Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 30 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 5:12- 6:13.
Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 30 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 5:12- 6:13.
Announcements / opening prayer:
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin [sin nature] entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned —
Rom 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed [ellogao = charged to their account] when there is no law.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses [still under the penalty of Adam's sin], even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
Rom 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
The reigning victory in life is shown to be much more than the reigning of death in Adam that all believers once had. In other words, they are unequal in magnitude, or to use God's phrase, they are not worthy to be compared.
God desires all of His children to see the real issue and to see just how important it is. Through Christ, by means of His Spirit and by means of the plan from the Father, we are to reign in life.
God has transformed us from slaves to kings; kings that are subject to the King of kings and overcomers over the flesh and the world and the kingdom of darkness.
Those who are called to reign in life have received an abundance of grace and the righteousness of God. They do not rule in life independently of Christ but rather Christ rules through them. This makes them overcomers. His grace took away their sin and His very righteousness was given to them so they may execute a life of righteousness. A life of righteousness is a life lived in communion with God. It is true life, vigor, happiness, peace, and all the fruit that flows from the Spirit.
They are not therefore trying to achieve righteousness by some walk. They walk by righteousness because through the abundance of grace they already are.
Gal 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
It is significant that the believer is the subject of the verb reign. Obviously, in no way does he usurp the reign of Christ for Christ is always his King, Lord, and Master. But by means of the gifts of Christ the believer reigns in his life and not the old sin nature or the world or the KOD; instead the Lord reigns and the believer is an overcomer through Him. This emphasizes the free will of the believer to choose. He may choose to attempt to put the dethroned Adam back on the throne or he may choose to be filled with the Spirit and rule from the throne of grace, his own life in submission to his Lord. The idea of Christ driving the ship while you relax in the cabin may be oversimplified. No human analogies are perfect. You are free to rule in life through abundant grace and righteousness and to choose submission to the Lord of glory and to be fully influenced by the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control and not loss of control, but that control of self comes only from submission to the ministry of the Spirit in the believer's life.
1Co 14:14-15
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also.
The prerogatives of royalty belong to the believer and through the power of God he is to employ them as one who has been given the right of royalty.
If the process were one of Christ being separate from you and your will then Christian living should be automatic at times, and it never is. You never become a robot possessed. Your will is always in view. Either you agree at any given moment or you disagree. In this way Christ has set you free and He is in the process of getting you to see His way. If I grasp the truth that I myself am to reign, then I can give the Lord Jesus Christ that for which His heart yearns - a creature in whom He can produce resurrection life. From my will, which had been enslaved by sin, He has cut the shackles in order that I may use His strength and freedom to reject the old lordship of sin and death. Sin and death are like exiled rulers that want to come back and reclaim the throne, but they cannot, and for the believer to attempt to put them back on the throne is a total waste of time and an accumulation of misery for no good reason at all.
From our new Ruler comes an abundant supply of grace - when you have used what has been given there is always more of it to use. We never come to the end of it.
Mat 14:17 And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
Mat 14:18 And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
Mat 14:19 And ordering the multitudes to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes,
Mat 14:20 and they all ate, and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
Mat 14:21 And there were about five thousand men who ate, aside from women and children.
The twelve baskets of broken pieces were not scraps. The Lord broke the bread and each of the twelve baskets were filled, one for each disciple to pass out. When they were done, the miracle of multiplication complete, and everyone was served and full, the twelve baskets were still full.
If this is true in time, what do you think it will be like in heaven? Will we ever, for all eternity, ever come to an end of anything and be able to say, "I'm finished with that."? Nor in time can this be said in truth, even in our growth as well as God's gentle increase of our faith and trust.
The abundance of grace for each believer may be likened to a tall hill that once you climb over it you see more hills and once you climb over them there are yet more. You reach a bend in a mountain pass that you're sure is the end of it, but it only opens up to more passes that extend to the horizon still. Finally, after some long time climbing and hiking you realize that the journey is infinitely abundant and that there will always be more beyond.
Rom 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
In one act Christ satisfied the demands of the Law which all men broke. In this one act all sin was judged upon Christ with the result of justification of life to all men who would believe in Him. Justification is the act of God and not men. It is God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to Him.
We have already been told that the free gift resulted in justification in verse 16.
Justification means that I have been delivered from my sins and I am perfectly acquitted and blameless before my holy and righteous God.
1Pe 2:24
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Isa 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.