Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 38 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 5:12- 6:13.

Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 38 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; ROM 5:12- 6:13.

 

Announcementsopening prayer:  

 

 

F. W. Krummacher, writer of the great work, Suffering Savior, came up for examination before the Anhalt consistory in Germany in the early eighteen hundreds, and was told to expound the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves as a trial discourse, he presented it as a symbol of the inexhaustible goodness of God toward the suffering children of men; but his father (a professor of theology) interrupted the discussion with the question, whether he regarded the gospel narrative as historically true or only allegorical. "This question," he says, "which had never before in the same form pressed itself on my attention, filled me at once with perplexity and confusion. It was some time before I had the power of composing myself to answer that I did not at all doubt that the miracles of Jesus were true, but that I regarded their chief value as consisting in the religious and moral truths which they represented. But at the same moment when I thus answered, a light broke in upon my mind convincing me how miserably this notion harmonized with my supposed belief of the historical verity of the miracles and making it manifest to me that my whole Christianity consisted as yet more in undefined sentimentality than in firm conviction."

 

This man, who would become a great vessel of honor and greatly used by God. who was a believer for many years, upon graduation from university with a doctorate in theology, came to humbly recognize that his faith in the scriptures had only reached the height of "undefined sentimentality," and had not as of yet reached the much greater height of firm conviction. As he reached that height, Krummacher became one of the main defenders of the faith against the prevailing climate of rationalism and infidelity in Germany.

 

ROM 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

 

ROM 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

He gave a sermon in London in the summer of 1851 where he was requested to give a description of the religious state of Germany. Some excerpts from this sermon make me think of my own beloved country. In one more generation Germany would see the effects of the Great War and soon after its finish in WW II. The solution for America is not the next president, but the spiritual state of the church. He says, "I feel as if I had to describe 'a new fall of man.' I am almost inclined to use the Lamentations of the prophet when he says, 'How art thou fallen, thou beautiful morning stars.' The religious history of my people is described in the sixteenth of Ezekiel (God made Israel beautiful and then she played the harlot with everyone else); nevertheless, the chapter ends with the promise of the Lord, 'I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.' … He continued, "In the newest battles of spirit which are fought in German science, it is not the question if this or that Christian doctrine is still to be esteemed, but if the whole Christianity - Yes! if general religion - is to be or not to be." In Berlin, which contains more than four hundred thousand persons, not more than twenty thousand visit the house of God. The remainder, as for as our judgment allows us to infer, are with more or less knowledge attached to vulgar rationalism … their preachers and parishes are quite in a state of rationalism and have lost all idea of anything scriptural."

 

ROM 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?

 

ROM 6:2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin [this is the nature of us - separated from the sin nature] still live in it?

 

ROM 6:3 Or do you not know [are you ignorant of these truths] that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

 

ROM 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

 

EPH 3:20

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us

 

Christ died the most dreadful death of any other by far, yet from that dreadful death, which is now ours in identification, a divine and never-fading life arises.

 

The believer must understand that when he understands the true meaning of identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, the forces of Satan and the kingdom of darkness will be aroused and he will be attacked.

 

Paul was beset with a thorn in the flesh from a messenger of Satan because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation that he had, meaning that he understood and put into practice the divine truths of the church. Carnal believers are no threat to the kingdom of darkness. They only promote their cause. The spiritual man exposes the lies of the KOD as well as the truth of the kingdom of Christ and so Satan moves his resources against such believers.

 

God gives so many precious promises with the intent to strengthen our faith.

 

ISA 43:1-3

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

"For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior

 

God has provided each believer with armor that is well suited to extinguish the flaming missiles of the evil one; EPH 6:11-18.

 

It is confessedly true that the eternal Father, by an almighty decree, might have annihilated the fallen race, in which sin had taken root, and thus have put an end to evil, but we were to live and not to die. So He caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon Him. In response to the fall of man God showed His iron justice, but on His Son and not upon us, He glorified His mercy and love by remitting and forgiving sin, and all without infringing on His righteousness. The fig leaves have been taken off and burned and our nakedness has been covered with His righteousness.

 

In verses 5-10 Paul repeats these great truths. As we all should, Paul sees the importance of God's work at salvation of separating us forever from our old nature, and making us forever, a new nature, that he repeats it immediately. "In case you missed that, let me write it again."

 

ROM 6:5 For if we have become united with Him [literally - planted together with Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,

 

The believing sinner and the Lord Jesus were united at the cross and then again at the empty tomb.

 

There is a false crucifixion that is taught in many Christian churches and circles where crucifixion is performed by the Christian by himself. He sees the presence of sin in his life and he reserves to do something about it. He gives up bad habits and replaces them with better ones and all the while makes an ostentatious show of his hatred for sin. He becomes highly moral. He nails one hand to his own cross of his own making and then uses his free hand to point out to others how he has crucified one hand. This isn't the cross of Christ but the cross of self-righteousness. The flesh can become just as proud about being good as it can about great sinning. Christ crucified us, not us. This was done at salvation. The spiritual life is lived by faith in this and by trust in God the Holy Spirit to bear witness of that life and to execute that life. The flesh cannot fight the flesh. The flesh gives this show because it doesn't want to be defeated by the spiritual life.

 

Our resurrection is a guarantee, but Paul is not here talking about glorification of the saint in heaven, but sanctification of the saint in time.

 

ROM 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;

 

It is misleading to think that the sinful nature has departed from us or that it remains with us but no longer affects us.

 

1JO 1:8

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 

1JO 1:10

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

 

The verb here translated "might be done away with" has various nuances of meanings.

 

"might be done away with - katargeo = to render idle, unemployed, inactive, inoperative, to cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish. [Thayer's Greek Lexicon]

 

When it comes to a versatile word we can't just pick the definition we want. It has to fit the context and it cannot oppose other well established doctrines. The sin nature obviously isn't inactive, nor is it abolished. Yet, it is dead and crucified, so the definition above stands as far as our position is concerned, but what about practical living? What can help us is to see the verb used in the context of another verse about a similar object.

 

HEB 2:14

Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless [katargeo] him who had the power of death, that is, the devil

 

Just like the sin nature, Satan has been rendered powerless, but Satan is still the god of this world and has been allowed until the time of the execution of his judgment to roam about and cause a certain level of havoc. Through faith in the work of Christ the believer can overcome both the work of Satan and the OSN.

 

Yet because of the work of Christ, the believer no longer has to be influenced by Satan. Through faith in the work of Christ and his union with Christ, the believer can overcome Satan day by day.

 

1PE 5:8-9

Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith

 

The same is true of the sin nature. If it was faith in Christ that crucified it then how is it anything but faith to overcome its influences in time? Why, after salvation, would it turn to self-crucifixion or works or ritual? When it tempts us, we ask ourselves, "Who are we in Christ? We are identified with Him in His death?" If we move on from its temptation or sin, again we ask, "Who are we in Christ? We are identified with Him in His resurrection and ascension?" These wonderful positions in Christ are meaningless on paper if they are not a reality in the believer's soul through faith. How will the Spirit lead me and empower me? It's not a feeling or an emotion or a ritual, but a faith. Christ became Lord of your life through faith. The Spirit will become the enforcer of your life through faith. We believe that sin is against God through faith. There is no other evidence for something being called a sin outside of God saying so. When we fall into sin and agree with God that it is sinful and we confess that to Him, we are acting on faith. How do we know we're forgiven of all sin? How do we know our conscience is cleansed, just as our new creature is clean, holy, justified before Him? All of it is by faith.