Biblical teaching - T116

The Power of the Preaching of the Cross

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In verse 10, Paul adds : "And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, who is everlasting Life, living within us. The Lord has quickened our spirits, filling them with the Life of God who is within us, because of that righteousness that has been granted to us. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11).

Paul begins by saying : "Your bodies are dead on account of sin, you are still burdened with a mortal body that has not yet been raised from the dead. But your spirits, which you have received from Jesus, are alive within you and are filled with the Life of God. What’s more, we have the Holy Spirit living in us."

What has the Holy Spirit done ? He has raised Jesus from the dead. The very thought of that is amazing! The body of the Lord Jesus had been dead for three days and three nights. His blood no longer ran through His veins. Had physicians examined Him and taken an electroencephalogram, they would have come up with a flat line. The diagnosis would have been simple : "This is a dead man !". Then the Holy Spirit comes and brings Jesus’ dead body back to life ! All his bodily functions are restored to life. Resurrection Life is manifested in His physical body, now transformed and glorified ! Death has been swallowed up by immortality and Resurrection !

Paul adds : "That selfsame Holy Spirit lives in you. He will restore life to your mortal body". That has a twofold meaning : first, He will heal you sicknesses and your infirmities, while you are still awaiting Resurrection. Then when Resurrection day comes, he will give you a glorious body that will live for ever.

Already in our bodies we have that Holy Spirit of Resurrection, who is alive within us and wants to give us all the strength we need till Jesus returns, till the Resurrection comes. Even in weakness and under persecution, even in tribulation, in prison, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us, we shall receive supernatural strength to accomplish all that Jesus wants us to accomplish on this earth, till the end of our pilgrimage.

"He will give life to your mortal bodies." Why ? Because He is the Spirit of Resurrection ! Because Jesus has borne our sicknesses and our infirmities, just as He also bore our sins and our iniquities. The whole of our former life has been swallowed up by Jesus’ death : our sin, our illnesses, and death. If we trust the Spirit of Resurrection who dwells within us, we can be assured that God will maintain us in good condition till Jesus comes. If ever we become sick, the Lord has an abundant provision of healing for us, because he bore our sicknesses and wants to heal us, and He has given us the evidence of that in His Word and throughout His earthly ministry.

How amazing God’s grace to us is : He has made of us living tabernacles for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Resurrection and of Life ! He has made ample provision for us to walk in holiness every day of our lives, and do His will until He returns.

If we trust in what Jesus has accomplished on the Cross, we know that in Him there is the answer to all our problems, healing for all our sicknesses and infirmities, and deliverance from every crushing weight on our lives. Everything was accomplished by Jesus on the Cross! This same Jesus lives within us through His Holy Spirit ! He wants to fill us with His everlasting Life, and has the power to do so. Are we going to believe it, and see it come to pass ? "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth ?" (Luke 18:8).

There is power in the Cross. It is the power of God ! It is on the Cross that everything was accomplished, that everything was dealt with. Jesus came and crossed out our past lives ! Will the message of the Cross still be preached when Jesus returns, or will it have been replaced by those traditions and teachings of men that disfigure Jesus’ work, distort and minimise it, preventing the Lord from doing His perfect will in us ? The Word of God has already given us a clear answer. As the end-times draw closer, obviously the message of the Cross in its fullness will be preached less and less frequently. We must not allow ourselves to be deluded : that is what we can see wherever we look. Paul said : "The falling away comes first." (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

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