13. Perfection Requires A Weak Body

PDF Version - 13. Perfection Requires A Weak Body

Word Document - 13. Perfection Requires A Weak Body

13. Perfection Requires a Weak Body

"But you (dear believer) are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you . . . And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God . . . For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8: 9-14 & 18

The center of Romans 8 is the heart of the gospel, our being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, being made just like Him. We find ourselves in an in-between place, conceived of God, yes, but not yet born of God into the full light of day. We are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is in us. However, we still find tentacles of sin still residing in our bodies, in spite of the presence of the Holy Spirit;therefore our bodies die.

It is astonishing that our physical body is still subject to death. The fact that a Christian dies physically and his body goes into the grave is something hard to believe, because it is not the intent or expectation of the gospel. We are separated from the law of sin and death and from the curse of God. Christ was made a curse for us and we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. We are born again, conceived of God. We stand in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. We presently possess eternal life from God, that means immortality and all the perfection of Christ. The expectation of the gospel is that we live and not die.

But we are in this in-between place. And Paul teaches us we are in a fight.

Although we are conceived of God, we have not yet come forth into the full light of day. God has given us this awesome privilege, to share with Jesus in His victory. Can we understand this? Having a body that still has sin leading to death in it is an awesome privilege. How can we share in His glory if we do not share in His victory? How can we share in His victory if we do not share in His fight?

God allows us to lift our sword, that is faith in His word, and do battle against the law of sin and death, do battle against the accuser of the brethren who desires to keep us nailed to that which is dead, in our minds. He gives us the privilege of fighting with Jesus in us, bringing down the enemy, bringing captive into obedience every thought to the life of Jesus inside of us, suffering with Him, in a body that is still subject to sin and death. God does this for us because we cannot share in His glory unless we share in His victory.And there is no possible way that we could share in His victory unless we ourselves do battle with the very thing that He Himself defeated - self identity separate from the Father.

God has given us the continued presence of sin, not that He might be displeased with us. That is a satanic understanding of where we stand. Rather, we have the awesome privilege of swallowing it up in the victory of the Lord Jesus. We share in the battle He fought, in His victory, and in His glory.

We cannot know glory apart from victory and we cannot know victory apart from the fight. We could be handed all the wonders of heaven on a silver platter, but none of it is glory unless we share in His fight. That is where we stand.

In verse 12, Paul says, "Listen, brethren, the privilege, the awesome privilege. We are debtors." To have this treasure of Christ in earthen vessels! To have a human body, a human frame. Oh, this privilege, that God has so honored us, not just doing it instantly the moment we were born again, but giving us the privilege and the honor of defeating sin with Jesus as our life, of defeating death with Jesus as our life, of casting down the accuser with Jesus as our life. We are debtors, what a privilege God has given us.

We are debtors, not to the flesh, if you live according to the flesh you will die. If you live in the carnal way of thinking that you are still subject to the law of sin and death, you will die. If you live in the imagination of your mind that you are some self separate from Christ, and that the cross of Jesus is something you are always escaping from and always dragging yourself back to - that is living in the flesh - we don't live there. We live in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Now, someone who has gone through the motions of asking Jesus into his heart could still be convinced that there is value in their lives in this world separate from Jesus. If they want to pursue the lust of their body and build a life for themselves in this world, yes, they will die. Their bodies will die and go into the grave. We don't know how long they will wait until they are ready to value this privilege instead of the emptiness of life in this world.

But you see, Paul isn't writing to those, because they will die. God knows who belongs to Him. Paul here is speaking to those who yearn for Jesus, who want to be with Him in His glory. Those who in their weakness and in their inability cry, "Oh Father, if you are doing anything in the earth, don't pass me by, don't leave me out. Jesus, I want to be with you. I don't want to be anywhere else.

My God, in that day - in that day when He stands in His glory, to be anywhere else but by His side, with Him, standing in Him in His glory is inconceivable. It is a horror that cannot even be looked at. Oh Father! To be with Him in His glory is everything. It is everything. The mud puddles, the cesspools of this world, vanish into nothingness as if they never were.

To be with Jesus in His glory - there is nothing else to look at or consider.

Whatever we go through in the sufferings of this present time is not worthy of being set against the glory revealed inside of us. Because you see, when Jesus stands in His glory, it will be inside the victory He wins in us.

. . . but if, by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:13b-14

We must understand this - putting to death the deeds of the body. We know it is not literal, because we do not do anything except in the body. If we took this literally, we would have to lie in our beds and not get up. And yet, lying in bed is a deed of the body, getting up is a deed of the body, going to work, coming home again, these are all deeds we do in the body. We understand without any confusion that Paul is not talking about that.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4

Therefore, because of the certainty that our old life that was an abomination to God is dead, and we are hidden with Christ in God. Christ is our life, we recognize no other life. Therefore, because Christ is our life, we turn and put to death our members which are on the earth. Here Paul tells us what He means when he says 'deeds of the body." Verse 5 & 8 . . . fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. . . anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

Verses 9-11 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds (We put off these outer things because we have already put off the old man of sin who does them), and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him (as we know Jesus, His life in us, as the knowledge of His love inside of us increases, we are transformed), where . . . Christ is all and in all.

Verses 12-14 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another . . . But above all these things put on the love, which is the bond of perfection.

God has given us this awesome privilege, of bringing our bodies into the sphere of salvation, of seeing His nature triumph through our bodies. We stand firmly in Him. We are not going in and out. We are not in trouble with God. We stand firmly in Him; the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is the foundation on which we stand. The Spirit of life lives in us, in our spirits, in our minds, and in our bodies. He transforms our minds so that we believe God. That same Spirit is working in our bodies.

God always leads us in triumph. He leads us in triumph! This is our mindset.

So we get angry. It is easy to get into the fleshy thinking that anger is my problem, and that unless I get anger under control, God is displeased with me. That is a fleshy mindset, and if we live in that way of thinking, we will always live under the weight of not pleasing God, of living under a God who is far separate from us, who is "trying us," seeing whether we really love Him or not. Probably we don't, but we hope that we do and maybe, maybe, someday. We fight with this anger and it just gets the better of us and we see ourselves in the flesh.

The triumph of God, the working of God in our lives, is from an entirely different viewpoint. We live in the mindset of one who is filled with the life of the Spirit of Christ, who knows His Father. Jesus is our life, He is in us, we recognize no other life, and we have this privilege of working with Him to transform anger into good. To bring out through our bodies His tender mercies, His kindness, His love for other people, the river of life that flows out of our hearts, moving through us, that God in us might bless and touch and bring life and healing to others.

This is our glory, to triumph over, to swallow up the sin that still remains in our bodies by His life in us.

Do you see how God has positioned us. We cannot even condemn the body. The tentacle of sin is in the body, the body dies because it sins. But Paul makes it very clear that I myself am with Christ. That is not me, that is sin. If you think it's you, you will never win. We understand that it is not us, it is sin in the body, and we cannot even condemn the body because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit is right now working, working, working in our bodies to transform them with the power of the resurrection life of Jesus.

We have been given this privilege, because if we did not have sin remaining in our bodies, we would not be able to share in the fight of Jesus, and if we did not share in the fight of Jesus, we would not know His victory, and if we do not know His victory, we can never know His glory as ours personally and true.

Do we want His glory? Then we embrace with all of our heart this wonderful privilege of living and walking in a body of weakness, that we might see the victory of Jesus in our body. This is what it's all about.

We must have the perspective of God found here in 2 Corinthians 2:14. Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

This is how God leads us, this is how He moves in us, this is our reality. This is not something we are hoping for, maybe someday. Believe what God speaks, He always leads us in triumph.

Some pastors have changed this to read, "He always causes us to triumph," they really are not saying, 'triumph,' they are saying 'win.' God causes us to win. And this is true. It is right to believe that God causes us to win.

But, you see, triumph and winning are two different things!

When you are in a battle, and you are fighting with everything that is inside of you, in all of the strength and the power of the life of the One who is in you, and you are fighting to win, at the very moment when your enemy is totally defeated, and you have won life for yourself, life for your physical body, at that moment you win. And God causes us to win.

But triumph is not winning; triumph normally comes right after the win.

Think of it this way. Here is the Superbowl, the end game of the season. Whichever team wins this game is the greatest team in America for a year and will enjoy all the glory and honor that comes with that. You have a player who has trained for years, he has prepared himself. He has disciplined his body, placing his whole focus on the knowledge of the game.

It is just a few seconds before the final bell; the score is even - tied. His side has the ball; he runs, evading his opponent. The quarterback sees him and throws the ball to him. With all of his skill and training, in that moment, he leaps high into the air, catches the ball, and comes down on the other side of the finish line. The bell rings, and his team has won. In that moment, he won the victory. That is winning, and yes, God does cause us to win. God causes us to win.

But that is not triumph. The triumph comes moments later as he finds himself suddenly grabbed by many hands. He is pushed up into the air, finding himself on his back on the upraised hands of his team mates. He sees the night sky, the lights of the stadium all around. He sees the crowds around the periphery of his vision all on their feet, shouting his name in unison. He knows he won, he knows he brought victory. All of his training and practice have come through at that one moment, and he lies there in triumph on the arms of his team mates while he hears the crowds shout his name.

That moment is triumph.

The word 'triumph' is a Roman word that talks about the return of a victorious general who is LED by Caesar through the crowds of the city who are celebrating a victory already won. Because the general was led by Caesar, all the glory of Caesar rested upon him.

So, you can cause to win, but you lead in triumph. Triumph is the celebration of glory after the victory has been won.

And Paul, here, makes this claim, that right now, on this side of the sea before the waters open, on this side of the victory before it is completed, God leads us in the procession of triumph. We have this expectation of hope, we consider that we are led in the very triumph of having won.

We do not doubt, "Shall I win? Maybe I'll make it, maybe I won't."

No, God always leads us in triumph.

Let me read you the definition of the English word triumph adapted from the Webster's 1926 dictionary. (From my book, The Jesus Secret)

God always leads me in the imposing ceremony of honor given to a victorious general who has overcome every obstacle, defeated every foe. God always leads me into His city crowned with life, bearing His scepter in my hand. God leads me in the procession of the fruit I have produced, the great work I have done for His name. I offer all I am, all I have done, and all I have produced from His investment of power in me as an offering of praise to the glory of Jesus. God always leads me to receive the honor of triumph. God always leads me to celebrate full and total victory and success with exultation. God always leads me to exult boastfully in the victory of Christ in me.

God always leads me to exult boastfully in the victory of Christ in me!

You hear the voice of someone saying, "Well brother, you really don't know if you are going to make it or not." That voice is coming straight from the pit. Don't consider it.

God always leads me in triumph. God always leads me to exult boastfully in the victory of Christ in me. Anytime you want to know whether something is God's leading or not? If it is God's leading, in the center of it will be a mighty boast in the victory of Christ already won inside of you. If not? Well - my God always leads in triumph.

We dance on this side of the sea, before the waters part. We are confident, our salvation, our being partakers of Christ is based on the maintaining of our confidence with rejoicing firm all the way through.

So what if I struggle with anger. I am absolutely convinced that God is leading me right now in the triumph celebrating the victory that I win over anything that is separation from Christ. The victory that He will work in me where His kindness wins over the anger that is in my body, He is leading me in the celebration of that triumph even before it happens.

So, I just blew it. My son argues with me, I see red and get angry, and I express that anger. The tentacle of sin still works in my body. But I tell you where my faith is. Though I ask for forgiveness, I do not ask forgiveness because I am bad, I ask forgiveness because there is a river of life inside of me and that love flows out and covers any hurt I may have caused. I love and am confident, fully confident, in the victory of Christ. I boast in His triumph.

Though I might not see it with my natural eyes right now, I have the full expectation of it in this life, in this age, in my flesh, in my dying body. I see Him in His glory in me by faith. And that expecting of faith, that rejoices in triumph before the victory, is the faith that we have. We read in 1 John that this is the victory we presently have over this world and everything that is in it - even our faith.

God always leads us in triumph.

And so in this view, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, establishes this conclusion.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me (depart from me so I don't have to fight it, depart from me so that I don't have to bring it into the obedience of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit). And He said to me, 'My grace (My enablement) is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My strength is made perfect in weakness. Consider those words. Jesus says, "My strength is made perfect in your weakness." You want perfection, you want His life in you? Then you must have a weak body.

We must know weakness before we can know His strength because His strength is made perfect in our weakness. We carry this human body with all of its weakness, all of its infirmities, its distresses, its needs. It is our glory.

The power of Christ is made perfect in our weak bodies. His life is revealed in our mortal flesh.

We know Him in our weakness before we know Him in His power.