The Daily Word of Righteousness

De Jure and De Facto Salvation, continued

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19)

Our part is to obey the Spirit of God and the Word of God, as Christ helps us. We can overcome Satan and our corrupt nature if we will take advantage each day of the forgiveness and other provisions God has given us for that day.

The Nature of Christ is being formed in us. When it has been made perfect in us, every element having been refined, the Father and the Son will make Their eternal dwelling in us. Such is the exceedingly high calling for which we have been chosen. We must not neglect it.

If Christ is dwelling in us and we are praying, meditating in the Scriptures, assembling with fervent Christians as we have the opportunity, confessing our sins and repenting of them, giving, serving, and waiting on the Lord for His will each day, then there is eternal life in our inner man because of the righteousness working in us. The blood is keeping us free from condemnation, and actual righteousness (the Substance and Nature of Christ) is being created in us. Also, the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us.

Our sin-filled body remains dead because of its sin but the blood of Jesus keeps on covering our spiritual nakedness in the sight of God.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)

It is our opinion that the word "spirit," in the above verse, should not be capitalized. It is referring to our reborn spiritual nature, as we understand it. The contrast is not between our physical body and the Holy Spirit but between our physical body and our new Spirit-filled nature. Our outer, physical man is dead because of sin but our inner, spiritual nature is alive because of the righteousness of Christ both imputed to us and formed and dwelling in us.

Our mortal body, our flesh, is dead in the sight of God because of the sinful lusts dwelling in it. However there is eternal life in our inner spiritual nature because of the righteousness of Christ. The Divine Substance of Christ is being formed in us and Christ Himself through the Spirit of God is dwelling in the new inner man that is being created.

The righteousness of God, which is Christ, is being formed in us and the Spirit of God is dwelling in us. Therefore there is eternal life in our inner nature although our body remains separated from God (dead) because of its sinful tendencies.

The Jewish feast of Firstfruits, which occurs during Passover week, typifies the initial portion of eternal life given us when we come under the Passover blood. We receive the blood of the Lamb, repent of our sinful behavior, and are given the firstfruit of eternal life—the Presence of Christ in our personality. We are born again.

Because we have the firstfruit of life in us our entire personality is holy to the Lord. If we do not turn back into the ways of the world, the day will come when our entire personality has been harvested. In that day, even our dead physical body will be filled with eternal life.

To be continued.