Dian,
Diane said
Indeed, and yet, how many of us who have been desperate for a move of God in our lives, have cared about the consequences..... Did not we all
[i]willingly[/i] say to God 'whatever it takes..... DO IT!' ???
This reminds me immediately (again), of the excellent post by philologos in another thread..... For those who did not read it, who may understand something more than has been put into words in this thread, here it is:
'Christ spoke of his death as a baptism. Into what was he baptized? As a 'sin offering' He certainly bore in his body our sins. This is the figure of the scapegoat. Lev 14
But there is a darker picture in John 3:14-16 where Christ used the figure of an uplifted snake. Baptism has the effect of united the baptized into the element into which he is baptized.
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,”
(Rom 6:5 NKJV)
This 'uniting with' in the consequence of the 'baptism into death' of verse 3.
[b]He was baptized into what we had become. He was united with it so that the judgement that came upon Him came upon it. Once and for all. He was baptized into 'our death' and we must be baptized into His. He was united by baptism to what we were and we are united by baptism (not water) to what he is.[/b]
He became Sin and the judgement that was wreaked upon Him was wreaked upon Sin. Not 'sins'; they had to be forgiven but Sin cannot be forgiven it must be executed.'
Dian,
Hard to believe tho it is, you are living through coming into the GOOD of this death, which you have already experienced in the Spirit.
Amen to your resurrection, now! :-D
Romans 6
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: [b]that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, [u]even so we also should walk in newness of life[/b][/u].
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
6 [u]Knowing [b]this[/b][/u], that our old man [b]is[/b] crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that [i][b]henceforth[/b][/i] we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I know you will have a genuine testimony of how worth every shred of agony this has been, and will be able to comfort and encourage many who shall follow your example of commitment to Christ.
