Search
Scripture Reading: Rom. 8:3, 9-10, 34; John 1:14; 14:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17; Heb. 2:14; Eph. 2:15, 22
Romans 8:3 says, “That which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” This verse shows that Christ died on the cross to condemn sin. We should not think that it is good enough just to be redeemed from sin. This sin also has to be put to death.
Sin is personified. It has some living element in it. Sin is the embodiment of Satan. The embodiment of God is Christ. Satan imitated God to have an embodiment, and Satan’s embodiment is called sin in the Bible. Thus, in Romans 7 sin is a person. Sin, the embodiment of Satan, dwells in us, kills us, defeats us, and lords it over us. In Romans 8 Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin for the purpose of condemning sin. Sin is a robber. Surely God has to condemn this robbing one. Sin is a living person, the very person of the evil one.
Satan got into man’s flesh. He was clever, but God is more clever than he is. God could have said, “Satan, you got into the body I created for man and took possession of it. You have been enjoying it as your dwelling place, but now it has become your trap.” We may use a mousetrap as an illustration of this. The mouse might have thought he was clever to get the bait, but eventually he became trapped and could not run away. Our flesh was used by God as a trap for Satan. Satan was like a mouse running freely in this universe. One day, however, he became trapped in the flesh.
After he was trapped in the flesh, the Son of God became flesh. We may say that the Word became a man and that God was manifested in a man, but the Bible does not say it in this way. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh, and 1 Timothy 3:16 says that God was manifested in the flesh. Satan took the flesh as his dwelling place, but the Lord came and brought this dwelling place, the flesh, to the cross. God condemned the personified sin by becoming flesh and carrying the flesh to the cross.
By His death on the cross, Christ destroyed the devil (Heb. 2:14). Satan stirred up the Jewish people and the Roman soldiers to put Jesus on the cross, but when he did this, he was helping to nail his dwelling place, the flesh, on the cross. He did not realize that by doing this, he was helping the Lord to put him to death. Satan was in the flesh, and Christ crucified this flesh on the cross to destroy the devil.
Although the Bible says that Christ became flesh, we need to realize that according to the Bible, He was only in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3), and He did not have the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). John 3:14 tells us that Christ was lifted up on the cross as a serpent, not a serpent of poison but a serpent of bronze. The bronze serpent surely had the same form as the serpent of poison, but it did not have the poison. Christ was in the likeness of the serpent, the likeness of the flesh of sin. The Bible tells us that when He was crucified there, we were also crucified with Him (Gal. 2:20a). We also need to realize that even Satan was crucified on the cross with Him. When Christ was hanging on the cross, in the eyes of God, He was not only in the form of man but also in the form of a serpent. The serpent and man had become one, so to be in the form of man is to be in the form of the serpent.
We need to realize that all of us are little serpents. Many times the husbands and wives appear as serpents to each other. The Lord rebuked the Pharisees by calling them serpents and a brood of vipers (Matt. 23:33). The Lord Jesus not only died on the cross instead of us to redeem us; He also died there with us. When He died there with us, He died there with Satan. He died on the cross with the human nature, and in this way He destroyed the devil. We all have to praise God for His sovereign wisdom. Satan thought he received the profit by entering into man’s flesh, but he did not know that he put himself into a trap. One day the Son of God came to be that trap in form, and He brought this trap to the cross.
No human word is adequate to fully explain this. It is too great and too mysterious. But the Bible does speak of this in Romans 8:3, John 3:14, and Hebrews 2:14. In the flesh Christ dealt with the flesh. In the flesh Christ dealt with sin. In the flesh Christ dealt with Satan. Judicially speaking, in God’s governmental administration the flesh with sin, with death, and with Satan has been fully crushed.
You may ask me why this flesh still remains with us when it has been dealt with and crushed. This is because it still has some usage for God. Judicially speaking, it is over, but practically speaking, it is still needed. It is not needed for God but needed for you, to force you to turn to your spirit. God is sitting on the throne judicially, and the troublesome flesh of His chosen people has been dealt with judicially. In His government there is not such a thing. But practically, all His children, while they are still on this earth, need this troublesome flesh to help them to turn to Christ.
There is no such thing as good flesh. Just as there is not good dung and bad dung, there is not good flesh and bad flesh. Flesh is just flesh. When we are bothered by the flesh and forced to turn to the spirit, God is happy with us. You may have thought that after you believed in Christ, everything would be wonderful. But after a period of time, you may have become the most miserable person. You may even wish that you had never become a Christian. You may want to forsake Christ. But thank the Lord that once you get caught by the Lord, you are caught forever. In one sense, to be a Christian is a joyful thing, but in another sense, we are not very happy. What shall we do? Whether we are happy or not, we are here.
In the meetings we may be really happy, but are we happy when we get back home in our daily life? To be in a conference is like being on the mountaintop with the Lord Jesus, but to go back home is to go back to the valley. When we come to the meetings, we are coming up, but when we go back home after the meetings, we are going down. What should we do? We should not be disappointed. We need a proper realization of the Christian life. We should not dream that everything is wonderful in the Christian life. My burden is to wake you up from this dream. Do not dream anymore. We have to realize that while we are still on this earth, we need the help of the flesh to force us to turn to Christ in our spirit.
Christ died on the cross to deal with the flesh and condemn sin. In one sense, He was put into death. In another sense, He walked into death. He took a tour by traveling through death, but death could not hold Him. He walked out of death and walked into resurrection. In one sense, He was resurrected. In another sense, He resurrected Himself because He is life. In resurrection He was transfigured into another form. He was transfigured from the form of flesh to the form of the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17).
Romans 8:3 says that He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. But today according to verse 10, He is no longer in the flesh. Verse 10 says that Christ is in us! When He was in the form of the flesh, He was on the cross, but today He is within us. He is not in the form of the flesh anymore, but He is the life-giving Spirit.
He was in the flesh for thirty-three and a half years. John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh. While He was in the flesh, He was the Lamb of God (v. 29). In John 14 He told the disciples that He was going to be another Comforter. He was a Comforter in the flesh, and He was going to be another One as the Spirit (vv. 16-17). Then He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (vv. 18-20). This word has been fulfilled in Romans 8:10, which says that Christ is now in us. Our Christ today is no longer on the cross; He is in us. On the cross He was in the flesh. In us He is the Spirit. He is now in our spirit. He condemned and dealt with our flesh. He has also come into our spirit to transform it with glory and to make our spirit the most wonderful thing in this universe. Christ dwells today in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22).
Hebrews 2:14 says that He destroyed Satan through His death. Ephesians 2:15 says that in His flesh on the cross, He abolished, destroyed, the law of the commandments in ordinances. In the flesh on the cross, Christ did a destroying, abolishing, annulling, and killing work. In our spirit His work is absolutely different. It is a building up, raising up, and strengthening work to make our spirit the most wonderful place in the whole universe. Ephesians 2:15 speaks of His abolishing work on the cross in the flesh, whereas verse 22 says that our spirit is now God’s dwelling place. We are being built into a dwelling place of God in our spirit. Now something positive is being built. This is the building up of God’s dwelling place in our spirit.
We all have to see that judicially the flesh is over because it was dealt with by Christ on the cross, but it still remains with us because of our Father’s wisdom. Whether we are happy or unhappy, the flesh helps us to turn to Christ in the spirit and have no more confidence in the flesh. In this sense, we can be thankful for the flesh. But we are also disgusted with and afraid of the flesh. We must be alert all the time to turn to our spirit. The Lord does not care for whether or not we have a victory. The Lord cares for only one thing — that we gain Christ. Because we are afraid of the flesh, we turn to our spirit and gain Christ.
At the end of our spiritual journey, the Lord will not say, “Child, you were so good. You have gained many victories.” Jacob lived over a hundred years, but how many victories did he get? It is hard for us to find a victory in his life. He had many defeats. He was subtle, striving, and supplanting. He was a heel holder. But in all his defeats and striving, Jacob gained more of God. Eventually, he was transformed, so his name was changed from Jacob, the supplanter, to Israel, the prince of God.
God does not care for victory. Do not listen to the teachings of Christianity which say that you have to be a victor. Whether you will be a victor or not, I do not know, but I do know that the Lord wants you to gain Him more. The Lord’s goal is not to let you have the victory. His goal is that Christ may be gained by you and that Christ be more and more wrought into you.
Through all the defeats, through all the failures, through all the bad experiences with your wife, husband, children, and the dear saints around you, day by day you are gradually gaining more of Christ. You may expect to have wonderful elders in the church, but instead they may disappoint you. But the more you are disappointed with the elders, the more you are helped to turn to the spirit. Do not look at the elders. Look at Christ in your spirit. Do not turn to the elders. Turn to your spirit and gain more of Christ. The wives should not consider what kind of husbands they have, nor should the husbands consider what kind of wives they have. Instead, we all need to turn to the spirit and gain Christ. This is all that God cares for. On the one hand, we are happy because our flesh has been crushed. On the other hand, we are unhappy because the flesh will remain with us until the day of our maturity. When we are fully matured, we can say goodbye to the flesh and thank it for its help.
We must see that Christ became two things. First, He became flesh. Second, He became the Spirit. He became the flesh to crush the flesh and to condemn sin in the flesh, and He became the Spirit to indwell us and become our life. Romans also reveals that Christ is the One who is interceding in the third heaven. Romans 8:34 says, “It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” He became flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. As the One who is now here indwelling us and giving life to us, He is the life-giving Spirit. As the One who is interceding for us, pleading for us in the heavenly court, He is in the third heaven. These are the three major points concerning Christ in Romans 8.
In verse 3 of chapter 8, He was on the cross. In verse 10 He is now in us. In verse 34, while He is here imparting life, He is in the third heaven interceding. We need Him to become flesh; we need Him to be the Spirit; and we need Him interceding for us. We have an all-inclusive Christ. He crushed our flesh and condemned sin in our flesh. He became the Spirit to impart Himself as life to us, to indwell our spirit, and to strengthen our spirit. Also, for fulfilling God’s economy, He needs to pray for us. He is now interceding for us in the heavenly administrative office as the very Advocate (1 John 2:1; Heb. 7:25).
Christ went to the cross, and we went with Him. He came out of the tomb in resurrection, and so did we. He is now in resurrection, and so are we (Eph. 2:6). Today He is in our spirit, and we are walking according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4). While we are walking according to the spirit, He is interceding for us at the right hand of God. The bountiful issue of this is that we will get the help from the flesh but not be bothered by the flesh. We will be absolutely in the spirit.
When we are in our spirit, we are in the heavens. Jacob had a dream in which he saw a ladder set up on earth, the top of which reached to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on this ladder (Gen. 28:12). When he woke up, he said, “This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (v. 17). He called the name of that place Bethel, which means the “house of God” (v. 19). According to Ephesians 2:22, our spirit today is the real Bethel, the house of God. Our spirit is also the gate of heaven. When we turn to our spirit, we are in the third heaven.
Hebrews tells us that we have to come forward to the throne of grace (4:16) and enter into the Holy of Holies (10:22). The throne of grace and the Holy of Holies are in heaven. How can we enter into heaven? We just need to get into our spirit; then we are in heaven because our spirit is the gate of heaven, the entry of heaven. When you get into the spirit, you are in the Holy of Holies.
We can use electricity as an illustration of this. The power plant is far away from the electrical lights in a building, yet these lights are one with the power plant when they are turned on. In a sense, they are in the power plant because they are experiencing the electricity at the power plant. Apparently, we are here on this earth. But actually, we are all in heaven when we turn ourselves to the spirit.
We do not have two Christs — one in our spirit and the other in the third heaven. The One sitting at the right hand of God in the third heaven is the very One in our spirit. The same electricity can be simultaneously in the power plant and in a distant building. In the same way, Christ is in the third heaven interceding for us, and He is also in our spirit. While He is interceding for us, He is talking with us. Many times while we are speaking, He is speaking in our speaking. We are being built into the dwelling place of God in spirit. Our spirit is the gate of heaven.
May the Lord open our eyes to see this. We do not need any admonishing or exhorting to be good. We need the message from Romans 7 and 8 to see how ugly our flesh is. There is nothing good in our flesh, yet it is still here to help us turn to Christ in our spirit. Christ in the likeness of the flesh of sin crushed the sinful flesh. In resurrection He was transfigured into the Spirit. He has come into us and is indwelling our spirit to impart life to us. He is strengthening, supporting, and sustaining us to live a heavenly life on earth. At the same time, He is in the third heaven interceding for us.
After listening to this fellowship, do not make up your mind to do anything. This never works. You have to see the vision concerning the flesh. You have to see a clear view of Christ as the Spirit in your spirit. Do not pray, “From now on, I will make up my mind. I will never walk according to the flesh. I will never lose my temper. I will never be a shame in the eyes of my wife.” That is a satanic prayer in the realm of the tree of good and evil. That is not a prayer by Christ interceding for us. We simply need to turn to the Lord in our spirit. Then He will become more and more real to us. Then we can tell the Lord, “You are my world. You are my kingdom. You are my sphere. You are my realm. Hallelujah, Lord Jesus! You are everything to me.” Then the Lord will be happy, and He will become more to you in your experience for the fulfillment of His economy.
