Looking at the above picture, you are struck by the massive trees next to two small persons walking on a narrow trail bridge. If these two people are believers, they have within them something much greater than trees. In the shadow of giant redwoods, dwarfing the two small clay vessels, God created again with resurrection power, life in these two people. This is what is meant to be ‘’born again.’’
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:24 our new self is created in the likeness or image of God in true righteousness and holiness. The word created here conveys the same meaning used in Genesis when God created man and breathed life into Him. This time, John tells us in John 1, we are born of God Himself. God’s amazing grace purchased us, so once again, we are His possession. The first time we were His by creation but this time we are His because He bought us and we gave our heart and life to Him. This time, we are lifted above terrestrial soil and made citizens in God’s eternal Kingdom. While serving on this clay ball, already sin cursed, these two believers walk in the light of resurrection power.
In fact, these two believers have access to the mind and will of God Himself. God, who flung our worlds into space and created life, be it redwoods or the complex organs of human life, has glorified both Himself and His creation by making us a living part of Himself. Where else can we find such love! How blind we are not exploit His divine grace.
This is only possible, of course, if these two clay vessels are purchased by the blood of Christ and have within them the indwelling presence of God’s own Holy Spirit. This is what the gospel message is about, the life of God in the soul of man! But yes, it is even more than that! It is about being eternally joined, married into the glorified Body of Christ and participating in Him throughout eternity. Wow, what a story! But a story in which we, ourselves, are real. God owns heaven and earth and invites us to dwell in His Kingdom. People can only say no in their ignorance.
I remember the above Philippians passage from High School. At that time, I interpreted its meaning to refer to my relationships with other believers. I drew from ‘’among yourselves’’ to be speaking of my unity within the body of believers to be like my unity in Christ. You can see from verses 3 and 4 and the broader context of the passage, this is an easy inference. But Paul is also speaking of the union of our soul with God’s Spirit dwelling in us, Rom. 8:9. This is contained in verse 2, ‘’complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.’’ He is speaking of the mind of the Holy Spirit drawing us into Himself!
Paul is saying we have spiritual capacity, since we have been created new in the image of God, to bring our soul into unity with God’s Spirit so our wholeness is in Christ Himself. Imagine, having the same mind as Christ, 1Corinthinas 2:16b.
Bringing ourselves into this unity with the One who has purchased us as His personal possession is our purpose and our calling. We can bring ourselves into compliance with this great calling by ‘’Drilling Down.’’ Here from our archives is one of our drill down perspectives:
We are standing
In His presence
On Holy Ground!
Drilling Down
“We are standing in His presence on Holy ground” is more than words in a song. It expresses a scriptural principle of reality in the new covenant of Jesus, the second Adam. How many of us feel the fire of His presence and stand in the joy of it?
Gleaning knowledge from the early church is lacking, we don’t get it! On the other hand, we excel with knowledge of things, books and search engines. We understand theory, reason and history but lack scriptural passion found in the early church. So how do we hear the “Sweet lute, sweetly played” within the chambers of our private souls like those early Christians? How do we “know God and enjoy Him forever” as the shorter catechism defines man’s chief purpose rather than just knowing about Him or about the “sweet lute, sweetly played.”
The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to beam His penetrating light with laser precision. Paul says it this way, “piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12. We are using the term “Drilling Down” to convey penetration of God’s Word into our soul. That is to say, clashing the will of God unto the will of our soul. We want to expose our soul to the penetrating light of God’s truth by placing His word into our heart.
Drilling Down is a tool to plant God’s truth in our heart so we won’t sin against God, Ps 119:11. This only works if we have within us the life of Jesus by His creative act of a new birth. His grace provides opportunity and our faith brings into our souls His life so we can live within His resurrection power.
It is of faith that it might be of grace, Romans 4:16. We are living in the reign of grace, Romans 5:21. This means we are given access to the riches in Christ Jesus because we are standing in His grace. But for us to receive the benefit of our standing in grace means we have to consume grace with our faith. This is how we receive the fullness of Christ, grace upon grace, John 1:16. Faith is being dependent upon God rather than dependent upon self. Faith actually rests in God’s power rather than our temporally created resources, 1Cor. 2:5.
Our new birth is Spiritual and we are born of God, Spiritually, but our heart, mind and will are rooted in a self hostile to the Spiritual culture of grace. We need to submit our conscience mind and heart to Truth in Jesus Who is living within us. By feeding our mind with God’s word we expose our self to the washing of water with the word by the Holy Spirit. The logos word of God discerns thought and intent of the heart laying bare our condition to God’s penetrating truth. The righteous light and love of God penetrates us allowing us to change our sin habits into righteousness dependance upon Christ Jesus. Jesus prayed in John 17 to His Father, ‘’Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.’’ We are living in His presence on Holy Ground so that we might be holy as He is holy.
In our last GraceNotes we suggested memorizing Gal. 2:20 in preparation for drilling down this verse. This is an easy way to provide truth into our soul through our mind. The Holy Spirit will use His word to nurture and grow fruit in our life if we make this choice.
We are taking a workshop approach to this exercise. We have provided a Galatians 2:20 chart so we can look at each phrase of this verse in the context of related scripture verses and passages.
Take the separate Drill Down file for Galatians 2:20 and view the related passages to respond to the questions in each phrase box on the chart. We will provide a brief commentary on each phrase for you to consider as you ponder your own responses which you can write on the chart.
‘’I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, 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 me and gave himself for me.’’ -Gal. 2:20.
Below is a brief commentary for each verse phrase to review before writing your responses to the question on the the chart. Also, here are a few additional verses to provide context for your answers:
Three Context Verses:
Ephesians 4:21-24:
Assuming you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
1Corinthians 6:17:
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Philippians 3:9:
And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends upon faith.
Summary Commentary of Gal 2:20 Phrases:
1. I have been crucified.
The first thing we notice is that ‘’crucified’’ is in the past tense. In this Greek usage this is a completed act, a transaction eternally finalized. What is it that has been completed? Something has been put to death!
2. With Christ.
Being born of God through new birth joins us to God, 1Cor.6:17. Our identification becomes ‘’in Christ.’’ It is in this union with God through Jesus making us able to participate in the fullness of God, John 1:16.
3. Never the less I live.
Paul tells us in Romans 6:11, to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Although we are in a environment that is hostile to God, both in our body and the world, we ourselves have been set free from its power and bondage. This is the outcome of our redemption and regeneration.
4. Yet not I.
The ‘’I’’ of our former life has been nailed to the cross. Being born of God releases us from the power of sin and provides us with a new ‘’I’’ which has the resurrection power of Jesus Himself. But the habit of our worldly values struggles against our new identity. We are challenged to employ the resurrection power of our new life in Christ. It will demonstrate to both ourself, as well as others, who we now are ‘’in Christ.’’ It is a life of learning through testing.
5. But Christ lives in me.
Our identity has changed. A miracle has taken place creating within us a brand new Spiritual person. Jesus has become to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, 1Cor. 1:30. He has come within us to provide abundant life, John 10:10, and a well of eternal water springing up within us providing the fullness of Himself, John 1:16, 4:13.
6. And the life I now live.
We are spiritual children struggling to be whom God has made us to be. It is much more difficult and rewarding to discover who we are within the conflicts God’s love has placed us. We have to make choices. Learning to depend upon God is an earthly boot camp teaching us wisdom and spiritual understanding through many hard choices we are forced to make.
7. In the flesh.
Paul prays for the Ephesians in chapter three is they be rooted and grounded in love to experience God’s fullness. The world and the flesh is hostile to God. We are still in the flesh which is not redeemed or born again. But we have become spiritual people born spiritually so we can begin making spiritual choices while still living in flesh. This world is no longer our home. We are living in very hostile, deceptive cultures which is threatened by the reality of our living Father demonstrating resurrection power.
8. I live by faith.
Faith is the doorway we must pass through to discover the riches in Christ Jesus already provided for us to claim. It sounds easy, but like the rich man, it is like passing through the eye of a sewing needle. Faith cannot be understood through reason since it reaches deep into our soul according to who we are and who we are intended to be. It can only be understood by placing ourselves in its path. This means discovering how to depend upon God. Self is so deceitful, we begin to see clearly only as we walk in God’s absolute Truth.
9. In the Son of God.
The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob, can perhaps frame our thinking. Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery. He was falsely accused and tossed into prison where he again was left in his solitary confinement for at least two years. He was faithful during his separation from his Father but then was able to provide a haven of rest.
10. Who loved me.
In these three words we have the Lover, the object of love and the fact of love. All these three words merit our consideration but in the context of this verse our focus is the gospel of our salvation. Collectively these three words succinctly express the essence of our gospel message. To understand them fully is to enter into our grace relationship through the door of faith and experience the glory of God.
11. And gave himself.
This is the cost of our grace. Though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich, 2Cor. 8:9. It is only through His act, on our behalf, that we can even begin to understand the mystery of godliness, Christ in us and us in Christ. Grace is a relationship possible because of who God is and His mercy toward us. Our Lord Jesus literally did buy us, purchased us, so we need to honor Him as our Lord and Savior.
12. For me.
The intimacy we learn through the husband wife relationship, like so many other things, is a mere shadow of the eternal scale of reality awaiting believers, the Body of Christ. This is the most extreme experience a human can hope to know. This is what ‘’me’’ is intended to be when fulfilled with all the fullness of God. It is knowing what are the riches awaiting us as an inheritance in Christ Jesus. We are to reign with Jesus Christ being united with Him, in Him. The affirmation of our spirit joined to His Spirit is the earnest money, the guarantee for whom we were designed and intended to be, in the wholeness of eternal dimensions. Neither I, or any other human knows ... but we will grow His reality of grace through our faith if we choose to do so.
GraceNotes may not be the best medium or format to deliver this Drill Down exercise, but it is a starting point. If you find this to be a useful tool and would like us to continue, please let us know. We are concerned about the Body of Christ and how we can provide Christ’s body of Believers with the opportunity to enrich our life in Christ so that we can be who our Lord intends us to be.
This Drill Down is an example of consuming grace. God’s provision to make our heart and mind exposed to His own mind through His truth contained in scripture is His act of grace on our behalf. Our initiative to acquire His provisions of truth into our mind is an act of our faith. When we pursue Him, make an effort consuming our energy to bring His life actively into our soul’s experience, we are taking responsibility for the gift of our faith. We can’t grow a redwood unless we plant a seed. But when we do, see what God can do with a very small seed!