Scripture Galatians 2 v 20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Ephesians 2 v 4 - 6: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
Our eternal spirits are very important to our Father and we need to know our place in His great plan to save us to the uttermost. Before we lived on this Earth we had sinned and rebelled against God, which caused our spirits to die. We were born sinners. Spiritual death is eternal separation from God.
Jesus had to be crucified and by a miracle of God He became a magnet. Every dead spirit, including each one of us, was drawn into Him as He hung there. Our sins and our deaths were transferred to Him. Although He was innocent of all sin Jesus became SIN for us because our Father could only justify a totally spotless sacrifice to cancel the power of sin and death in us.
We were crucified with Jesus and we were buried with Him. We had gone with Him, in Him, through the Garden of Gethsemane where He was arrested. We were in Him when He went to Abraham's Bosom where the believers if old were kept waiting for Him.
After three days in this compartment of Hell, where He had whipped Satan in front of his demons, He was resurrected to life. We were with Him in His resurrection but only became alive in Him as soon as we believed in Him and were born again. We are His Body.
In order to make our Christian lives a reality we must be baptised in water. We are then immediately seated in Christ in heavenly places and His living spirit dwells in our bodies here on Earth. So our spirits are already in Heaven, part of the Body of Christ - alive in Him.
His sinless, pure, holy, righteous spirit is alive in us to change our souls from dark to light. This is living by faith and growing in the knowledge of Jesus. He is building us up as a brand new creation to be changed into His likeness.
If Satan had known God's salvation plan for us he would never have let Jesus die.
1 Corinthians 2 v 7 - 8: "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." The princes of this world are Satan and his evil spirits in high places.
If people resist this salvation and avoid being changed by Jesus, they will find themselves in a limbo of broken parts. The Master will not invade any against their will. He will patiently wait until they submit unreservedly to His love and mercy. In this state of unrepentance no-one can flow in the power of the Spirit, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
Those who are confronted by challenges mentally, emotionally, or bodily, need to fight battles to overcome them. These are imperfections that the Lord is correcting. We succeed when we humbly agree with Jesus that there is still a lot of changes to be made.
We sing a Biblical chorus:
It's no longer I that liveth
But Christ who liveth in me!
He lives! He lives!
Jesus is alive in me!
The more conscious we are of this reality, the closer we are to Jesus, and the change in us is smoother, faster and more visible to others. Our lives are under new management. God has taken the wheel to direct our paths out of darkness into the Light.
Our thoughts are far more Christlike; we are much more able to resist sin and overcome bad habits. The Cross is working in us, killing off our bad attitudes, short fuses, and wayward tongues, and bringing to life the fruit of love, peace, joy and self-control.
Of course our enemy has an agenda to try to ruin this beautiful relationship and entice us back into the world of seduction, mayhem, sin and fun. He is extremely good at this and we must be alert as soon as the pressure begins.
He is also a spirit being and is in a state of competition and rivalry with Jesus for the rulership of the Universe. We are simply pawns on his chessboard, that he manipulates, controls and destroys through whatever dirty tricks he can conjure up. He uses us to bring sorrow to God. If we are not alert to his wiles we can be captured and compromised which would need some serious repairs.
Whenever we choose our will over His will we can lose our way. The Israelites took forty years to find the Promised Land because of disobedience to God. It should have taken forty days. So to avoid delay and disappointment we should find His will and do it promptly.
Our God did not make this elaborate plan to save us with any loopholes for compromise at all. He decided that those who followed Jesus would have eternal life in Heaven. Those who waver and play games with God will not. Following Jesus makes Him Lord over our lives. He has full control, its not a democracy, nor debatable, nor even 'surely a loving God will save everyone regardless of their spiritual state'.
It is obedience, submission, following instructions, prayer, fellowship and a relationship like no other. It is based on truth, righteousness and love. It means if we do not forgive then we will not be forgiven by God. If we hate then we are called murderers.....
1 John 3 v 13 - 15: "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
How will God judge murderers, abortionists, militants, and executioners? Eternal separation from Him. Do as you would be done by. No man-made laws shall save them. How will God judge those who persecute His people? He will persecute them. People who escape punishment on this Earth, through wealth or status, will have eternity to regret it.
God loves His people and is angry at sin every day. Let us be wise in our relationship to Him. Let us conform to His statutes for our own safety. Let us not blame Him for the consequences of our errors of judgment.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are alive because we were crucified with Jesus Christ and chose to follow Him without wavering. We want to be alive with You forevermore. Lord, we now know what is expected of us and we are willing to make sacrifices of personal pleasure to achieve it. Forgive us any failures we have made and restore us to full fellowship with You. In Jesus' name. Amen.