Foundations Study - The Christ
Centered Life Lesson #8 January 16, 2002
Intro Review:
Ø
6:8-10 Result/expectation from having died with
Christ
The emphasis here is on Current Positional Truth,
CPT.
- What's the
key here?? We believe! For any of these truths to have the impact
in your life that God intends, YOU must
believe them, YOU must have faith in what God has said!
We
now have the capacity because of this identification to walk in newness of life
with Him;
Our life as a believer is with reference to
Him!
Ø
6:9 Our Confidence in time is related to what
we know about Christ's death, cross!
"Knowing
that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
Ø
6:10. For the death that He died, He died to
sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. [set pattern]
He not only paid the penalty for our sins
but that He has broken the power of sin [i.e. sin nature]!
- What's the
kind of life that He lives? in fact will always live!
Observations: 6:7-10;
1. This whole
context is not directed toward the
unbeliever, unsaved at all but to the believer.
2. Christ's
death, burial, resurrection and our identification with Him are all His work on
behalf of us, the believer in Christ.
3. The
believer is now to look back to the cross, upon all that Christ has
accomplished and to see just how it all applies to him/her in their life after
salvation.
4. Only as we
apply these truths are we able to walk in newness of life, to walk worthy of
our calling in Christ!
5. Need to
Rem: none of it is effective apart from the ministry of the 3rd
person of the Trinity.
6. The sin
nature is still alive/well but it has been judged by Christ's death to it, and
our identification with His death!
7. What we
need to learn, is that none of this works or is effective if we attempt to live
in this sphere of the newness of life, in
our own energy!
8. The whole
argument of the passage revolves around our vital living union with
Christ.
9. The
ultimate purpose is to get us to realize one great truth!
- that we are able through the grace
resources given to walk in newness of life; God honoring, holy life, to walk
worthy.
10. That I
believe is the ultimate divine objective here in this context; the manner of
the Christian's walk. 2 Cor 5:15