Two Conditions — The Spiritual Man

Two Conditions

How, then, can we now enter into this blessing? There are two most crucial matters:

The first is what is said in verse 11: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is faith. God says that our old self has already been crucified with Christ. We believe His word, and therefore we “consider ourselves dead.” Dead in what way?—“Dead to sin.” God says that we have already been raised with Christ. We believe His word, and therefore we “consider ourselves alive.” Alive in what way?—“Alive to God.”

This “considering” is nothing other than believing God according to His word. God says the old self has been crucified; I therefore consider the old self to be dead. God says we are alive; I therefore consider myself alive. The failure of many lies in wanting to feel, to see, to experience before believing God’s word. They wait until their feelings, their sight, or their experiences align, and only then do they believe God’s declaration that the old self has been crucified. But they do not realize that what God has done has already been accomplished in Christ. As soon as we believe His word and consider what He has done as real, His Spirit will grant us the experience. The Spirit will transmit what is in Christ into us.

The second is what is said in verse 13: “No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.” This is consecration. And this is an equally crucial part. If there is anything we are unwilling to part with, anything God requires us to give up but we refuse, then sin will still hold power over us, and what we have “considered” will become ineffective. If God calls us to do something, to go somewhere for Him, or to speak something for Him, but we refuse to present our members as instruments of righteousness to God, we will remain puzzled as to why we are not free from sin. As long as there is something we cling to negatively, or something we resist positively, sin will still find the opportunity to reign again. For in such a condition, one naturally lacks the power to “consider”—to believe God’s word. If you cease to consider, you stop believing. Though your position is in Christ, your living is not in Christ—you are not, as John 15 says, abiding in the Lord—and you cannot partake of the reality that is found only in Christ: that you have already been crucified.

This considering and this consecrating must be done wholeheartedly, with the same singleness with which we first received the Lord Jesus as our Savior. If there is only intellectual understanding without a single-minded believing and consecration, then such a life is impossible.

Whenever we fail, we can be certain that the failure lies either in our faith or in our obedience. These are the only two reasons for failure. If there is a downfall, it is either one or both of these that have faltered. We must learn how to live by faith in Christ: never viewing ourselves, thinking of ourselves, or relying on ourselves apart from Him. We must learn daily to believe that we are in Christ, and that all the realities that are in Christ are true. At the same time, we must, by God’s power, keep our consecration. We must regard all things as refuse, having nothing in this world that cannot be forsaken for the Lord. We must leave nothing for ourselves. Whatever God requires—no matter how difficult, no matter how contrary to the flesh—we must remain willing in our hearts. For God’s sake, no cost is too great. If His pleasure may be gained, no sacrifice is too much. Day by day, we must learn to be obedient children.

And what will be the outcome if we so consider and so consecrate? God’s word is very clear. Verse 14 says: “For sin will have no dominion over you.”