Twin Peaks

The scripture for today is Romans 8:10

 

Romans 8:10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 

“Christ in you” is the theme of redemption. It is what the Father intended for man from the beginning.  When God created man, He breathed into him the breath of life. From the beginning of creation, God imparted to man life that came from Himself. That life is what God wanted man to appreciate and value.  The life that comes from God can only be sustained by living in fellowship with Him, embracing His love and character which is codified in His moral law. The life of God and the character of God cannot be separated. The strategy of Satan is to separate life from God's character in the hearts of mankind. Satan, through deceit, implies that there is a better life available that does not include the character of God. In other words, you can discard the law of God, make your own rules, and follow your own inclinations; you do not need God because you will be god for yourself.

 

Mankind has bought into the lies of the devil in varying degrees but the end is always the same; deception, sin, and death. Jesus came to this world as love reaching out. He, through His sinless life, defeated the enemy on his own turf. He then went to the cross and died the death that man deserved so that we could have the life of God living within us once again. Through Christ, the life that God gave us, in the beginning, is restored and the sin that we once embraced is washed away by the blood of His atonement. God, in Christ, now lives in our hearts. “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 “To them, God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

 

“Throughout the Scriptures, righteousness is consistently associated with life, as sin is with death. When there is righteousness in the life, there is evidence of the presence and power of the Spirit of God, and this means life. Some commentators prefer to limit the meaning of righteousness in this passage to the righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer for life-giving justification (ch. 5:18). But the context does not seem to indicate such a limitation. Taking righteousness in the widest sense, Paul’s meaning seems to be that, although the body is dead because of Adam’s sin, in which we have all participated, the spirit is life because of Christ’s righteousness, which has first been imputed in justification and is later imparted in sanctification. This gift of righteousness is accompanied by the gift of eternal life (ch. 5:17, 18, 21).  And the evidence that we have received the gift of righteousness and acceptance with God is the presence of the ever-living, ever-active Spirit of God (Eph. 1:13).” The SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 6 p. 565

 

Thank God for Jesus and His precious gift.

 

God bless you as you continue in His service.

Tim