Kicking the Corpse

.

.

The new man views the old man with compassionate understanding, not harsh judgmentalism and the desire to punish.
__________________________________________

I’m very concerned with the health of the mind and the body which I’ve been given.  Before Christ I was concerned with feeling good, and that’s about it.  Now, with the mind of Christ which has been supplied to me, and which continues to grow and develop as I nourish it, I have a broader view, a more long term view of my mind and my body.  I am thankful for them, while not allowing them to determine my destiny.

I don’t spend any time “kicking the corpse.”  I do not hate that part of me that used to sit on the throne of my life as god, which did not acknowledge and need God, but rather was “without God and without hope.”  I have been given and am growing into something better, but hating myself (my old self) is not a part of that something better.

Colossians 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds;

To “put off” means to lay aside, as an article of clothing you no longer desire to wear.  There is no punishment involved, no self-hatred.  Simply lay aside that old man which needs to be right and stand approved before others, and needs to be in charge and in control of everything.

Hebrews 12:1, 2a  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us; Looking unto Jesus the beginner and finisher of our faith……

We lay it aside (same Greek word as in Colossians 3:9).  We don’t fight with it, disparage it, focus on it or emphasize it in any way.  We simply lay it aside as being impractical and unprofitable.  That becomes easier and easier to do as we walk in what does work well and produce fruit in our lives.

Why is it that Christians think it is a Godly thing to punish themselves, whether mentally and/or physically?  Where did the thought, “I’m just a sinner, saved by grace” come from?  Why is it so difficult to receive compliments or accolades; why so abhorrent to take any credit for work well done?  It is because of vanity of the mind, which denies God and His gift to us and which rather needs to do sacrifice in order to placate God.

I Samuel 15:22, 23a  And Samuel said (to Saul), Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

When confronted by sin, the correct response is turning (back) to Christ, not punishing yourself for your error.  (Learning, yes….punishing, no)  It is the old, sinful man who is “dead in trespasses and sins” which needs to do sacrifice for its failings.  In contrast, the new man lives in the “fait accompli” (accomplished work) of the sacrifice of Christ.  This is the “the obedience of faith” of Romans 16:26 and “the obedience of Christ” of II Corinthians 10:5.

II Corinthians 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Most Christians would relate to the first half of this verse, but ignore the second.  The worth we have as individuals certainly does not lie in our mere physical and mental existence, for all people, by definition, have those.  Rather, our worth as individuals lies in our relationship to God, which exists only in Christ Jesus our Lord.  To deny that very real spiritual worth is to deny the gift which God gave us and for which Christ paid the price.

Who do you think you are?  That phrase, cast as a challenge, usually leaves the one it has been directed toward at a loss for words.  But I now ask you, Who do you think you are?  Are you a saint or a sinner?  Are you a sinner saved by grace, or are you a saint who occasionally sins?  How you honestly answer this question will tell you a lot about what is most important in your life.  If you are a sinner saved by grace, then you define yourself by your fleshly thinking and behavior.  If you are a saint, then in the self-realization that a new creation has been birthed and is developing within you, you are reaching forth into heaven, seeking to daily lay hold of the spiritual inheritance which has been given you as a member of God’s intimate family, a citizen of the kingdom of God.

Just who are you?  This question is always, always answered by who and how you relate to and identify with others.  If your identify lies in your relating to your fleshly family and the world in general, then you are very much what you do and how you think.  If your identity lies in your relating to the Christ-spiritual workings which take place within you, then you are indeed a son of God and joint-heir with Christ.

 Romans 8:13-17  For if you live after (are supplied by) the flesh, you shall die; but if you through the spirit do mortify (treat as dead) the deeds of the body, you shall live.  For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For you have not received (taken unto yourself) the spirit of bondage to fear even more; but you have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Oh dear Father my Father!  The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God;  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together with him.

What leads you?  What motivates you?  This has everything to do with who you think you are.  The spirit which was offered to you, which you reached out and took unto yourself by deciding to believe unto Jesus Christ, was not given in order to keep you in a bondage of fear of never being good enough, of being afraid to be or do wrong; rather the role of Christ’s spirit in your life is to cause you to reach out in heart-filling joyful anticipation to get more and more of what your most intimate relation …. God Himself …. has promised you and provided for you by means of Christ.

You will not reach out to lay hold of your heavenly inheritance if in your heart you are a sinner saved by grace, but only if you are God’s righteous son.

Ephesians 2:11-12   Wherefore remember that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.

It’s one thing to remember where you came from, it’s another to obstinately demand of yourself that you remain in that same old place.

This is not the will of God, that having been delivered from spiritual corruption and death, you present yourself over and over again to God as still being corrupted and dead.  If God has given you life, then you are alive!  If God has given you citizenship in heaven, then you are a heavenly being!  If God desires you to approach Him in the most intimate of ways as a beloved son, then do so!  Anything less is not the will of God, but rather comes out of a heart which has not believed unto Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh, we will always have a lot to learn, but doesn’t every child?  Think of your own children ….. as much as you love them and hold them close to yourself in the most tender part of your heart, don’t they have a lot to learn?  Don’t they make mistakes, fall short of the mark, live less then you desire?  But are they then any less your beloved child?

Philippians 3:13-15a  Brethren I count not myself to have arrived (in understanding and practice); but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect (mature), be thus minded.

This is who we are.  This is what we do.  Accept the gift of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We are sons of God and joint heirs with Christ.  We learn from our every experience, with God as our Father and His spirit as our teacher.  We reach forth to acquire more and more of what God has called us to be and have and be able to do.  We at times fall short, we head off in the wrong direction, but we never quit, for we are sons of God, called to have everything Christ is and has and can do.

Berating your old self is not the will of God.  Focusing on and nourishing the new self is.
________________________________________________

..

The book, Give Me Christ … Revelations of the Glorified Christ is now available on Amazon.

You can subscribe at the upper right of this page by supplying your name and e-mail.  You’ll be notified by e-mail whenever a new study is posted, every couple of weeks or so.  Your e-mail is not shared with anyone else.  After you subscribe, add our address to your contact list, so that the notifications are not sent to your junk folder.

Other studies of interest:
How God Deals with our Sin
Old Man, New Man … A Comparison
Conform, Reform, or Transform
Godly Logic (How to Serve God)