“United
In Christ”
Romans 8:8-11; II Corinthians 5:17
8.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God.
9.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10. And
if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
11. But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
17.
Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.
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e are intellectually aware of the
fact that "where there is unity, there is strength." We say
intellectually, because though it is something which we can read and something
we have seen work, it is not something we practice. Most of
our examples of "strength in unity" come from negative unions where a
people were conquered by means of others banding together. It would seem
that if we really believed in the strength of unity, we would more zealously
guard the union that we have been granted with Christ.
There are a myriad of organizations
which attempt to foster unity. Many are based on race (e.g. NAACP, KKK);
parentage; civil service (e.g. VFW, FOE, FOP); calamity (e.g. MADD, OA, AA) and
even disease. It does not matter how many people join these organizations, nor how many chapters are formed, man is fooling himself
when he thinks that anyone but Jesus will be able to change his situation. Only
unity with those or one, more powerful than oneself will provide profit.
The Lord is trying to get men to see
that only by being united in Christ do we have any power over anything. Being
united in the Lord, we have the power to accomplish the most important work
given a people—that of winning others to Christ. This is the fulfillment of the
scriptural charge to bring forth spiritual children.
Since all are "...born in sin
and shapen in iniquity," obviously the children
that we sire are not to be the fleshly children with whom we are familiar. In
that our natural children are born of the passions of the flesh and being
fleshly cannot enter the
Our "better method" is
found in our union with Christ. Our methodology, once we are saved, is to win
souls through our testimony. This testimony is not characterized by what we
say, but rather, how we live. We will beget spiritual children to eternal life
only by embracing salvation and all the power that accompanies it. This power
changes lives, changes mind, strengthens, straightens, and transforms.
Part of our problem is that the
world largely sees no benefit from salvation. This is because, all too often,
we fail to be changed or helped by having access to the power which created the
heavens and the earth. Not accepting the help the Lord offers is not just a
matter of exercising one's right to choose. Of course, if one intends to be
saved, there is no choice but to do what God says. Granted, the devil would
have us believe that we are valuable in ourselves and therefore, valuable to
the Lord. However, what we must face is that we are beneficial to Christ only
as we allow ourselves to be unified with Him.
The union with which most are
familiar is that of marriage. It is understood (even if not ascribed to) that
there are certain privileges accompanying it that should not be enjoyed outside
of it. Generally, these are natural physical or "fleshly" privileges,
so to speak. In like manner, when brought together with Christ, we become one
spirit and are to enjoy the resultant spiritual blessings which come only this
way. However, just as in marriage, there are impediments to this harmony.
Namely, both relationships (that is our union with Christ and our union with
our mates) are hampered by independence. That is, wanting to remain an entity
separate from the one to whom we are joined forfeits the benefits of unity.
This is true physically as well as spiritually. Of course, one of the first and
most important things we should learn after salvation is that we are not saved
to continue to live after our own will, but rather the will of God.
Being truly "united in
Christ" will mean that the Lord will be comfortable "dwelling"
in you. When your motives, your desires and your dreams are one with Him, He
will be comfortable "settling down" and "being at home."
You know it would seem as if one
unified in Christ would neither expect to sin, nor be expected to sin. After
all, Jesus was sinless and therefore, "perfect". Somehow, the
apostolic church world has been bewitched into believing that one with the
Spirit—the sinless Christ—is nevertheless, himself going to be less than
sinless. Until we accept this command and expectation, we will remain wretched.
The only route to abundant life is through a renewed, sinless life.
It is no secret that a union with
Christ includes baptism. It is through this means that we are unleashed from
bondage to the flesh, not being obliged to live after it any more. However, one
will notice that not heeding flesh is an act
of will. For just as scripture tells us we are saved through baptism, not
in that the flesh is made any less filthy, but that we become conscious of its
stench before God. It is then that we submit and commit ourselves to the
precepts of God, which preclude sin. Yes, we can decide to the contrary, but
only by signing our "death warrant" and consigning ourselves to hell.
You see, a fatal error is made by
anyone who practices or condones sin after salvation. The popular bumper
sticker stating "I'm just a sinner saved by grace" contains a gross
theological error; for sinners are not saved! St. Matthew
Being "united in Christ"
takes nothing from us but gives to us all things. The innate desire we have
to be upstanding, the integrity, and "be something"
comes only from the power of Jesus Christ (the Holy Ghost). If we can just
stay with Him, we have abundant power, but because of who we are—but who He is.