Wednesday, April 6, 2011

"A long time Ago"

I am thinking that one thing that makes the word 'Ago' so complex, is not the fixed things or the things that are in question, but the things which are flesh and the things that are of the Spirit. Prior to our new inheritance in Christ, we all were the product of another inheritance, one that was of the flesh; making it so we were born into sin. This was our previous state, but not what we had chosen for ourselves; rather, what we had been born into because of the sin of one man, Adam. And yet, the thing that continued this inheritance to be handed down through the ages was the flesh. Which was the reason for Jesus to come in the form of the flesh; that through His obedience to the Spirit, yet, while in the flesh, He could establish the way to put an end to that old inheritance of the flesh, and of sin; creating a new inheritance of the Spirit, and of Life. So then, where the complexity comes into play, is that we are gifted with this new life in the Spirit, yet living also with the things of the flesh. The old inheritance of the flesh was to be put to death, wasn't it? Then why is it still hanging around? or is it? This is where that word 'Led' comes into the picture, because there are two forces at work here; one which is of the flesh, and one which is of the Spirit; and get this: one is dead and temporary, while the other is alive and eternal; go figure, how it is that the dead and temporary one, finds a way to become alive and relevant. But this is the point to what Paul is trying to make in Romans 8:14; by using the word 'Ago' to describe that direction we are to move in, he places the force within that direction out of our control; while at the same time, expressing that the control of the force, is based upon our direction. In other words; when we are walking in the Spirit, then the Spirit has control of our lives, and we are freely living a life that reflects Jesus Christ; but the key to walking in the Spirit, is to be living in and towards the new inheritance, and not the old one, which is dead... "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

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