**The Cross, The Resurrection, and The Holy Spirit** (And How they work together) **1 Corinthians 12:13** - For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. This is a Lengthy read, but worth it! One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to place the believer “in Christ.” **The Role of the Cross:** “Self” was addressed at the cross, which is our biggest problem. Self can never be properly dealt with except through the cross and what Jesus did there. Some believe that once a person comes to Christ, they should set out to crucify self. When believers make statements like “crucifying self,” they are attempting to carry this out through their own effort, strain, or discipline, which cannot be successful. This is dead religion. **Faith in Christ’s Finished Work:** Self has already been crucified with Christ. By placing our faith in His finished work and confessing with our mouth and believing in our heart, the Holy Spirit baptizes us “into Christ.” Our old self is buried or hidden with Christ in the tomb. This is the simplified gospel: you cannot bring self into line; self was placed in Christ at the cross. The instrument or means by which self is placed in Christ is the blood shed at the cross. No matter how religious or strict you might be, the cross is the means and Jesus is the source. **Daily Faith in Jesus’ Sacrifice:** Daily faith in what Jesus did at the cross places us in Christ as we are baptized or buried into Christ’s death. Our spirits are resurrected, and we begin the abundant life. Faith in the shed blood of Jesus baptizes us into Christ’s death, and it is faith in Christ’s blood that gives the Holy Spirit the green light to work in our lives (By grace you are saved through faith). The moment we truly confess and believe in Christ and His shed blood at Calvary, the Holy Spirit baptizes us “into Christ,” and our spirits are resurrected from the deadness and power of sin by the Holy Spirit. **Freedom from the Sin Nature:** Before salvation, we were ruled and controlled by the sin nature. By faith remaining in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the sin nature will remain dormant as long as we renew this faith daily by “taking up our cross daily” (Luke 9:23-24). Many Christians experienced initial freedom from the sin nature, but after they got saved, they began to place their faith in something else. Whether that be a particular church, a person, how long they pray, how long they fast, how many rules they follow, spiritual gifts, or other practices. As a result, the power of sin begins to take back control over their lives, and they experience defeat in their walk with God. All Christians have experienced this, because we believe we’re justified by faith but sanctified by works. This is completely incorrect. If you are a believer and are feeling defeated, trapped, or under the power of a habit or sin, what you need to do is consciously put your faith back in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning blood. This will release the power to put the sin nature back into dormancy. Faith in the proper object, which is Christ and His shed blood, will release the grace or strength to overcome. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…” (Revelation 12:11) There is no life outside of Christ, and He gives us that life through faith in the blood shed at the cross. All that Jesus is and all that He has is made available to us by means of the cross. Every person who is truly born again has this new life. Salvation is not the modification of the old man; proper faith in Christ and His finished work baptizes us into His death and raises us to new life. **The Resurrection Vindicates the Cross:** The resurrection was the ratification of what Jesus did for us at the cross. If Christ had not risen, it would mean even one sin had been left unatoned, and Christ could not have risen from the dead, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The reality of Jesus’ resurrection proves the atonement of all sin—past, present, and future—for those who believe. The resurrection of all saints hinges on the resurrection of Christ. Because He lives, you and I have spiritual life now, and one day we will experience a resurrection just like His. **1 Corinthians 15:53-57** - For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. **1 Corinthians 15:17** - If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain. If Jesus had failed to atone for even one sin, then He could not have been raised from the dead, and neither could we. Knowing that He had atoned for all sin, past, present, and future, guarantees His resurrection and ours. **Victory Over Sin and Satan:** Sin is the reason Satan has the right to hold a person in the bondage of sin. Anyone who has experienced the bondage of sin understands its debilitating power. With sin removed by the blood of Jesus, Satan has no more right to hold anyone in bondage, as its end result is death. In other words, Jesus defanged Satan at the cross. **Jesus’ Conquest:** The resurrection of Christ was never in doubt because Jesus knew He would atone for all sin. The idea that Jesus had to fight demons in hell to be raised from the dead is not true. Jesus did not descend into the underworld as a victim but as a mighty conqueror. The price was paid in full at Calvary, and the victory was won. Satan had no authority to hold anyone by the power of sin because Jesus defeated sin in totality at the cross. At the cross, Jesus completely destroyed all of Satan’s claims on humanity. Sadly, most Christians, although saved, don’t understand what it means to have the newness of life because they don’t fully grasp the significance of the cross through which this life comes. Jesus turned the most fear-provoking object into a symbol of hope. Jesus was not murdered; He laid down His life by choice. **John 3:16** - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. **Faith in the Right Object:** Remember, the right object of faith is the key to the release of God’s grace. Without the blood, the Israelites would have never come out of Egypt. It was the power of the blood of the lamb that broke Pharaoh’s stubborn will. What the pestilence and all the judgments could not accomplish, the power of the blood did. **A Message of Hope:** If you are not yet a Christian or you are a frustrated believer who keeps trying but keeps failing, I come with a message of hope today: try something new. Most believers think of the power of the blood just for salvation. But daily placing our faith in Christ’s atoning work at the cross allows the Spirit to baptize us into the body and stop sin’s power from controlling us. It is by faith in the blood that the Holy Spirit gives us victory and keeps the sin nature dormant. -Chris Reed

Posted by Deleted (9a829f10) at 2024-06-22 15:50:06 UTC