Living the Daily Death

The daily death is accomplished through a spiritual dynamic activated by faith. We are able to put to death the deeds of our body through the Holy Spirit on account of our actual deaths having occurred in Christ. This is precisely what separates the regenerate from the unregenerate. The unregenerate can only fall back on willpower to suppress the outward workings of the flesh. Inside him, however, the body of sin is untouched on account of his old man still being alive in Adam. He can have no power over the body of sin until the axe is at last laid to the root of his Adamic engrafting (Luke 3:9; Romans 6:6-14; 11:24). The old man is crucified with Christ so that the believer can be made free from the body and power of sin.

But if this is true, it may be asked, why then do believers find themselves reuniting with the former lusts of their old, unregenerate states: i.e. internet pornography and losing their temper? According to plain scripture, the lusts of our flesh are manifest when we cease to walk in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

When Christ died on Calvary, our rebellious flesh was not crucified with Him, nor was Satan’s influence over the world’s system banished. This was not God’s purpose in sending His Son. Christ’s death did not automatically delete the contents of the mind; the recollection of all the illegal pleasures and passions we indulged in while yet in our pre-conversion still remained. The bad files were not deleted, but instead given the possibility to be overpowered and buried beneath new files. The old files were left in the memory bank to be a reminder and a warning to the child of God: if left unrenewed and ungirded by the Holy Spirit, the mind will seek to be reunited with the former lusts which once ruled the heart.

The Lord could have spiritually lobotomized us at rebirth, and reprogrammed our flesh to automatically be allied with the Holy Spirit, but then He would have reduced us to robots. Instead, He tests our love for Him by gauging our willingness to suffer voluntarily in the flesh through the example set by Christ. God expects us to collaborate with His Spirit in the putting to death of sinful impulses. This is walking in the Spirit (Matthew 16:24; Romans 8:13; I Peter 2:21; 4:1; I John 2:6).

The believer must decide that he will voluntarily humble himself before God in order to receive the daily grace to put to death the lusts of the flesh (Matthew 5:29; Romans 13:14; Colossians 3:5). God will not make that decision for him. The believer can choose to let his mind wander down paths of vanity, or he can choose to mortify the vain impressions through the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ and thus taste of New Covenant liberation. The gaze by which he looks unto Christ is always deliberate (John 8:32, 36; II Corinthians 3:17).

When the believer purposes in his heart to live for God, two powers – two laws – begin squaring off within the battlefield of his vessel (Romans 7:19-23; 8:2). As the believer walks in the Spirit’s light, a power is granted which enables him to overcome the whole world, along with every allurement of his selfish flesh and all the atheistic arguments of his carnal intellect, of the love of money and soul-depression, of high-mindedness and the boastful pride of life, of fear and anxiety, of explosions of anger and impatience, of the lust of the eyes, and any other quality of Satan which seeks to usurp God’s authority. Take away the Holy Spirit’s light – even for a moment – and darkness immediately returns to fill the void (Luke 11:34; John 15:4-6).

Yielding to this darkness eclipses the light of God in his vessel and puts the believer under the oppression of a stronghold. It is not a matter of merely suppressing the outward workings of sin which constitutes victory in the life of a Christian. The Lord is able to change our inner wirings to where we are loathe to consider even the faintest impulse of ungodliness in the sanctuary of the new heart.

This divine impartation is where unconverted religious people and the psychological systems of men are at a fatal disadvantage to the real Christian. Without the grace of the New Covenant, the best efforts of men are doomed to the twin shams of either religious legalism or secular humanism.

The repellant power of the Holy Spirit against sin is akin to a beam of light. Within its influence, the power of flesh is banished, the temporal things of earth grow vain and absurd, and Satan runs for his life from the man or woman whose opposition to him comes from walking within that eternal beam (I John 4:4; 5:4-5).

Brother Paul

paul im not sure if you posted this in response to reading those links i gave you regarding , what i feel was word from god ,and an exortation linked to it

brother i fully agree with what you post here

as you said scince calvary ,now it is posable to cover sinfull habits so to speak ,by them being coverd by new files which are sprinkeld by the blood ,,,, what i feel is the main foundation file is that we are to reckon our selfs dead to sin ,,if one died than all have died ,,we have been married to another through the death of the son ,,we have died to the law of sin and death ,,,,,

being reunited daily with this truth and medtation on this and the death its self of the son,,we die daily ,and our concences are cleansed from old sins ,and we exprence more of the fulness of the power of the blood to set us free ,,,,,,brother i relise this can only be done through the spirit ,,as you said this gaze must be deliberat

just feel one of the tools of the holy spirit is this gaze or stare at the suffering of the son and the blood combined with undertsanding of what it acomlished ,,

brother i agree with you fully

but would yoube so kind to tell me did you post this in responce to reading those links i gave you ,,if so i think you may be slightly mis understanding me probable due to my weak expression of what i feel the lord was saying to me or us ,,,,,the whole core of the season of sepration ,is to live the death daily ,,,,,,,do this in rememerence of me ,,,,and the other link the greatest question ,,is a focas on dieing to the world and its atractions for a season ,to recieve a greater blessing or porshen of spirit ,wher by we are able to contine to die to the world in a greater measure due to becomeing more christ like

blessings

let us go to him out side the camp bareing his reproch

No dear brother. I haven't read your links yet, but I will. This was just something I posted from my book. No connection.

God bless,

Paul

sorry brother ,,,i saw such a contex conection with this post , i yea thought ,yea well ,sorry brother

its just every body seems to be ignoring it

i thought you might not want to talk to me directly about it and this was your way of telling me you didnt agree with it

i was hopeing greg might judge it as well

i had one mature brother judged it
but 2 or 3 , shall every word be esblished

blessings

Hi! PaulWest
The content of this Post was excellent! Very enlightening.
Thanks! It's these kinna' Posts that makes my visiting here all the more worthwhile.

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Living the Daily Death
by PaulWest on 2012/6/2 10:15:05
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Hi Paul,

Thanks for these thoughts. Important truth that we need to co-operate with, be filled and led by the Holy Spirit or we will not overcome the flesh.

Can you give any practical examples of where you have applied these priciples, as I think that would be helpful and encouraging.

Thanks,

Amen, great post

Can you give any practical examples of where you have applied these priciples, as I think that would be helpful and encouraging.

The key is in mortifying the advancement before it can establish a stronghold in the heart. For this offensive we need to collaborate with the Holy Spirit. Our collaborative effort, through the faithful humbling of ourselves, brings the grace to overcome. The key is not in fighting the impulse through willpower, but in ceasing to fight.

This is why so many Christians continue to fail. They fight the onslaught when they should simply stand in Christ's already-won conquest. Instead of fighting, when a pornographic dart sails your way, you should cry out to the Father like a child. Through the holy blood of Christ you can boldly importune God for the grace to quench the dart's fire and shield your mind. If you do this, He will grant it to you immediately - and you will enter into your New Covenant birthright of victory and power by virtue of Jesus Christ's eternal dominion over the power of sin and hell.

It is a glorious victory! And it is for you and me! Through the death of self, Christ manifests His conquering life through us. God has already put us in Him; it is now our business to collaborate with God and reckon ourselves dead to sin but alive unto Him through His Risen Son.

Hallelujah a thousand times!

Brother Paul

What do you mean by 'ceasing to fight'?

Are there any biblical verses which is helpful in illuminating this point?

What do you mean by 'ceasing to fight'?

Christians lose this war because they keep trying to fight spiritual forces with weapons of flesh and reason. These two are incongruous to each other; they do not mix. When you try to fight spirit with flesh you get legalism. Thus, the first step to victory - true victory - is to "stop" trying to fight the power of sin through natural means. God's way is the answer: let Christ's strength fight it for you.

What struggle is there with light overcoming darkness? A beam of light instantly banishes darkness by virtue of a law. A falcon can glide over a canyon due to the law of aerodynamics overcoming the opposing law of gravity. There is no fight on the falcon's behalf. It's the same with overcoming sin - there is no fight when a man or woman is walking in the Spirit. The fight is in entering the Spirit. The flesh resists, the world opposes, Satan harasses. The eagle pumps its wings higher and higher, fighting gravity, to reach a height to where a rising thermal can finally sustain it. Once in the thermal - in the Spirit - overcoming is effortless. This law of 'aerodynamics' for the Christian is found in Romans 8:2: The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. In other words, the law of the "Life of Christ".

Are there any biblical verses which is helpful in illuminating this point?

Hope this helps.

Brother Paul

Amen Brother PaulWest

RE PaulWest wrote: "quote]Are there any biblical verses which is helpful in illuminating this point?
All the verses that speak of Christ's life becoming our own. Off the top of my head: John 15:7; Galatians 2:20; 5:16; Philippians 1:21; Colossians 3:3."

I think Romans 6 might be helpful also attacking Sin by Faith in the opperation of Gods promises and not by our own might.

While we are on the topic of death:

Multiple Deaths

With manifold trials, tribulations, and spiritual mourning resulting from the slow death of self-abnegation, any mature believer can tell you that this world is beset with pain and persecution for the follower of Christ. Satan manufactures cheap pleasures through the carnal entertainment of illicit sex, sports-idolatry, gluttony, self-image and money to divert millions of souls from seeking the spiritual reality of God’s Kingdom – leading to eternal perdition in the outer darkness. Hence, there is a death that delivers from the world, and a death that occurs because of the world. In other words: the death in Adam that occurs "because of" sin and the death in Christ that delivers us "from" sin (see John 15:18-20; 16:33; Acts 14:22; II Timothy 3:12; I Thessalonians 3:3; I Peter 2:19-23; 4:12-13).

Most Christians occupy themselves with only the first death; that is, how to prevent their mortal flesh from expiring within the world. A vast amount of Christian preaching and ministry revolves around the preservation of flesh and an avoidance of pain in Adam, and, as result, a profound reluctance to embrace the true death proffered upon us in Christ is established in the soul. It is only after accepting the spiritual reality of our own deaths in Christ that God begins ushering us through the halls of self-denial and its subsequent suffering in the flesh to the cessation of sin (Matthew 16:25; I Peter 4:1).

If the believer chooses the Adamic death, Satan ushers him through a different kind of suffering via the fulfillment of the affections and lusts of the flesh. We are faced each day with this decision, and we must choose wisely the death for which we are to partake. A double-minded man blurs the two deaths, and thus experiences double the pain (James 1:8). He is a most wretched and lamentable creature, for he endures affliction from both camps. God’s great aim in mortification is to have us be followers of Christ in all similitude of not only His life, but His death as well.

Notice that Christ on the cross died so quickly that even the heathen marveled (Mark 15:44). He refused to fight to prolong His life, in contrast to the two thieves who bookended Him on Golgotha. We’ve heard many sermons on Christ being our example in life, but how many sermons have we heard on Him being our example in death? Before we can experience the life of sin-triumphant resurrection power, we must first experience the correct flesh-death in similar fashion. A cross of self-denial looms before all who deign to follow God’s Son outside the gates of the Jerusalem. We must embrace it; we must walk down the correct hallway that leads to the correct antechamber of self-death. Though we have been crucified with Christ, our eyes must be opened to the revelation of this truth so that we can live out this death in the actual power of the Holy Spirit.

In following the example of our Lord who went on into death before us, our dying to self should be also done expeditiously. The world around us should marvel in the quake of our final expiration! And like the two thieves who yet lingered in life beside the deceased Lord, we too can expect God to send the leg-breakers to hasten our doom if we continue to prolong our lives in the flesh (John 19:32-33).
The reason we don’t hear much preaching and teaching on the holy art of mortification and death is because very few believers have actually plumbed the depths of this realm and have come out the other side with power over sin and resurrection victory.

Christianity today instead teaches believers to seek an experience of some kind by which they might attain perfection minus mortification. In the end, however, it is the daily death of an inner crucifixion which alone can prevail and accomplish the highest good for which God purposes for our lives. If this crucifixion does not occur; that is, if we are not hastening toward it, actively seeking it, and allowing God to burden and propel all our waking moments in its direction, it matters not how much we participate in our local assemblies, study theological concepts, or listen to the finest preaching the world has to offer. We will be forever stunted, forever spinning our wheels in the muck of theories and paper Christianity.

Until we learn to crucify our own self-will through the power of God, we shall be very much alive and miserable. Ask yourself this: is the yearning for the death of your self-will stronger than the urge to remain an autonomous creature (Ecclesiastes 7:1)? Which variant holds the sweeter prospect when presented to your soul?

It was said that before his execution, Sir Walter Raleigh asked to see the axe that would behead him. When he saw it, he commented that such a sharp medicine was the cure for all disease and misery. God will see to it that we learn to embrace, to welcome this death. As we sit condemned in the cold dungeons of our own Adamic flesh, we too ought to ask to see the blessed instrument of our own execution. Must we suffer perpetual subjection to the lusts of our rebellious flesh and to the thoughts of our depraved minds? No, one thousand times! Mortification (or self-denial) through the Holy Spirit is God’s sharp medicine to cure all our misery.

Unfortunately, instead of teaching believers to seek death through mortification, carnal preaching today rallies them to beseech the executioner for clemency. This is grievous error. The message that God is pro-death whereas contemporary Christianity is pro-life will at once alienate you from the rest of the organized structure, but it must be taught nonetheless. We seek not to impress men, but to set them free from the slavery of sin.

All of our troubles, defeats, embarrassments, failings, strivings, factions and unrest spring from one single source: from a refusal to allow the Spirit of God to work His mortifying influence upon us.

Brother Paul

Thank you, Paul, for the thorough reply. I'd like some prayer on this matter too - thanks!

there is no fight when a man or woman is walking in the Spirit. The fight is in entering the Spirit. The flesh resists, the world opposes, Satan harasses. The eagle pumps its wings higher and higher, fighting gravity, to reach a height to where a rising thermal can finally sustain it. Once in the thermal - in the Spirit - overcoming is effortless. This law of 'aerodynamics' for the Christian is found in Romans 8:2: The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. In other words, the law of the "Life of Christ".

I believe the Lord is teaching me that this fight in entering the Spirit is one that occurs in prayer and fasting, honestly wrestling with God there in the closet.

Just as Jesus dealt with everything He needed to deal with in the wilderness before starting His ministry, and in Gethsemane before climbing the hill to the Cross, we must fight the battle in prayer and come out with the same confidence that Jesus walked in. It's got to be real prayer, just like Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, "Father I can't do this, but Your will be done!"

In Christ,

Ron