What is the captivity that Jesus took away? And how did He do this? (Part 3)
Continuing the previous message…
And how will we be dead to ourselves (and, thereby, to the law)? Staying in the body of Christ while Jesus engrafts His Word in us:
• Rom 1:16 -> “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”.
• Jas 1:21 -> “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
During this time, we need to observe the law. When His cleanness is ready (see Titus 3:4-6), Jesus will live in our thoughts and feelings, and, thus, finally, we will be dead to the law because we won’t have any reason to hurt anybody (see Gal 5:22):
• Rom 7:1-4 -> “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law *by the body of Christ*; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”.
So, have a good day staying in the Body of Christ (those who Jesus put in our life to be assisted for you) and obeying His law (see John 13:34,35) until His Spirit dwelling in us, making all the principles of the law to be fulfilled in us naturally:
• Rom 8:2-4 -> “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”.
• Gal 5:16-18 -> “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”.
When this takes place, we will be ushered into a new and high dimension of relationship with Jesus and His Church. Instead of us caring about what we “can” or “can’t” do, we will concern about what we “should” or “shouldn’t” do. That is to say, beyond we delight only in what is good and right before Jesus, we will be able to shun ourselves from our rights if this, in some way, will cause scandal or stumble to people around us:
• Rom 14:13 -> “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”
• Rom 14:20,21 -> “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”.
Continuing the previous message…
And how will we be dead to ourselves (and, thereby, to the law)? Staying in the body of Christ while Jesus engrafts His Word in us:
• Rom 1:16 -> “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”.
• Jas 1:21 -> “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
During this time, we need to observe the law. When His cleanness is ready (see Titus 3:4-6), Jesus will live in our thoughts and feelings, and, thus, finally, we will be dead to the law because we won’t have any reason to hurt anybody (see Gal 5:22):
• Rom 7:1-4 -> “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law *by the body of Christ*; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”.
So, have a good day staying in the Body of Christ (those who Jesus put in our life to be assisted for you) and obeying His law (see John 13:34,35) until His Spirit dwelling in us, making all the principles of the law to be fulfilled in us naturally:
• Rom 8:2-4 -> “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”.
• Gal 5:16-18 -> “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”.
When this takes place, we will be ushered into a new and high dimension of relationship with Jesus and His Church. Instead of us caring about what we “can” or “can’t” do, we will concern about what we “should” or “shouldn’t” do. That is to say, beyond we delight only in what is good and right before Jesus, we will be able to shun ourselves from our rights if this, in some way, will cause scandal or stumble to people around us:
• Rom 14:13 -> “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”
• Rom 14:20,21 -> “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”.