The Daily Word of Righteousness

The New Creation and the Resurrection, #10

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4 NIV)

To pass into punishment is to be confined in the spiritual prison with Satan and his angels.

To pass into re-creation and resurrection unto life is to receive of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is Christ and those who are part of Himself. When one receives of the Tree of Life the Life of Christ begins to be formed in him. We enter the Kingdom of God by having the Kingdom of God formed in us. The Kingdom of God is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The Apostle Paul taught that we can pass through these four steps while we yet are alive on the earth. We cannot receive a new, living body in the present hour but we indeed can attain the resurrection unto life.

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [Greek, out-resurrection] of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

Let us look once again at the sequence: Adam dies; Adam is raised from the dead; Adam is judged according to his works; Adam passes into re-creation and resurrection unto life (if he is saved).

It is God's will that each of us attain the earlier resurrection from the dead, that we attain the new man now.

In order to attain the first resurrection we must pass through each of the four steps now today.

First, we must assign ourselves to death, reckon ourselves dead. God has given us water baptism as a way of demonstrating our willingness to die to the old personality and become part of the new Life that is in Christ. God is ready now to consider our adamic personality as dead and to begin the work of judgment and removal from us of the sinful personality.

The death and resurrection emphasized in the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans are not merely figures of speech. They refer to the death of the old creation and the beginning of the new.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:11)

God is willing to count us as having died and ready to become part of Christ. The first step has been taken: Adam has died in water baptism. God has called us, His firstfruits, to enter now into the transition from the old creation to the new.

After having assigned Adam to the cross, God begins to raise up Adam and to judge him. We discover, as we abide in Jesus, that each day brings us to a new realization of the depth of sin and rebellion in our personality.

Part by part the Lord is bringing up the old Adam and judging him. Have you found this to be true? Just when we think Adam has been destroyed we find he is attempting to live in us. The Holy Spirit is giving us the wisdom and power to destroy the lusts and rebellions of the adamic nature.

To be continued.