I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)
To be sure, the flesh is weak, but it will fight tooth and nail, every step of the way, trying everything within its power not to die. How long do you need to prayerfully consider this truth before it resonates deep within you?
The flesh loves to sit atop the throne of life, even when it is engaged in religious and spiritual duties. We have been saved to serve, and there are countless ways in which we invest our time, talent, and treasure for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. Yet we all have that old, proud pharisaical heart within us that beats for the applause of man rather than the approval of God. Make no mistake, the flesh has no problem being dressed in “religious robes,” just as long as it is not required to surrender and die.
The question that we must ask ourselves is this: Who is on the throne of our lives?
Jesus went from the throne to the cross and back to the throne. He no longer hangs upon that old wooden cross, nor does He lie in the tomb. He is back where He belongs, on the throne of the entire universe, upholding and “sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is now seated on the throne of grace at the right hand of God the Father.
Did you know that there were no seats in the Tabernacle or the Temple? That was because the work of the High Priest was never done; he never had occasion to sit down, so there was no need to provide a seat for him. But when Jesus said, “It is finished!” He meant what He said. His perfect, atoning work on behalf of all those who will believe is fully accomplished, and He now sits in the position of power, glory, majesty, and dominion.
Is Jesus sitting on the throne of your life? Remember, the cross no longer holds our Lord. It has been emptied for us to carry. This is the great supernatural switch for every saint of God. We are not to fear the crucifixion of the self, because to die to self is not to be dead. Rather, to die to self is to become alive to Christ, as we see in today’s verse.
Don’t mistake the crucifixion of our Lord as a symbol of the crucifixion of the flesh. He died for sins once for all (1 Peter 3:18). We are to die to self daily—not only daily, but moment by moment. Dying to self is never over until it is actually over and we are received into glory.
When the apostle Paul said he had been “crucified with Christ,” he was telling us that Jesus was sitting on the throne of his life. And with Jesus on the throne of his life and Paul off of it, Paul was now free to carry his cross all the way into glory. May that supernatural switch be the confession of our lives!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 