The Daily Word of Righteousness

Ephesians 2:8,9,continued

For if you [Christians] are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13—NASB)

Christians are not to be indulging the desires of their flesh and mind. If they are the power of God is not working in them as it should, they are not being saved, not being made alive by resurrection life.

Each saint is to be made a life-giving spirit. Because Christ is in us, we are to be a tree of life to those around us. What are we thinking? What are we speaking? What are we doing? Is our behavior bringing life to other people? If not, are we sure the incomparable power of Christ's resurrection is actually saving us?

Paul says we "formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh; we formerly indulged the desires of the flesh and of the mind." At one time we were by nature children of wrath, just as is true of the unsaved.

Are we still children of wrath? Are we living in the lusts of our flesh? If so we are not being lifted up by incorruptible resurrection life. Eternal life, the holy, righteous Life of God Almighty is not working in us.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (Ephesians 2:4,5—NASB)

God loved us when we were dead in our sins and rebellion. He has made us alive with Christ. What does this mean? It means we no longer are dead in our transgressions. We are walking in newness of life, life that is not sinful and rebellious.

What do we mean by eternal life? We mean the Life, the Presence, the Substance, the Nature, the Virtue, the Power of God Almighty. It is in us. It raised Christ from the dead and now it is working in us.

Can we lose it? Yes, according to the parable of the Sower. It can be choked out. Each day we choose to walk according to the Life of Christ or according to the lusts of our flesh.

Paul tells us in Romans that if we choose to walk in the flesh we will lose our new spiritual life. If we through the Spirit of God keep putting to death the appetites and passions of our flesh we will attain increasing amounts of life, resulting eventually in our resurrection at the appearing of Christ.

Make no mistake, it is just as serious as this. The Scripture cannot be broken.

We have been saved from moral death by grace, by the gift of God, not by the works of the Law of Moses or by the works of any other religion or moral code.

To be continued.