Mutuality In Living By
His Life
By
Arthur J Licursi
In
this writing I’d like refute the notion promoted by some that the
regenerated child of God, in Christ, … is dead as a self, and the only
life by which he lives and contends is Christ’s life. They most often
sight as evidence that all things are now new in Christ. 2Cor.
5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Obviously, not yet is everything of us dead and made new. 1) We are
still alive physically with the same deteriorating body, and 2) Our
soul-mind obviously was unchanged at regeneration – and it needs renewal
(Rom 12:2, Eph 4:23, Col 3:10). Their interpretation is only partially
true. We are made totally new in one part of us – our spirit was
regenerated. There must be a more correct understanding of what 2Cor 5:17
is saying. I trust we will see this as we proceed in this writing.
Some
would go to the extreme that they imply or even say that there is “no
you” at all. Without using the word annihilated, they imply that you are
annihilated, saying, “since Christ is your only life, there’s only
a Christ as you; then everything you do is Christ doing it – whether
good or bad.” This folly results in assigning the independent work
of man’s hands to being that of Christ working through them. This is
exactly the opposite of God’s revealed truth. Religion has been noted
for “doing works” initiated by their self-will and then asking God to
bless it.
Let me make clear
that I do recognize that there is only one genuine life
within me, and that is God's life, in
Christ, as the Spirit of Life now as life within the spirit of every
born-again person. Only His life is qualified to be called life. His life
is the only divine and eternal life (therefore true or genuine life),
having no beginning or ending. All other life is not divine and has had
a beginning (our soul life, body life, plants, animals, etc), and all
life but man's soul, has an ending."
We all know that what some
call born-again includes “re-generation” (Tit 3:5). The word
“regeneration” from Strong’s is the Greek word paliggenesia,
in which palig means an “oscillatory
repetition” and genesia
mean “nativity”. This
oscillation speaks of “once
I had this old life, … then this life was lost in sin and death, and now
… I have new life by Christ in me”. This “regeneration” speaks
of the introduction of a new “source-life”,
which is Christ within my existing being that I may call “me” or
“I”.
As
with most divine truth, there are dual aspects. As God’s living
offspring, we have His nature working by His Spirit in us, Philip. 2:13 “For it is God which worketh (energeo, being
active) in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
However, God’s working in us is still subject to our free will (Eph 4:1,
1Thes 4:1) as an individual self. God, by Christ in my spirit is active in
my spirit; but it is for my soul-self now to yield to His life working
within me.
Some
also say we have no free will. Then I ask, why would Paul commends us to “yield
to” and “walk according to” the Spirit if it were not
possible for us to “not yield” and “not walk according to
the Spirit.” Paul says in Galatians 5:16 “This I say
then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the
flesh.” This implies that it is possible for the regenerated
born-again believer to NOT walk according to or be in union with
His Spirit in our spirit. Aside from such a union, there can only be an
independent separated state of living, while Christ in our spirit bides
His time, awaiting our recognition and return to the union we have with
Him.
There
is a duality in our being, 1.) There is a 3-part me (1Thes 5:23); as a
living spirit, hidden within my soul, hidden within my body. Now, as the
3-part temple of God, but this is a living temple/container, and 2.) I was
made to receive Him (John 1:12) and contain Him who is the root or
source-life of my real or eternal being in my spirit. He is received into
and precisely located within my human spirit (Zech 12:1, Job 32:8,
Proverbs 20:27), as the Holy of Holies. 2 Tim. 4:22 “The Lord Jesus
Christ be with thy spirit…”
John
4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit (small “s,” their human spirit) and in truth.”
In the Greek text for this verse the article “a” is not present before
the first word “Spirit”. So this scripture tells us that God’s substance
“is spirit” and that true worshippers must worship Him in their
human spirit – since only “spirit” may relate to “Spirit” (John
3:6, Rom 8:16). Paul writes, speaking of Jesus, 2 Cor. 3:17a “Now
the Lord is that Spirit…” and 1 Cor. 6:17 “But
he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” and in 1
Cor. 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
Therefore,
Paul correctly said in Romans 1:9 “For God is my witness, whom I
serve (minister) with my spirit,” This certainly
confirms that there was a Paul and also the Lord within Him – two but
one. This indwelling is the mystery of Godliness.
The
truth of our duality is also clearly seen in Galatians 2:20a “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...”
The truth is that there is a “you,” as an organically living
container and expresser of Christ living in you. Also, being born again,
there no longer is an independent, rebellious, fallen, Adamic you, except
perhaps as you may try to cling to or live out that old life. It is only
there by the imprint left on your unrenewed mind and will by habit of that
old nature (Eph 2:1-2).
The
old you in fact was crucified with Christ (Rom 6:1-7, Gal 2:20). The
illusion is that we thought we were living our life, but, actually, we
were under the fallen Serpentine sin-life we gained via Adam; it
tyrannically ruled us in our living. This existed until God intervened to
bring the light of the glorious gospel that Christ is available to come,
be dispensed, and dwell in us as our new and overcoming life (Col 1:26-27,
John 16:33). Of course most all Christians still may go for quite some
time before they permit Him to live out through their life as an
expression of His life and nature. Sadly we may cling to or prefer “our
life” and having our way for quite some time, denying Him the
opportunity to be incarnated through our human container.
So,
I was and still am a “me”, but I’m His child by His life within me.
I’m one with Him and also at the same time separate from Him, much the
same, as I was one with and at the same time separate from my earthy
father, Joe Licursi. I have Christ’s life in me, but I’m a “me”,
an individual, separate from him, with my free will. I may choose to obey
Him or not obey Him as He speaks within my spirit’s intuition and
conscience.
The
fact is that I am crucified dead, so I’m liberated from the power of sin
that once ruled me, I may now live by the one source-life of Christ
birthed into my spirit. This is God living in His living temple. So, I
still am, I remain as the individual me that I am, but the question is,
will I yield to Him who is in me as my genuine life? Honestly we must
admit that we often do not want to yield to Him within, but that’s okay,
you can rest assured in this,” For it is Him who worketh within us
both to will and to do of His good will”.
Look
again at this scripture. Galatians 2:20 “I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless “I” live;
yet not “I,” but Christ liveth “in me…”
To this point in the verse there is in fact an exchange
of life. I’m in fact crucified and He in fact lives in me. But there is not
necessarily an exchange of my “living” until the
remainder of the verse is true for us. “… and the life which “I”
now live in the flesh (body)“I” live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Only in the second half of the verse do we enter the realm of an exchange
of life – my life submitted to “trust His life” in me in place of my
life. He alone then is the governing life (Isa. 9:6) and controller of my
living. This is why Jesus said in Mark
8:35 “For whosoever will save his life (Gk. psuche, soul-self
life) shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life (psuche) for my
sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” This is the true and
scriptural exchange of life. Only after “losing our “independent”
soul life” can we gain a proper individual soul-self life – one of
dependence upon Him.
I
am crucified to (Rom 6:6, Gal 2:20a) my old source-motivator, but I’m not
annihilated or ruled out as an individual self. That which is ruled out by
the cross is my “independent self”
or self-acting self. So, there remains an “I” or “me” who lives,
but “I” am crucified,” and “I” live, not by the
“Old I,” but by Christ’s life in “me”
Believing
in a sort of annihilation leads us to all kinds of errors. This is denial
of our true state of being. Usually it leads us to practice presumption,
mind over matter, or other effort such as “mind renewal” by
self-effort. All of this is by mental gymnastics in order to deny the
necessity of the ongoing work of God to bring us to completion in soul (Gk.
sozo, “complete,” as in Rom 5:10). It is God’s work to bring us
to trust and live by the “new I,” living as the redeemed and liberated
“Christ-me.” Of necessity, He must, by our experience of failure and
recognized inadequacy, bring us to see we are dead in Christ and now alive
by Christ living in and through us. In this Rom 5:10 Paul speaks of
“much more” than reconciliation with God, he speaks of our completion
by His life. Romans 5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved (Gk sozo, completed) by
his life”.
My Unshakable
Status Vs My State of Being
We need to see that
our Status or Position in Christ and
our State of Being are two
different things. Our Status, our
position, is that we are in Him and He’s in us as our life, we are
complete “in Him” (Col. 2:10), in our spirit.
Our State of Being however, our current condition of living, is that we often do not live
or abide “in Him”. We may live either as an individual
self, as an individual who is properly abiding in union and humbly relying
upon Christ in me as my source and the governor of my living or, I may
live as an independent self,
improperly attempting to rule my life my Self by self-will,
living apart from dependence upon Christ in me as my all.
Due
to my regeneration, the addition of Christ’s life to my being has
accomplished so much, positionally. I was alone, but the addition
of His life makes the old me terminated as an independent entity.
The “Old I,” without God’s life, has ended. The “New I,” is
joined to Christ, having been born of the Christ-seed, so it is no longer
I, but Christ alive in me – “Christ liveth in me:” The
“Old I” was crucified or terminated with Him and the “New
I” was germinated with Him in resurrection. The “Old I” has
become the “new I”. So there’s still an “I”, along with the
Christ “in me”. As Norman Grubb says, “He is the operator in
me … and I am the co-operator”. Christ in my spirit is the
master of my being and I’m the cooperative mistress of the house, while
my body is but the servant. Thus Christ in my spirit rules my humbled and
dependent soul-self, and my soul-self rules my body. Thereby it is Christ
lived out through me.
The individual
“I” of my soul is now life-sourced in Christ, governed by the Christ
who dwells in union with my spirit. He lives through “me,” as His
living container. We, as His living containers, individually are known as
members of “the body of Christ, His Church”. We are the present
incarnation of Christ on the earth – we are His body. Nevertheless, I
yet have a free will to choose to live out according to Him who dwells
within, or not to do so.
Neither Christ nor I live alone
in this union. Consider the tree & a grafted branch. We as branches
were cut (crucified) from the old tree (Sin’s governing nature, Eph
2:1-2). We were grafted into the productive tree or vine - Christ. In such
a case, the branch continues to live. It lives not by its old life from
which it was cut, but it lives by the life of the new tree as it
life-source. The branch is not annihilated. The branch has new life added
from the root of the Tree of Life. The flow of the life of the Tree
produces fruit in the branch according to the root source, not according
to the branches old life. Romans 15:12 “… There shall be a root of
Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the
Gentiles trust.” Jesus said, John 14:19
“…because I live, ye shall live also.”
Paul said in Romans 11:18 “… thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee.”
Reckon Your Self Alive
The
mystery is that you are dead by His cross and your co-death with Him and
you also are alive by His resurrection life now in your spirit. Here in
Rom 6:11 we see that the very same “yourselves” is both dead
and alive. Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.” Many say you need to reckon yourself dead, but
this wrongly implies a “work” on your behalf. No, we simply need to
abide in the vine tree to live by the new life, as seen in the 2nd
part of this verse. To “reckon” in the Greek is logizomai, an
accounting term. You no doubt have debits (minus) and credits (plus) in
accounting your checkbook, but when it is balanced, what is it that you
act upon when you write the next check? Yes, you act according to the
result or the sum. The sum of our experience with Christ is that we are
now alive in Christ. We died (past tense) and are “now alive” in
Christ. When you live by Him you have automatically taken account of your
death in Him. There is no need to go back and recheck your death. When you
go back to see if you’re dead or to try to make yourself dead what are
you acting upon? What is it you are looking at? It is our self. No, we
ought to look unto Jesus, the author and “finisher of our faith”; He
is now and forever alive in our spirit.
What
is my basis for looking to the “finished sum” of the work of Christ?
Consider that in Numbers 20 the Israelites were to look to the Brazen
Serpent on the Moses rod to overcome the Serpents poison in their flesh
(This Serpent is a type of Christ on the cross bearing the sin venom of
the world, John 3:14). They did not look to their poisonous wounds and try
to fix themselves. We look to Christ alive in us – He is the overcomer
whose life is in our spirit, in whom dwells the killing power of His
cross, which is effective as we live by His resurrected life. His life
makes us dead and alive.
I’ve
heard some say “What you take hold of takes hold of you” and this is
true. If we take hold of or turn to Christ alive in us, He will take hold
of and live through us. John 16:33 “These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world.”
Some
say you need to die to self, yet the Bible makes clear that we are already
crucified with Christ. Note the past tense statements in Rom 6:3, 6:6,
7:4,Gal 2:20, and many more. Look closely, am I dead, or … am I “dead
to” something? Romans 6:2 “God forbid. How shall we, that
are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. My death with and
in Christ has made me as an individual free from sin’s tyrannical power
it once held over me. I’m “dead to” sin.
So
we are “dead to” the operating principle of Old Man –
we may have an exchange of governors. The woman of Rom 7:1-4 “died
to the law” (Gk. nomos, regulating or operating
principle) of Her Old Husband, that law is called the Law of Sin &
Death or Satan’s sin principle. We are dead as a independent “male”,
but, we, as a dependent female “she”, are still alive as a she
… free to be married to “Another” – which is Christ.
Romans
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 (operating
principle) to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be
dead, she is loosed from the law (operating principle) 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.” (For more detail on this
subject request the article: “Free To Be Married to Another” by AJ
Licursi)
Have
you ever noticed? Jesus did not live His own life. Rather, He lived by the
life of the Father, We now are to live by Christ’s life, by the one who
lived dependently upon the Father. In John
5:19 “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he
seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise.” You will no doubt note that I’ve used the term “live
by” many times; referring to the fact that we are to live by Christ
in us as our life and controller. To “live by” is mentioned for us in
John 6:57 Jesus said, “As the living Father hath sent me,
and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he
shall live by me.” This does not mean Jesus was set
aside or ceased to exist with a free will. Jesus humbled and submitted His
will to the Father. (See Philippians 2:5-10)
There
actually are three involved in our living – The Father, Christ and me
– all are expressed in the outflow of one, mutual, life from me. For
this to be true, I must eat Christ. That is I rely upon Him daily as my
life-sustaining source to my soul. Eating here speaks of living
dependently, to receive of Christ’s life and nurturing by the
spontaneous operation of the Spirit of His Life (Rom 8:2) indwelling our
spirit.
This
relationship of Christ and the Father is good for those of us who came
from dysfunctional families, who may have not had a proper Father/child
relationship modeled for us. What I mean is this – Jesus in us knows how
to be the proper Son of God for us, as He lives through us. We’ve seen
that He lived by the Father’s life and in John 3:35, “The Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” Virtually
all of us were born naturally in a defective condition, much as like the
blind man of John 9, but why? It is so the “glory of God” might be
seen in our lives, as Christ’s limitless life is expressed in and
through us.
The
branch and tree share one life and one living out of that life. For us
it’s one life, sourced in the root of the Father’s life. We share one
“living out” or expression (via the branch). It’s mutual, He lives
in us, and we live by Him. Just as it was that the Father lived out
through Jesus Christ. Now, it is to be Christ lived out through us.
Philip. 1:20-21 According to my earnest expectation and my hope,
that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always,
so now also Christ shall be magnified (Gk. megaluno, declared or
expressed) in my body (my human living), whether it be by life, or
by death. For to me to live is Christ, …
So,
what is my part in all of this? It is to have the faith to trust Christ in
me. Is it my trust “in” Christ and … or is it the faith “of”
Christ in me? I see both correctly translated in the KJV? Actually, It’s
both. How do we have the faith that is “of” Christ? We must first receive
Christ to in order to gain of have His faith as ours. So, we must receive
Him. John 1:12 “But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name:” Each of
us has been given an adequate measure of faith to trust Christ. All we
must do is believe to receive Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31 “And
they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
...” This is placing our faith In Christ. Romans
12:3b “… according as God hath dealt to every man the measure
of faith.” Have you ever noticed that in the NT it never says for us to
have faith in God the Father – only in Jesus? This is because Jesus is
the way to God the Father. So we see repeatedly verses saying as in
Galatians 3:26 “For ye are
all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
It’s a matter of believing in Christ in us; from then on it is His faith
working in us to love and trust the Father – it then is the faith
“of” Christ for living.
So
then, He is in us, and He then is our faith; we are to live by His faith
working in us. The fact that He is our faith for living should be nothing
new to us. Hebrews 12:2a “Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; …” Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life (Zoë) which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the
law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians
3:22 “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the
promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe.”
Now we must learn to “turn our heart” (2Cor 3:16) to
Christ who dwells within our spirit. In making that “turn” we give up
self-dependence to trust in Christ; we cling to Him and find His life and
His faith in God the Father as our life and our faith. We’re living by a
continuing faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26 “For ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Ephes. 1:15 “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto
all the saints,” Col. 1:4 “Since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to
all the saints,” Col. 2:5 “…
I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the
stedfastness of your faith
in Christ.”
We
turn and cling to Christ in us as our all; He then saves us, interceding
for us. Hebrews 7:25 “he is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
It is “Christ as the Spirit” interceding to
the Father, knowing the will of God for us. Being fully God and fully man,
Christ can be touched with the feeling of our frailty (Heb 4:15). We know
He endured all the same temptation, rejection and pain as we, never
succumbing to obey Sin. Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities (frailty): for we know not what we should pray
for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he
that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will
of God.” Romans 8:34 “It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us.” (Note
that “the Spirit” making intercession in Romans 8:26-27 is
referred to as “Christ”, making intercession for us in 8:34.) <END>
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