperatives. What do you mean this? It's like a logical mirror.

If you are in Him, or are citizenships in Heaven, then why are you worried about everything down here? If you are in intimacy with the Father, why do you worry about the world? Why do you worry about what's going on with you? If God is sovereign... I'm trying to think of any... Here's one. The life begets like you expect. You expect, Paul says, you are like Christ. You are of his type, so therefore. Yeah, but therefore, is that correct? You know, exactly, examples. I was thinking something, you know, I got to go look at one, you know. You have one. How about the example in the verses? If I'm dead to sin, how do I respond to that? How do I live? How do I live? If the position is true, And it is, that I'm dead to sin, and what do I do about that?

Right. And a lot of, you know, like in Ephesians, Ephesians is a lot of position that, where are you positioned? In heaven. Therefore, you know, it's always, look up, we should be looking down. Our positions, where? In Christ, at the right hand of the Father. And Ephesians is great in that, it tells you your heavenly position. So we are positioned there, and it's saying, if you're positioned there, then I should be looking at this world.

Where was Paul when he said, having done all to stand? What were the surroundings for him to say that? To say what? When Paul said, having done all to stand. I don't know where. In Ephesians. Where was he? I don't understand the circumstances. Was he in prison on Ephesians?

No, I think what you mean is that Paul lays out his position in Christ in terms of something that God has already done and the command is to stand where you already have been placed and don't move out from there. It isn't what he has done all. No, it's what the Lord has done with Paul by putting him in Christ. A couple other examples. In Galatians, after Paul lays out the whole issue of our being dead to the law, he says, then now stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has set you free. In other words, you're already in there. Here's how you react. You just stay where you are. Don't move.

Same thing in Colossians when he says, since you've been risen with Christ, here's what you do. you seek those things which are above, only because you've been risen. So that goes to the point. Also, I think in Ephesians 2, it starts off with, you've been blessed with all spiritual blessings. And it walks through a lot of that.

If you've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, how do you stand? How do you react? Why are you asking for more? So I think there's a lot of things in there that, again, It always seems that Paul lays out your positional truths, and then he says, OK, if this is true about you, then this is a logical result of that, or that reckoning like we have today. If you understand this position, this is how it manifests in your condition or your life. OK? Let's see.

Yeah, so the first tenor, position 11, is where we start to, based on the knowledge, we're then to, the knowledge of these facts, we then are to consider or reckon. In the New American Standard, it's considered in King James, and that it's reckoned, and I don't know about some of the other translations, but, okay. I am, sorry, read, I don't know what it was I read, but for the word reckon, they use conon. Kind of like that. You can count on it happening.

We'll get to that in the questions. What does reckon mean? Down to the second question, I think. There's an accounting term that he uses, and then there is the reckoning, which is a little bit more. It's knowledge. It's kind of what you're saying. It's knowledge of the fact and acting upon that, counting upon that. but we'll get into that a little bit.

Therefore, in order to move on to verse 11-13, I want to state that it is of critical importance to understand what I think is the linchpin verse for spiritual growth and growth in the operating systems believer malfunction, which is in grace. I still believe that Romans 6-6 is still kind of the linchpin. If you don't understand this, I think you're going to struggle. You're never going to really fully understand what grace is until you understand what happened in verse 6. So, that is, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be done away with. So that we would no longer be slaves to sin. I want to go, what was it? Do me a favor and don't use the word self. Self, I'm a good old man.

So, do you understand that? For all these weeks, do you understand what that means? I'm going to be a little edgy today. No, I'm going to be a little edgy in what I want you to do. Just a couple. Holly, since you stepped forward first. I should know better by now. I think this is just something I realized because I did it myself and I thought, man, this is really different. And this is a little strange, but I think it really does something different to you.

Put your name in that and I'll do it. Knowing this, that Courtney's old man was crucified with him in order that my body of sin might be done away with, so that I would no longer be a slave to sin." Put your name in it and read it out loud like that. I don't have my Bible. Oh, there you go. Russ has got one. Russ will get it up and you can read it. Romans 6 with your name. Say it with your name in it and see how that sounds. Knowing this, that my old man, no, Holly, Knowing this, that Holly was crucified with him in order that my body of sin might be done away with so that I would no longer be a slave to sin. That's it. You've got to do it now. You raise your hand.

Well, I'm just curious. She said it was I think she used the word, that her, that how it was, or is crucified, did she? Was. I think she said was, didn't she? Was. Yeah, was. Was. And mine says is. Oh, it's the same, huh? What's the difference? Was, I mean, was to be its past tense. Is, isn't that present? Yeah, was. It should be was. It's, is. Which is is. No, it's... You guys have been and I have been. Pay 10 more dollars for a different translation. No, I don't know. It says is. Yeah, it does. So some of the old King James says that. It does? Yeah. Huh. No, it should be was. So what's the tense? It is, let me make sure. It is was. It's is. It's is. It's is. We should have Clinton here. Just make sure this class. Oh, I know it is because I got it in here. Well, the.

Isn't that one of those situations where it's past completed? Yeah, no, this is present, yeah. It's present tense. Knowing that our old man was crucified. Knowing... Is it present or perfect? Present. Present active. Which means right now it's true. Yeah, with continuous. Right now. Okay? So it is present tense, knowing that our old man... Oh, wait, let me...

The crucified, no, that's knowing, the knowing part is now, and the crucified is aorist, passive, indicative. Okay, so it's a fact. So it's a past fact. It's a fact, but ongoing. Yeah, the knowing part is ongoing. It's not ongoing. The knowing part is ongoing. The knowing is ongoing. The crucifixion. The crucifixion is, no, that's why I thought it was aorist tense.

It's an accomplished fact. So it's done. So you can read it now. Put your name in with was. With was. Okay. Knowing this, that Helen was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth I should not serve sin. There you go. Did I do it right? I think so. Bruce gets to do it now. I know that Bruce's old man was crucified with him in order that my body of sin might be brought to nothing so that I would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Then that, I mean, to me, that changed it when I really read it with my name in it. Because I can really justify other people until I put my own name in it and I read it aloud. It really made a difference in me. And I just, I thought, you know, I'd try that on some. When you really put your name in there, do you understand what that means?

You can do that in most of Chapter 6. Right. Actually, most of Romans. Right. But this, I think, is a key part. That you were crucified. Bruce was crucified. Monique was crucified. It wasn't somebody else. It was Monique, Bruce, Courtney, Holly, all of us. If you're a believer, we're crucified.

Now, I think this is of key importance because when you look at all the rest of the epistles, and it just doesn't make sense unless you understand this. And I don't know how for a long time, you know, and this is why I think this is so important because I think for a long time I read through verses, and I think Randy expressed some of the things, too. You read through some of these verses and you kind of blow over them because, yeah, okay, well, sure, but you really don't understand and you kind of blow through these verses, especially a lot of, you know, what is, you know, some of the verses where, you know, I've been crucified and my life is now hid with Christ? How do you justify that one, if you don't understand this? You know, we are new creatures in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5.17, we're new creatures in Christ. Whoa, what do you mean by that? You know, you have to understand this verse. Because, and put your name in it, this wasn't somebody else, this was you crucified. the old man crucified, separated. What does that mean? Separated to death? Separation?

Does that mean that you were actually there when Christ was crucified? I mean, so to speak, that you actually were crucified with him at that time? Yes. Yeah. I mean, it's hard to understand. So, you know, I tried to, yeah, I think Newell had it stated very well.

This is William Newell. It is to those who are described in the opening chapters of Roman, guilty under divine judgment, and also in the flesh under the old man, far from God, without hope, to such the gospel message has come. These statements that we belong up there in Christ are issued by the high court of heaven itself. God says that no matter how things may seem, We died with Christ and share his newness of life and we are to present ourselves unto God as those alive from the dead. I think no matter what it seems like, it's true. I mean, I guess this is, and this is my point, you know, it's hard to understand.

So do you just kind of highlight or block that verse out? Because you can't, I mean, I'm just, I'm not saying it. You have to understand, you can't just parse this one out and say, that's not true. No, you can't. You can't. And that's why I said, that's why I kind of went through this exercise of trying to put your name in it, because I can kind of make that and push it off to somebody else, but when I put my own name in there, wow. It's, I can't, I can't run away from that verse now.

That kind of eliminates your being humble. I mean, what's been given to us, actually. See, the beauty of it is when you understand what that means and how, just what he was saying about the liberty that we now have, unbelievable what we have now. By that act of crucifixion, our co-crucifixion, getting rid of the old man, and again, it's still in us. It's the body of flesh that we still have this sin. Go ahead. One thing I think that the Lord is impressed upon old self was crucified with him, or Randy's old man was crucified with him.

I couldn't do that. But then after a while I said, okay, I believe God for this. This is true. But then what I wrestled with is that I realized that he was actually talking about the plural we, and now I had to start looking at every one of you that way. And I was like, oh shoot, I have to go through this again?

But it gives you liberty and grace to say, wow, God is doing that to court me. How I can interact with Courtney on a new level of intimacy that I could never do before because we were both up there. You know, and that's the thing, you know, I think as you travel and you get with believers, there's just something different. And you have this bond that you don't have with everybody else.

And that's because of your new life in Christ. We have a commonality because all of us are placed into Christ. That's the bond that we have. We're placed in Christ together, all of us. So when I travel and I find a believer, we're all resting in Christ.

You know, like what Mike had said, what controls you? So, you're not controlled, you're transformed if you believe. Especially that sentence. See, and that's why I want you to go through this, because what this does is free you from so much. The liberty that we have now. Right. Because you now understand there's two natures in you now. And I'll get to that. And I tried to come up with something, I passed this by Mike. How... What do you mean I was co-crucified? You're not believing me. I'm not, I'm not. What? I don't see it. And I came up with something that I hope might help that a little. Were you going to say something, Mike? No, go ahead. Okay.

This is what, you know, I try to think, how is this, you know, we'll get into how there are two natures in you, and it's very evident by these verses, even, that show that we have two natures in us. That the old man was crucified, which took us out of Adam, identifying with him, and placed us into Christ. So we're now in Christ. We still have that old nature in here, and a new life.

Okay? I'm co-crucified, but I'm still... What does that mean now? It just transforms. Yeah, so I try to do it this way. God now sees me in Christ. When He looks at me, He sees me in Christ. Is He looking at me in the old man? No. He's done with it. He is done. He's not looking at all that nasty old man. It's done. It is done on the cross. The sins were paid for and the nature was taken care of. Gone.

As far as God's looking at me. He now sees me where? In Christ. So when He looks at me, what's different? I mean, how do you reckon that in your head? I tried to figure out a method, not a method, but a way to kind of try to understand that. The best I could think of was, you know, because he sees me in Christ. He doesn't see all this other stuff. He now sees me differently. He sees me in Christ.

So, you know, I thought about this. You know, it's like when Ingrid and I were dating. She saw me as a guy. You know, a guy worthy enough, I guess, to marry. Okay? I'm coordinating the guy. We get married. When that transaction is taken, when we are married, what happens? Does she see me just as another guy? No. She sees me, what, as a husband?

That's right. Did I look different on the outside? Did I look any different the instant we said, you're man and wife? No. I didn't look any different on the outside. But in her eyes, I'm completely different. I am now a husband. Her husband. Her husband, yeah. But she doesn't see me just as Courtney. She sees me as a husband. I don't look any different on the outside, but she sees me completely different now. That's a good way to look at it. And I thought, you know, that's Christ. Now that we're in Christ, he doesn't see me as that old guy. He sees me as in Christ. And I thought...

It's a good one, Courtney. It's difficult really sometimes to grasp it because we have a T-brain. No, you know, it's because you're in awe when you read that, that we now have a union with God. That's why I spent so much time in John 17. Do you realize how He sees you?

That's what I'm trying to say. Even though I don't see it on my outside or all this, God now sees me in Christ. I'm not that old guy anymore. I am a new creature in Christ. That's how he sees me now. And that's how he treats you. And that's what I said, the liberty and the beauty and the grace. If you understand these verses, what that means, and the freedom that you have now, it's unbelievable. I mean, it is believable, but it's fantastic. Let's expand on your example.

Now that you're a husband, there are certain behaviors that are consistent with your being a husband and certain behaviors that are not consistent with you being a husband that you did before you were married. So if you're seen and viewed as a husband with the responsibilities of a husband and the behavior patterns of a husband, your wife can accurately say to you, now it's time you acted like a husband because you are a husband. If this is true of you as a husband, you're not going out and playing around. You're not going around and doing this. You're not doing this because you're a husband now. You support the family. What's interesting is lots of Christians act like they never got married, even though they are. I think that's the point I'm trying to make.

God sees you now. He doesn't see you in this old way anymore. It's dead, gone, crucified. He's done with it. He now sees you as in Christ. He doesn't see any of that other stuff. So, all that other stuff you worry about, don't. God's done with it. Now, He's looking at you as a new creature. That crucifixion that happened, I don't see the holes in my side or in my hands, but it's different. He now has placed me positionally in Christ. That's how he sees me. I'm not Courtney again. I am a new creature in Christ.

I think that's why the first word in verse 6 is knowing. Because I think believers need to know this information. in order for there to be an effective change in how they function, a few verses down, because God already knows it, God already sees you there, but do you see yourself in Christ? Do you see yourself separated from Adam and all that he was and sin? Maybe you don't see yourself that way initially, But you have to take God at His word.

That's the whole point of this. And that's the beginning of 11 is even so, or consider this, consider this, or reckon this, even so, consider. So realize these facts and what that means. Now, do you understand? We're done with it. Just reckon, consider, understand that you've been crucified. You've been separated.

You know, maybe that's like using your example as the wedding and the commitment. Maybe that's sort of the importance of baptism is that it's kind of an event that you're there. You know, you know, I, I, I didn't want to say, but you know, this reading aloud is almost like what I'd say in baptism. It's a public proclamation of what you've done inside. Baptism, that's all it is, a public proclamation, a visual or a demonstration. Reading this verse like that is just like a baptism, a public proclamation of what's transpired in you, that process that happened. And once you understand that, it's the beginning of growth.

When I got married, was I a perfect husband day one? I didn't know a whole lot. In fact, I was kind of freaked, to be honest. I have to take care of this woman. And then, as a believer, you start reading what you have to do as a husband. Let me tell you, when you get to that, you realize you can't do it. You can't do it. It's only the Holy Spirit working through me that I can do what I'm called out to be as a husband. But I didn't know that day one.

That's why I think Romans 6 is the beginning of growth. It's the beginning of your maturing in Christ. Because once you get that understanding, that's why I think this is so important. It's from our teaching also in grace. You can't understand grace if you're still dragging this old man around. Because the old man wants to do something. He wants the law. He wants to be important.

In grace, it's just pure blessings. It's pouring out God's blessings In John 17, we see that intimacy and the blessings, the glory bestowed upon the Lord. And what were we? We were in union with Him. So if He's pouring out all this glory and all this intimacy and all these things to Christ, where are we? Right there. We're in Him. That's what grace is. Just saying thank you.

Something hit me from Wednesday night, we were studying in 1 Corinthians and there's a verse in there, if I can find it quickly, that talks about the responsibility of the believer to be a critical thinker. That it's his responsibility to take what God has taught him and to spend time and work through it and to verify that the facts are true. And I think we live in a society today where these are incredible facts that we leave up to our feelings rather than just exercising our mind and our faith, and these are true because God said they're true. And he does, under the heading of grace, give us the responsibility He gave us a brain and abilities to reason. Yeah, I used to think that maybe it wasn't a good thing to question. But that's why we do have a brain. We should question whatever we don't get. Well, yeah, but there's some of these, like this crucifixion.

You just believe it. Because it's, in Hellenism, it's awfully hard to understand how I was there. You know, and how do you, I mean, You just have to believe that. You have to believe that. Because my little brain, you know, talk about, oh, engineer, great, oh, great, I can logically figure out everything, you know. I can't, you have to just trust that that's true.

That he, it says it right there. You were crucified. That's why I say to put your name in it. It makes it real. You can't run... Oh, that was just for Helen. That was just for Helen. Knowing this, that, you know, oh yeah, wait a minute, that's just for Helen. It's me.

In 1 Corinthians 15, He uses this term, and I make known to you, brother, in the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received. That word received means you thought about it, you got it straight, and you took it to yourself, in which also you stand, in which also you say it, and you hold fast. That's the responsibility. So when you hear Romans 6, you receive it, hold fast to it, Well, don't just pass over it. Well, that is the Romans 11. Yeah. That's really what Romans, I mean Romans 6, 11.

Oops. It's okay. Would that kind of be like, you were talking about reckon earlier. It's okay. Would that kind of be like believing, accepting without question? Uh, yeah. I mean, yeah, I mean it's, it's to, based on fact. Yeah. Yeah. Based on the facts. Right. I consider this truth.

I mean, you know this is true, and we'll get into that, whether your believing makes it true, or it's true because it's true. And we'll get into some of the feelings too, whether feelings are part of this. And so we'll touch on that. I'm sorry I went on the tangent, but I just think this is critical, because in the other epistles, in a few weeks I'll be teaching on Galatians and Colossians, and then I'm going to touch on some other ones, 2 Timothy and 2 Corinthians. The thing that I wonder about is there are times that, say, someone cuts you off on the freeway, and this instant kind of an anger comes up, but then there's that part of you that goes, no, just drive your car.

Is that an interaction between the old man and your new nature? Yeah, I think it's, you know, and to me, maturing is the fact when you don't have to listen to that old guy. There are a lot of things that I used to do, and this I go to those things, that things go strangely dim, and things of the world are getting dimmer to me, less important. As you understand, I think as you spiritually grow, you understand almost immediately that that's the old man response, not William and Christ. You know, it was before, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you thought about it after the fact, after you got home, and you're like, man, I probably shouldn't have done that. Where now, as you understand who you are in Christ, I think, is that really worth it? And I don't have that response anymore. You know, and I don't either, but I'm just trying to figure out... Well, we can always go back to Monique stealing newspapers. That's always a good one. trying to understand the reality of real life of there is an old man, there is a new man, how do you sense...

The one factor that isn't mentioned in the study of this until you get to Romans 8 is the input of the Holy Spirit in a believer's heart, that your understanding at the crisis moment is because of Him, not because you have a great memory. And He's always ministering the truths of Christ to you, especially in the moment of decision. He's there. So you can depend on Him to do the job He's been sent to do. And I think it's through the Holy Spirit, the spiritual growth and maturity. You have less and less relationship to this world. What is Christ's relationship To the world. Rejected. Crucified. Okay, if we're in Christ, where's our position?

Same thing. And as you understand that, that's why I say this is so critical. Because you understand that, a lot of this becomes less important. It doesn't matter. You know, politics. Like I said, it's rooting for a football team, but it makes no difference in our life. We're citizens of heaven.

I'm sorry to throw in psychology, but the stuff from my pain clinic that I work at, and how I've kind of put the twist on it, is that Some of those things that we do is like we're almost trying to put the law on other people. We're trying to say people should drive correctly. People shouldn't cut me off. And it's like maybe like the old man wanting to get those laws in place and make everyone behave according to your own laws that you're kind of setting up in your head.

And if they don't, you're angry. And the old man, fairness. Yeah. Fairness. He cut me off. Who's the center of that? He cut me off. It's the same here though. We get to this from a legal standpoint and we say we should reckon and they should reckon too. So what we've done is we've made reckoning a law rather than a response. I don't think that's a law at all. I don't know if we've answered question number one. I just wanted to comment I can rationalize and say, oh, I've cut people off.

The relationship aspect is the quality of knowing, am I walking in the spirit or not? And I know that based on having an awareness of my walk with the Lord. And I don't have to, as a believer who's understood this for a while, I don't feel like I sit every minute going, am I abiding? Am I abiding? Am I abiding? Once you say that, what's the word you're using in there? But I'm evaluating the quality of the relationship. But the minute you start saying, am I...

I don't think there's a problem with that. I think though, if you're trying to measure, it's like trying to measure though, how good I, I mean, this is my, when I try and do that, am I, am I, am I doing... No, what I'm talking about is not the relationship is secure, but the fellowship is... So I am not arguing with Jessica right now.

I thought you said by measuring, though, if you're trying to measure... I know if it were an autograph scenario. I am in good fellowship with my wife. I thought you meant like, I'm trying to measure, you know, if that's the case, you're defeated right at the beginning.

Yeah, that's a problem. When you transition in the Book of Romans from chapter 7 to chapter 8, you go from a whole bunch of phrases and verses with the word I in it to chapter 8 where there's no I. It's only Christ. It's all where the I's are. It seems to be the wonderful result of all the I's to like set aside the world and be totally in Christ would be the increase of joy and peace. You know, that's the liberty that we have, the freedom that we have when you're under grace. What is grace? Unlimited unmerited blessings. What's wrong with that system? That's why I get into all these things.

If you understand you're sovereignly in control, that you can't be separated from His love. Romans, you know, you can't be separated. No way. He loves you. Intimacy of John 17. That's how you can go, consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. Because you're not separated from Him. He still loves you, just the same as yesterday.

All He's doing is saying, come here. I want to get as close to you as I can. I want you to come back. We're the guys going that way. But we live in a society where we have to follow rules. You can't just drive through a red light and I'm going to say, oh my lord, look what he just did and crash. And Roman said, was it 13 or whatever? Yeah, 13. 13 about subject or subject to government. I mean, we have to be. Who puts the president in power? Who did? Who allowed that? Who allowed that?

Alright, a couple of quick things in there. The reason why I was also, you know, we've got to understand this concept because if we go into some of these other verses, like I was saying in Galatians, Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. How do you understand that verse? I have been crucified.

If you don't understand what happened in Colossians 3.3, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ and God. What do you mean? Died?

Romans 6. 2 Corinthians 5.17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things have what? Passed away. Behold, new things have come.

This is so critical. Lots of Paul's epistles and how our condition and how he's telling us who we are in Christ and how that logically is lived out is based on this linchpin. Since I've now established a new record of not even getting to question one, I wanted to do, this was a good one since I was going to read it. If you've got just a minute more, this is in the spiritual anthology thing. There have been just a tremendous amount of really good ones in here. This one's from Charles Coates, Adam Revoked. If you've got just time for this. I thought this was good. They had a couple of really good things in here. The Lord Jesus Christ is at the Father's right hand and he is there as our righteousness. By Him, too, we have access into our Father's favor.

It is not only that grace meets us in our need and distance, but it brings us nigh to the Father as those who have access into His favor. To understand this grace, we need to have very distinctly before our souls the one man by whom it has come to us. We can never truly learn the grace of God by thinking of those to whom it comes. We must think of the one by whom it comes.

Adam brought in sin and death, but the Lord Jesus has brought in righteousness and life. And according to grace, we have been transferred, reborn from Adam to Christ. We have become identified with the Lord Jesus in his death unto sin. This is the only way of blessing.

Our Adamic flesh could not be improved or Christianized. Its history must be closed in death. One can be thankful for such qualities in human nature as natural affection, amiability, and so on, but they do not alter the terrible fact that the mind of the flesh is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, for neither indeed can it be. And they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8, 7 and 8.

The flesh must be condemned. It has been condemned in the death of Christ. Our old Adamic man has been crucified with Christ. It is on this ground that we have been made free from sin. Sin has no longer any right to claim us. Christ has died to sin and lived to God. And it is our privilege to take account of ourselves as having died to sin and become alive unto God in Christ Jesus.

In Romans 7 we see the exercise of one who is finding out that he is sold under sin. He is under a tyrant from which he cannot escape. Then he learns that the sin which holds him captain is in him. And finally he discovers that in him, that is, in his flesh, good does not dwell. And I love this. I remember a young man saying to me, I always knew that there was plenty of bad in me, but I never knew until now that there was no good.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the man of God's pleasure, and we have every grace and blessing in him. All is perfection and glorious suitability to divine love. If you have gone down into the depths of what you are and have found that there is nothing there for God's approval or pleasure, what a joy it is to look upon the man, Christ Jesus, and to find in him everything that is pleasurable to God. Through his blessed grace on the ground of redemption, you are in Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit given you is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

The Spirit of God dwelling in us is the evidence that we are no longer in the flesh." That was a great statement. The spirit of God dwelling in us is evident that we are no longer in the flesh. He could not identify himself with the flesh. He could not come in as an addition to the flesh. The fact that he dwells in us proves that according to God we are in holy new standing. We are not in the flesh but in the spirit, Romans 8 and 9. The practical outcome of this is that we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die, but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live.

The Spirit brings us consciously into the circle of divine love as those who are in Christ Jesus the objects of that love. We have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. That is liberty. We are brought out of all that attached us in our standing as in the flesh and we are brought into that which divine love has prepared for us in Christ Jesus. If we are not in the flesh but in the spirit, it forbids that we should any longer live in the flesh. And in the practical renunciation of the flesh lies the secret of liberty and growth. In short, spiritual maturity. I just thought that had a lot of really good stuff that we've been going over. So, anyway, let's close.

Sorry about that. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. Thanks again for just the ability to look into your word and we are just thankful of your plans and your processes. So many times we can't even understand it, but we just rest in the facts.

We rest in the facts that what you've said in your word is true. And we just rest again and believe in those facts that we were crucified. And that you see us not in our old man, but you see us in Christ. And what liberty and freedom and joy that is, knowing that we have been placed in Christ. So Father, we just give you thanks and we thank you for this time in Jesus' name. Amen.