The LORD Our Righteousness - An Exposition of the Gospel

8/9/2019 The LORD Our Righteousness - An Exposition of the Gospel

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The Everlasting Gospel: Volume I

The LORD Our RighteousnessAn Exposition of the Gospel

Dane Smith Toffler


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The Everlasting Gospel: Volume I

The Lord Our Righteousness

An Exposition of the Gospel


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ii

Preface

As a Bible teacher for the last 35 years, I have been asked

many questions for which I didnt have prepared an-swers. This usually led to additional prayer and research,

and sometimes it led to answers for my students. But, theanswers to some questions eluded my research and the

questions remained unanswered for both my studentsand myself. These were the deep questions like: How do I

really stop sinning? How can I be declared righteous by

God so I can be saved? How do I make a complete sur-render? How do I reckon myself dead to sin?

Big questions with only partial or ephemeral answers,nothing concrete. No amount of prayer or study seemed

to work. Then, I awoke one morning after a dream and Irealized that God had revealed the answers in that dream.

This book is my sharing of those things that were re-vealed.

Dane Toffler

Linden, Virginia February 2007

Contents copyright 2007 by Dane Smith Toffler


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The Lord Our RighteousnessNo man is an Island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,

as well as if a promontory were,

as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were;

any man's death diminishes me,because I am involved in Mankind;

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

John Donne, Meditation XVII

When Adam sinned, he plunged all of his descendants

into the depths of sin with him. Since his sin oc-curred before he had fathered any children, Adams off-

spring would be born with a sinful nature instead of apure one. See Romans 5:12,14.

So, through one act of sin, all humanity was cursed. Each

child would be born in slavery to sin. Unless there was

another plan, all humanity was lost.

This plan, a plan conceived in love by the Father, Son and

Holy Spirit, was accomplished before the foundations ofour Earth were ever laid, well before Adam and Eve could


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even be tempted. Our salvation was to be accomplished

by Christ himself, who would give Himself as a ransomfor lost mankind. Hear now some of the mysteries of

Gods plan to save us by His own righteousness:

One of the main topics here discussed will be the notionof solidarity, how one man can be held to represent a

whole nation, or a whole tribe, or even all mankind.

The Community of Mankind

In the Old Testament, Adams name became synonymouswith mankind, such that mankind was called by hisname. Over 500 of the references to Adam in the Old

Testament refer to mankind, not Adam himself.

In the New Testament, it is taught that all mankind de-

scended from Adam: And He made from one every na-

tion of men to live on all the face of the earth, having de-termined allotted periods and the boundaries of theirhabitation, Acts 17:26, RSV.

It is because of this that mankind can be viewed as a

whole, and Adam can stand as the representative of thewhole race. This idea of solidarity is seen in other places,

as well:And the LORD said to her, Two nations are in yourwomb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shallserve the younger. Genesis 25:23, RSV.


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The LORD was revealing to Rebecca things about her

sons, Jacob and Esau, yet unborn, and the nations thatwould come out of their loins.

Maybe the best example of this notion of solidarity in the

Bible is seen in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

And so to speak, through Abraham even Levi who is re-ceiving tithes, hath paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins

of the father when Melchisedek met him. Hebrews7:9,10, YLT.

In this interesting case, Levi is portrayed as giving tithes

to Melchisedek through Abraham, his great-grandfather.But, the apostle uses the phrase so to speak to refer to

this giving of tithes, for the simple reason that neitherLevi nor his descendants (the Levitical priesthood) had

yet been born. Abraham, representing all his descen-

dants, gave the tithe. Yet, the argument stands, becausethe only priesthood to come out of Abrahams loinswould be Levis. Jesus Christ, who is of the Melchisedek

priesthood, would come later having descended from Ju-dah, not Levi, also from Abrahams loins. The argument is

that Levi and his descendants gave tithe through Abraham

to Melchisedek. It argues nothing about Judah and his de-scendants.

Note that Levi and his offspring represent a solidaritywithin the solidarity of all Abrahams offspring.


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The Two Mankinds

In Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul con-

trasts the representative acts of Adam against the repre-sentative acts of Jesus Christ. The reason for this com-parison between two representatives is given in I

Corinthians 15:45,47:

Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a livingbeing; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1

Corinthians 15:45, RSV.

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; thesecond man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:47, RSV.

As we have already shown, the name Adam is synony-mous with mankind. The word man in the above two

quotations may be understood as referring to mankind, as

well.

Christ is therefore defined as the second mankind and the

last Adam, while Adam is referred to as the firstmankind. Romans 5:14 calls Adam the type of He who

was to come.

Similarly, the apostle Paul uses the figures the old man

and the new man to refer to Adam and Christ respec-tively.


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Garments and Tents

Ye are to put off concerning the former behaviour the

old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of thedeceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, andto put on the new man, which, according to God, was

created in righteousness and kindness of the truth. Eph-esians 4:22-24, YLT. Emphasis supplied.

Note especially the phrase put on the new man, which,

according to God, was created in righteousness and kind-ness of the truth.. The Greek tense of the verbs in this

phrase is called aorist, which refers to a single eventwhich happened at a single time in the past. There was a

single event in the past when the new man was createdin righteousness.

Comparing this text with two others is helpful:

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have

put on Christ. Galatians 3:27, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provi-

sion for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:14,RSV. Emphasis supplied.

Therefore, this new man is Christ and we are told to putHim on like a garment or dwell in Him as if He were atent.


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For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but

He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Hebrews 2:16,KJV.

But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him

the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness ofmen: Philippians 2:7, KJV.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

John 1:14, KJV.

The phrase dwelt among us is tabernacled in us in theGreek.

So, He put on Humanity as a garment. He lived in us like

we were a tent.

This concept of an outward man with an inward man isseen in the next two examples from the apostles Peter and

Paul:

And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to

stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowingthat the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly,

even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me. 2 Peter1:13,14, ASV.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is de-

stroyed, we have a building from God, a house not madewith hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan,

and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by


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putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we

are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that wewould be unclothed, but that we would be further

clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up bylife. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, RSV.

In these two passages, the illustration is slightly different

but can still be used to show the concept. Here the tentor tabernacle refers to the physical body that dies and

returns to the dust, and Paul goes on to say that we have a

house or dwelling that we will receive at the resurrection,which refers to our incorruptible body.

See what Paul says in II Corinthians 4:16:

Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man isdecaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. 2

Corinthians 4:16, ASV.

To get back to the putting off of the old man and theputting on of the new man, let us look at another of

Pauls statements:

Lie not one to another, having put off the old man with

his practices, and having put on the new, which is re-

newed in regard to knowledge, after the image of Himwho did create Him; Colossians 3:9,10, YLT. See alsoEphesians 4:20-22.

The believer is described as having put off his old man

and having put on his new man which is Jesus Christ.


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If Jesus Christ is, so to speak, the new man, then Adam

is, so to speak, the old man, which we have put off.

The tent we are asked to put off and the tent we areasked to put on is an inner tent, between the outward

man and the inward man. This can be seen in theexample of the Old Testament sanctuary which had an

inner tent made of fine linen, where the outer tent hadthree layers of tougher materials (goats-hair, ram-skin

dyed red and seal-skin). See Exodus 36:8-19.

One Death for All

There are two startling passages in II Corinthians and the

Epistle to the Hebrews:

"For the love of Christ constrains us, having judged this,

that if One died for all, then the all died;" 2 Corinthians

5:14 Green's Literal Translation. Emphasis supplied.

But we behold Him who hath been made a little lower

than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering ofdeath crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace

of God He should taste of death for every man. He-brews 2:9, ASV. Emphasis supplied.

These two statements declare that when Jesus Christdied, all humanity died. The Greek aorist tense used inboth passages confirms that it all happened at the same

time in the past as His death. This, of course, is anotherof the so to speak situations, because, literally, some of


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humanity would have died before they were physically

born.

Romans 6:6 provides some clarity:Knowing this, that our old man was crucified withHim, that the body of sin might be done away, that so

we should no longer be in bondage to sin; Romans 6:6,ASV. Emphasis supplied.

Here we have the sameaorist tense describing what hap-

pened at the crucifixion, but we see that it was our oldman that was crucified with Him. This should be un-

derstood as who we are in Adam or in Humanity, forChrist was in Adam or in Humanity when He died.

Therefore, so to speak, all mankind (of Adam) was inChrist.

This is a similar so to speak as in the case of Levi andhis descendants being a solidarity of priests within Abra-ham when Abraham gave tithes to a priesthood that did

not spring out of his loins.

In the case of Christ, He came and dwelt in all humanity

when He was made flesh, such that all humanity could

be affected not just by His crucifixion, but His wholeearthly life.

Another so to speak has to do with the fact that not allwho are in Adam end up in Christ. Christs crucifixion


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provided for all, but not all accept what has been pro-

vided.

The GatewayBaptism is where the believer first makes a connection in

reality to what Christ did on the cross.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptizedinto Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Romans

6:3, RSV.

The word transliterated here as baptized means im-

mersed, submerged or merged. The believer is mergedinto Christ and into His death when that believer is bap-

tized. Romans 11 uses the figure of being grafted in in asimilar sense.

Some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild

olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share therichness of the olive tree, Romans 11:17, RSV.

Romans 6 expands more on the idea that we have joined

Christs history:

We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into

death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by theglory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.For if we have been united with Him in a death like His,

we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrectionlike His. Romans 6:4,5, RSV.


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Commenting on this Himself, Jesus said:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls

into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, itbears much fruit. John 12:24, RSV.

Jesus is here referring to Himself as the grain that would

die and bear much fruit.

The Children of God

Now that we have a working knowledge of the Biblessolidarity concept, let us examine in detail the achieve-

ments of the last Adam, our Lord and Savior.

Going back to the gospel prophet Isaiah we find:

Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise Him; He hasput Him to grief; when He makes Himself an offering for

sin, He shall see His offspring, He shall prolong Hisdays; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand;

Isaiah 53:10, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and thegovernment will be upon His shoulder, and His name

willbe called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Ever-

lasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6, RSV. Em-phasis supplied.


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So, the Messiah, the Son born to a virgin, a virgin Him-

self when He died on the cross, is foretold to be a Fatherwith children.

See, what the writer of Hebrews has to say:

And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again,

Here am I, and the children God has given Me. Sincetherefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Him-

self likewise partook of the same nature, that throughdeath He might destroy him who has the power of death,

that is, the devil, Hebrews 2:13,14, RSV. Emphasissupplied.

If we go back before the creation of the earth, we see that

it was part of the plan.

Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of

the world, that we should be holy and blameless beforeHim. Ephesians 1:4, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

So, whereas Adam, genetically, is the head or father of the

human family; Christ, genetically, is the head or father ofthe divine-human family, which is a humanity with di-

vinity in control.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, thefirst fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a

man came death, by a man has come also the resurrectionof the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall

all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the


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first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to

Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, RSV. Emphasis sup-plied.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesusfor good works, which God afore prepared that weshould walk in them. Ephesians 2:10, ASV. Emphasis

supplied.

For as through the disobedience of the one man, themany were constituted sinners: so also through the obe-

dience of the one, shall the many be constituted righ-teous. Romans 5:19, YLT.

Adams disobedience made us all inherit his sinful nature,

but Christs obedience gives all an opportunity to inheritHis sinless nature.

Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because Hisseed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is be-gotten of God. 1 John 3:9, ASV.

Jesus says:

Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be bornfrom above, he is not able to see the reign of God; John

3:3, YLT.

Like the seed that falls into the earth, seemingly to die,later to be born again as a flower or a tree, so our being


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merged into Christs death on the cross, merges us also

into a new life in Him, with Him, and for Him.

Not only do these texts signify that we will be resur-rected with a new body, they also refer to a new sort of

life that we may live from the point of baptism until theSecond Coming or until we fall asleep in Christ.

Born Again

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 2Corinthians 5:17, RSV.

We should see that all that we had from Adam (when we

were born naturally) has been crucified with Christ (viaour baptism), and that we have been also resurrected

from that death and been re-born from above in Christ.

So, being born-again means being born from above inChrist.

For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in

God. Colossians 3:3, RSV.

This corresponds to our living in Christ as if He were a

tent, or putting on Christ. It also corresponds to thelife Christ lived as our example on earth.


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The Example

But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, be-

lieve the works, that you may know and understand thatthe Father is in Me and I am in the Father. John10:38, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Fa-

ther in me? The words that I say to you I do not speakon My own authority; but the Father who dwells in

Me does His works. John 14:10, RSV. Emphasis sup-plied.

He says, I dwell in the Father who is in Heaven, and He

dwells in Me here. Christs spiritual life was an ex-changed one, where He exchanged places with His Father.

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and we

shall be satisfied. Jesus said to him, Have I been withyou so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? Hewho has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say,

Show us the Father? John 14:8,9, RSV.

Following the Example

As Christ is the First-fruits, so those that belong to Him

will be like Him.

My little children, with whom I am again in travail until

Christ be formed in you! Galatians 4:19, RSV. Empha-

sis supplied.


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To them God chose to make known how great among

the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery,which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians

1:27, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

And that Christ may dwell in your hearts throughfaith; Ephesians 3:17, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

The Exchanged Life

As the Father dwells in Christ, so Christ dwells in us. As

He dwells in the Father, so we dwell in Christ.

That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art inMe, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, so that the

world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. John 17:21,RSV.

Note, it says that if we are in Christ we are also in the Fa-

ther.

The Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father andthey are one. In a similar way, believers are in Christ as a

solidarity; as one, so to speak. Like Levi and hisdescendants were a solidarity of priests, so we, too, are a

solidarity of priests and kings. Priests that are after the

order of Melchisedek.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy na-

tion, Gods own people, that you may declare the won-


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derful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into

his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9, RSV.

The Family of God And better still, because of the nature of this divine

oneness, it is not Christ alone that dwells in us:

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, hewill keep my word: and my Father will love him, and

we will come unto him, and make our abode with

him. John 14:23, ASV. Emphasis supplied.

Of course, we know that the Father and the Son are onewith the Holy Spirit, who also dwells within us:

Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot re-

ceive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; youknow Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in

you. John 14:17, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

In fact, the Holy Spirit has always been the Person of theGodhead through Whom spiritual realities are accom-

plished.

But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in

fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who doesnot have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. Butif Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because

of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. Ifthe Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells


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in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will

give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spiritwhich dwells in you. Romans 8:9-11, RSV.

Notice that the Spirit is referred to in the above passage as

being both the Fathers Spirit and Christs Spirit, for Hedwells in each.

Being in Christ is the same as being in the Spirit.

So, you ask, why has all this been done? Why is it neces-

sary to live this exchanged life?

He [God] is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and

sanctification and redemption; 1 Corinthians 1:30, RSV.

Thus far, we have been focusing on the objective spiritualrealities created for our redemption by the Godhead, but

now we will examine more closely our own subjectivespiritual lives. We will examine how the life of Christ af-fects our lives as believers.

The LORD Our Righteousness

In the above quotation it is stated that Jesus is our right-

eousness (or justification) and sanctification. This meansthat in Christ we are declared righteous (this is our justi-fication) and we are set aside for Gods holy use (this is

our sanctification).


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So, by putting on Christ or being in Him or being

hidden in Christ I am declared righteous because Hecovers me.

So also, by Christ being formed within or Christ in

you or Christ dwelling in us we are set apart and usedin a holy way by God.

Therefore, since both my justification and my sanctifica-

tion are completely handled by Christs birth, life, deathand resurrection, I truly am spiritually complete in Him.

There is nothing I can add to my salvation in Christ.

Colossians 2:10 teaches that we are complete in Him.

Faith and Works

Let us look at faith and works in this framework.

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Fatherin Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on

My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Medoes His works.Believe Me that I am in the Father and

the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of theworks themselves. John 14:10,11, RSV. Emphasis sup-

plied.

Here, Jesus says neither His words nor His works wereHis own, they were in fact His Fathers words and

works. This we are told to believe or have faith in.


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Jesus also said:

I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge:

and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine ownwill, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.

John 5:30, KJV. Emphasis supplied.

In the same vein, Jesus tells us He is the Vine and we arethe branches:

Abide in Me, and I in you.As the branch cannot bear

fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more canye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the

branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the samebringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do

nothing. John 15:4,5, KJV. Emphasis supplied

To abide in is to dwell in, to stay there in Him, as He

stays there in me.

Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in TheeAugustus M. Toplady

Bible Faith

Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the

conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1, Dby. Em-phasis supplied.

Much of what is written in the Bible, and what happensin our lives, requires the kind of faith spoken of in the

above verse. This kind of faith believes in unseen things,


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things that can only be hoped for, but still it believes.

Fortunately, the faith spoken of here is also a gift fromGod, not the more familiar human commodity of the

same name.

True Bible faith is obtained through prayer: asking for itand receiving it from God. It is this faith that makes us

whole. It is this faith that allows us to grasp the mysteriesof the Gospel, and thereby enter life eternal right now!

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and

believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life; he does notcome into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24, RSV.

Entering the Gateway

When this belief is real, new converts find themselves

dead, and in need of burial. Baptism is that burial andcoming out of the water is the entrance into eternal life.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but hewho does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16,

RSV.

It is at baptism that we are incorporated into Christs

body:

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,

whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or


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free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1

Corinthians 12:13, KJV.

Faith substantiates or makes real this whole framework ofbeliefs, such that, the believer knows himself/herself to

be in Heaven, and the believer also knows that Christ hascome in their own flesh.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trem-

bling; for God is at work in you, both to will and towork for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12,13, RSV.

Emphasis supplied.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit thatconfesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of

God: 1 John 4:2, ASV.

God will judge people based on how they treated believ-

ers who had Christ formed within.

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, Come,O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for

you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungryand you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me

drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was

naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me,I was in prison and you came to me.

Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did wesee thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee

drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome


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thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee

sick or in prison and visit thee?

And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, asyou did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you

did it to me. Matthew 25:34-40, RSV.

Crucified with Christ

Being hidden in Christ, while Christ is formed within

me, is a reflection of my faith that I have been crucified

with Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I wholive, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in

the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved meand gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20, RSV.

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love

with which He loved us, even when we were deadthrough our trespasses, made us alive together with

Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us upwith Him, and made us sit with Him in the heavenly

places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6, RSV.

For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in

God. Colossians 3:3, RSV.

Until the second coming, this death must be as important

to us as is this eternal life we are beginning to live.


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Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that

the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. Forwhile we live we are always being given up to death for

Jesus sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested inour mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:10,11, RSV.

This passage tells us that the life of Jesus is not mani-

fested within us unless we are at the same moment rec-ognizing that we are dead. The dead have no say in how

things will be done. The dead can take no action or

thought for themselves. More importantly, the dead can-not be tempted to sin.

The Way of Escape

Lets go back to Romans 6 for enlightenment:

This knowing, that our old man was crucified with

Him, that the body of the sin may be made useless, forour no longer serving the sin; Romans 6:6, YLT. Em-phasis supplied.

Unless we accept our crucifixion with Christ, we will

still be servants of sin. Accepting our crucifixion withHim annuls the power of sin to enslave us.

So also ye, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to thesin, and living to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans6:11, YLT. Emphasis supplied.


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The reckoning asked for here is not the reckoning of the

actor who plays as if he is dead to sin, it is the reckoningof the accountant who knows himself to be dead to sin.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to

make you obey their passions. Do not yield your mem-bers to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield your-

selves to God as men who have been brought from deathto life, and your members to God as instruments of righ-

teousness. For sin will have no dominion over you,

since you are not under law but under grace. Romans6:12-14, RSV. Emphasis supplied.

Law Versus Grace

Not only does being crucified with Christ free us from

the power of sin to enslave us, it also frees us from thecurse of the Law.

Although the Law teaches us what sin is, it is a harshmaster, for it requires perfect obedience. In fact, because

of this trait, it is a curse to us. The Law itself is perfectand holy and good. But, in our humanity we cannot keep

the Law:

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; itdoes not submit to Gods law, indeed it cannot; Romans

8:7, RSV.

A mind set on the flesh is simply the condition we areborn in. It wants to do its own will.


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Romans 7:1-3 tells the story of an unhappy marriage. A

woman has fallen in love with a new man, not her hus-band, but she is bound to her husband for life. Only his

death or hers would ever free her to marry her new man.Romans 7:4 explains that the womans husband is the

Law. Through her death in the body of Christ, she isnow free to marry Christ.

Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law

through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to

another, to Him who has been raised from the dead in or-der that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4, RSV.Emphasis supplied.

Separation from the World

The crucifixion which we share with Christ also sepa-rates us from the world.

But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of ourLord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified

to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14, RSV.

Entering Gods Rest

Entering into Christs death is the same as entering into

His rest.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and Iwill give you rest. Matthew 11:28, RSV.


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For he that is entered into His rest hath himself also

rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us there-fore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall

after the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:10,11, ASV.

It is because of this that a sabbath-keeping remains to the

people of God, for it is the sign of those that have enteredinto His rest.

So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of

God; Hebrews 4:9, RSV.

Dying Daily

Daily we are asked to enter this experience:

And He said unto all, If any man would come after Me,let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and

follow Me. For whosoever would save his life shall loseit; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake, the same

shall save it. Luke 9:23,24, ASV. Emphasis supplied.

For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by theSpirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall

live. Romans 8:13, ASV. Emphasis supplied.

The sinful tent we live in, our flesh, will try always togain back control, but believers can, through the Spirit,

daily take the flesh back to the cross to make it useless inits efforts to ensnare them. Then, knowing that we have


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been crucified with Christ, we may indeed reckon our-

selves dead to sin.

This daily dying, that the life of Christ might be mani-fested in us, allows us to present ourselves to God as alive

from the dead, presenting ourselves as servants of righ-teousness, instead of servants of sin.

The Body of Christ

Not only may we have this experience as individuals, but

we also have a corporate experience with the other mem-bers of the body of Christ, for we exist in solidarity withthem, as well. This is because we have been baptized into

one body and He is the head of that body.

For, let this mind be in you that is also in Christ Jesus,

Philippians 2:5, YLT.

Here the apostle reminds us that our minds are to bemerged into the mind of Christ, our wills into His will.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and

all the members of the body, though many, are one body,so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all bap-

tized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and

all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body doesnot consist of one member but of many. 1 Corinthians12:12-14, RSV.


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After the above introduction to the subject, Paul shows

what would happen if the body parts didnt work to-gether:

If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not

belong to the body, that would not make it any less apart of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am

not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would notmake it any less a part of the body. If the whole body

were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole

body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each

one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, wherewould the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet

one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you,

nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be

weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the bodywhich we think less honorable we invest with the greater

honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated withgreater modesty, which our more presentable parts do

not require.

But God has so composed the body, giving the greater

honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord


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in the body, but that the members may have the same

care for one another.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one memberis honored, all rejoice together. 1 Corinthians 12:15-26,

RSV.

In summary, Paul tells the Corinthian believers:

Now you are the body of Christ and individually mem-bers of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27, RSV.

Commenting to the Romans, Paul says:

For as in one body we have many members, and all the

members do not have the same function, so we, thoughmany, are one body in Christ, and individually members

one of another. Romans 12:4,5, RSV.

This is to say, that we who are incorporated into thebody of Christ, are not only dependent on the Head buton each other. We need each other in Christ, for we must

work as one.

Working as One

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about

anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Fatherin heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My

name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew18:19,20, RSV.


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At least two believers must be simultaneously in this

relationship with God and Christ, in order to have theblessings that come to the body of Christ, such as this

powerful promise of answer to prayer.

Although there is much personal benefit to the believer asan individual, the intention of God is to have us work to-

gether as the body of Christ, doing His will here on Earthas it is in Heaven.

Pentecost

Remember Jesus instructions to the apostles?

And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you;

but stay in the city, until you are clothed with powerfrom on high. Luke 24:49, RSV.

And then on the day of Pentecost:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they

were all with one accord in one place. And suddenlythere came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty

wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.Acts 2:1,2, KJV. Emphasis supplied.

With one accord was the description of the spiritualstate of the disciples when they began to be clothed withthe Holy Spirit. They had let the mind which is in

Christ Jesus be the mind which was in them.


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The experience the apostles had is known as the early

rain of the Holy Spirit and it is an experience todays be-lievers may have when living the Gospel by faith. Living

the Gospel by faith is the same as living the exchangedlife, where we are in Christ and He dwells in us (where

we may present ourselves as living sacrifices, alive fromthe dead).

The Latter Rain

But, the prophecies speak also of a latter rain outpouringof the Holy Spirit, a second Pentecost, so to speak.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the

Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the preciousfruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he

receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7, KJV.

So, the true power of the Church, the body of Christ, iswhen all believers become of one accord in Christ. Forthen they will have received the gift of the early rain

which is the pre-requisite for receiving the gift of the lat-ter rain.

The latter rain is that special outpouring of the Spirits

power which happens just before the second coming ofChrist.

That I will give you the rain of your land in his due

season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest


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gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Deuteronomy 11:14, KJV.

This text reminds us that the latter rain in Palestine is tomake the crops ready for the harvest. So it is with the

latter outpouring of the Spirit, it is given for the harvestof souls that comes at the end of the age.

But, like in the growth of Palestinian crops, the latter rain

alone was not enough, the crops needed to have beenmade ready for the latter rain by the early rain falling

earlier in the cycle.

In order for the people of God today to receive the gift ofthe latter rain, they must first have taken advantage of the

gifts already offered by the Spirit, through which theyare already living the sanctified life. In other words, we

must already be dwelling in Christ and He in us when

the latter rain falls.

A Prayer

It is the prayer of the author of this little book, that many

would have a fresh opportunity to have the matchlesslove of God transform their lives, and that they would

also feel compelled by that love of God dwelling withintheir hearts to tell all nations and peoples and tongues

what God has accomplished through Christ.

To God be the Glory, Great things He hath done.Fanny J. Crosby


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Bible Versions Used

KJV: King James Version

RSV: Revised Standard Version

ASV: American Standard Version

YLT: Youngs Literal Translation

Dby: Darbys Translation

Greens Literal Translation


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The LORD Our Righteousness - An Exposition of the Gospel

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