We're still looking at Ephesians 2:5.
Ephesians 2:5
"Even when we were dead in sins, (and were living in that sinful lifestyle, God reached in and, what did He do? He) hath quickened us..."
He quickened us at the moment of our placement in the corral under a tutor, the comforter, teacher and trainer in the guardianship of the Holy Spirit, which is the actual first blessing of promise. When He placed us within this corral so we can learn of Him and be taught of the Holy Spirit through sufferings (process of the filler's soap and the refiner's furnace) because we learn more in that fashion than any other way. Besides there’s a side benefit, it is this we learn to depend on the Holy Spirit just as Jesus did. But first what had to happen? Now come back with us to Romans chapter 6. This is really a review of some of the things we've taught in months gone by. After we look at that portion of Scripture, then we'll get back to our three circles. We need to finish the third circle. Dealing with the invisible make up of mankind. So we're going to try to do that. But for now Romans chapter 6, and verse 5.
Romans 6:5
"For if we have been planted (buried as a seed in death John 12:24) together in the likeness of his death, (we're identified with it) we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:"
Now to put that in plain English, what is it? "If we've died with Christ (to the sin nature within the flesh), we're going to be raised at the trumpet sound with Him in the departure." Now verse 6, and this comes by faith, because the Word declares it.
Romans 6:6
"Knowing this, that our old man (the old Adam sin nature, Matthew 12:29) is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Now let's get back to the third circle if we may. Now to begin with we have this old sin nature dwelling within the body of flesh with no Spirit, but now when we have taken this old Adam, this old sin nature, and by faith we have let him be crucified by an act of God which is precipitated by our trusting in His faithfulness. The moment we believe this Gospel that Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and rose again, and that all of that was done on my behalf, then God reckons old Adam, that old sin nature as crucified. That old sin nature is striped of his power (as the strongman of Jesus' parable Mark 3:27), and control over the acts of the body, and as soon as he is reckoned as crucified, God moves in and supernaturally gives us a New Nature, a Divine Nature through the circumcision of the heart. This New nature now has Eternal Life, and it's not going to go to Hell.
When the believer dies, the moment the soul separates from this body, it goes up to paradise into the presence of the Lord. But until we die we are functioning in this 3d circle. We're still in the body of flesh with all of it's passions and desires, but the New Nature combats it, and we're to keep the old nature under control, by virtue of the regenerated spirit which is now coupled to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit now has fellowship with our spirit, and so this new regenerated Spirit, working with the New Nature or the character of God restored is going to control this old nature. It will be taken captive to the obedience of Christ as we allow with an open hand. So this third circle completed now represents a saved person walking on the earth today within whom salvation is now working. Now for just a moment let's go to Galatians chapter 5. A lot of people don't realize that when we become a believer, we are left here on the earth with two natures. A New Divine Nature that wants to please God, but God still leaves the old nature and He expects us to deal with him. And here it is in Scripture in verse 17.
Galatians 5:17
"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these (these two natures) are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would (and the reason is, you're in a mode of spiritual warfare, and we have to keep that uppermost in our thinking because we'll see this farther in Ephesians)."
Ephesians 2:6-7
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace are ye saved through faith: (see, there is nothing else listed in here. It's just by our faith, and made possible by the Grace of God) and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God:"
Then Paul goes on to say, "we are then as believers to serve." Because after all God didn't just save us as a fire escape, as we've put it so often, but He saved us to serve Him while we're here on earth during this earthly pilgrimage. By allowing Him to do His works through us just as Jesus spoke only as God through His Spirit did Him. And IF by our so being obedient He chooses to do a miracle then all is well and good but that's not what we're to seek. We're not to desire the power gifts or "the power". For to do so is to tempt God which we know is wrong. Now then coming into verse 11, and we imagine these are a couple of verses that are almost unknown to most Church people and yet these are two verses that have made such an impact, at least on us. Remember we were just like everyone else. At one time we just saw this whole Book thrown into a blender and mixed up, and spooned out like it is done in most congregations today. Because like all others we too first took it purely in it's literal scoop. Which it is not to be so taken in that fashion, because again Israel under the scribes, Pharisee's and Sadducee's in the Jewish religion did it and that was NOT what God's intent was from the beginning.
Then we started seeing and hearing what He was actually teaching, and begin to realize that God was dealing with the nation of Israel on covenant ground all the way from Genesis chapter 12 until we get to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. In Acts chapters 8 and 9. And then when Israel rejected their Messiah, He chose Saul of Tarsus to go to the Gentiles. It was then that we began to see things from the New Covenant point of view as we had accepted the Lord's Yoke to learn of Him. That's when these verses became so important to us, and we've used them a lot, and we're sure a lot of people will recognize them. They are so important because they point out that for over 2000 years from Abraham to Paul, that Gentiles had little or no opportunity for salvation let alone redemption. Although these 2 verses are oh so important, there are still many people who can't believe what they say.
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