I WANT to get right to our consideration at hand, but first a couple of things.
THE author uses the term “reckon” a lot. This is biblical term that we don’t see a lot of or use all that much in modern discussions. It means, “to count it as so.” In the original languages it can be read as an accounting term, making an account of.
NEXT, I recall when I first encountered the particular teaching presented here, thinking this a quick fix to the struggle with sin and the lack of progress in personal sanctification in one’s life. In fact, there is a whole branch of Christian understanding called “higher life” teaching that holds the power of reckoning as part of its base and approach to sins solution. The fact is – there are no quick fixes or short cuts in the process of sanctification. Oh yes, there are times of victory over particular sins and personal struggles that we should expect and rejoice in. And yes, one of the undeniable effects of Christ’s work on the cross is that sin will not have dominion over us (Rom. 6); He has indeed delivered us from both the penalty and the power of sin, and in time from the presence of sin when we enter into eternity. But we need to be discerning in rightly understanding God’s Word (2Tim 2:15). There are many battles in the long-range warfare of personal sanctification as we press on in the on-going process of conformity to Christ. Reckoning is another “faith aspect” of seeing the complete and finished work of Christ in redemption accomplished and applied; the putting off of the old man and putting on of the new (Eph. 4:22-24). This progressive process never ceases, and what is described below is a continuing, repeating continuum in our quest for the realities of Christ in our life. And of course, this is where providence and perseverance come into the picture as well.
SO, with that, let’s press forward in our review of Identification and subsequence Growth in Christ.
IN the joy of the Lord,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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Chapter 24—Identification and Growth – Part 3
That which we reckon in our position becomes experiential in our condition. As we count ourselves to have died unto sin on the cross, the effect of that cross is applied by the Spirit to the sinful self-life. “For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake…” (2 Cor. 4:11). Self is crucified, held in the place of death, as we are led into sacrificial paths for His glory. As self is thus dealt with by the cross, our condition reflects progressively the facts of our position in Christ. “…That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11).
Condition
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from [the power of] sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Rom. 6:17, 18). Our daily experience can be no more true than the doctrine we hold, and by which we are held.
The steps would be as follows: (1) We finally see and understand our position, our identification with Christ in having died unto the dominion of sin and been made alive unto God in Him. (2) We become aware of the need to be separated in our condition from self and unto Christ. (3) We then exercise faith in the completed work of our position by reckoning upon the facts of our death and resurrection in Christ. (4) On the basis of this faith, the Holy Spirit is free to translate the truth of our position into our daily condition.
The Spirit of Christ is extremely practical in His operations. He uses everyday means in bringing our positional sanctification into our experience. As we reckon upon the fact of self’s crucifixion, He conveys the effect of that finished work into our lives through daily circumstances. Due to our weakness and sinfulness, He is able to utilize situations and human relationships to show us what we are in ourselves. We are thereby faced with the choice: self, or Christ. If we count ourselves to have died unto sin and self, the emancipation of the cross is experienced within. And as we abide in the Lord Jesus, knowing ourselves to be alive unto God in Him, He is free to manifest Himself more fully in our condition. This is spiritual growth. The “works” of the flesh are curtailed, the “fruit” of the Spirit is revealed. “For to me to live is Christ…” (Phil. 1:21).
“…Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains by itself alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit” (John 12:24 NASB). This statement of the principle of life out of death applies primarily to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Grain of Wheat who refused to abide alone as God’s only begotten Son, but gave Himself at Calvary to become the “firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). Since He died and rose again, thereby bringing forth “much fruit,“ and that harvest being after His kind, our lives as similar grains of wheat are based upon the same principle of life out of death.
No matter how self-contained and comfortable our Christian life may be, there is bound to develop a deep heart-hunger to see others become grains of wheat. The Lord Jesus “shall see his seed … He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied” (Isa. 53:10–11). His heart-hunger is expressed through Paul: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be fanned in you” (Gal. 4:19). And the Spirit of Christ yearns in our hearts that the Lord Jesus may gain a rich and lasting harvest of golden grain through us.
This entire life-out-of-death process is directly related to our reckoning upon our position of life out of death. …….to be continued
