Glorious Death

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  -2 Corinthians 4:7

I hardly know where to begin this thought – the beauty of death. The glory of what is revealed into our spirits should we put to death that which is of our flesh. There is so much talk of this concept in Christianity, but so little amount of people that applicably display such a lifestyle as Paul described when he wrote that he was, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

Paul wrote again and again to the Corinthian church about a very touchy subject within the church: Carnal Christians. These are those of us who have been born again, but live in their old man; those who have received the Spirit of God, but walk according to their own mind, will, and emotions. The Word of God was given to us that it may “divide soul and spirit,” that there may be no confusion in what is of God and what is of our Flesh (that is our mind, emotions, soul, and body).

I do not deem that it is necessary to explain the concept of “dying to self” that has been so exalted within the teachings of most of the Church. Denying self is a concept that thousands of people accept – Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and even Agnostics understand the importance of the death of our own desires that life may be given to another area. If there is some confusion around this concept, I would encourage reading Paul’s letters to the Corinthians – and listen for his rebukes against self and his exhortations to pursue spiritual life.

Having said this, my desire is to bring up those areas in which I was ignorant of my own self-destruction prior to the enlightening of the Holy Spirit. Let us not be deceived – self cannot serve God. The Almighty Creator of the Universe, although All-Powerful, has no desire of empowering your flesh to serve God! Jesus died on the cross, and with Him, our flesh also died! In the resurrection, the Father did not give life to our dead souls; God forbid lest we be forever trapped in this body of sin! Rather, God gave life to our spirits inside of us, that our souls would submit to the direction of His Spirit so that we could actually follow God!

Something the Lord recently enlightened me of was my own inability to serve Him. How often have I caught myself teaching because I have the ability in my flesh to explain concepts, reasoning over scripture because I’m good at analytical thinking, ministering to a certain type of people group because I relate well to them, leading worship because I’m good at guitar! Woe is me! How often do I teach in the flesh instead of imparting the life-giving Word of God through the power of the Spirit under his control? How often do I read the Bible without begging for the Spirit to bring interpretation to me? How often do I witness or refuse to speak because of my own feelings of comfort and fear? How often do I praise God out of my emotions or my logic instead of worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth!

We attempt to process so much of what is spiritual through the means of that which is carnal; and although many of us may experience good things, we fail to experience God things! We go on throughout our daily lives and instead of bearing about the death of Jesus to our souls, we live, move, eat, and breathe according to our souls, not according to our Spirits! And yet, even as I write this – many believers will feel convicted in their spirits, yet conduct numerous scenarios in their minds of how they may overcome carnality! How truly wicked are we! How deep and indebted in our sin have we become! Let us humble ourselves, let us submit to the Spirit of promise, let us be free from the captivity of carnality and experience the free life of the Spirit!

Shall we reach a lost world for Christ? Shall we impart life to those who are dying? Shall we lead lives of holiness and righteousness before God? Let us die to our emotions, and live according to the truth of God! Let us lay down our logic and reasoning and experience the intimacy with the Spirit in our decision making! Let us place aside our self, our people-pleasing, and our comforts and embrace the death and life of Jesus that we impart the same life we have received! For them that will hear, let them hear the good news of Jesus.