The present dispensation of grace began with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and will continue until the end of the great tribulation (Acts 2:1-4; Revelation 16:1-21). During this age, believers will continue struggling through the conflict between following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the desire to fulfill our fleshly desires. Confession of sin will be an essential part of our spiritual lives (1 John 1:5-10). We will practice baptism of new converts to show our identification with Christ, and we will continue to partake of The Lord’s Supper in which we remember the life and death of Christ symbolized by the bread and wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We will rely on the Holy Spirit to accomplish all that God intends to accomplish in this dispensation. We will serve others through the spiritual gifts we receive (Romans 12:3-8). We will press on with purpose and meaning, even knowing that in the end, the Church will fail to convert the mass of humanity (Revelation 16:10-11). We will witness the infiltration of false teachers and spiritually blinded members to the church. The false church will grow exponentially and the antichrist will unite the world in purported peace (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
The present struggle is divinely designed to stimulate the spiritual growth of individual believers. This begins with the understanding of an Apostolic doctrine regarding spiritual baptism. The believer and Christ are inseparable because of a spiritual union. This association is described as a co-death and co-resurrection with Christ. In a true spiritual sense, believers have been crucified, buried, and resurrected along with Christ. To begin to understand the meaning of Christ’s resurrection, the believer must accept the reality of this relationship. We will reference the inspired words of the Apostle Paul.
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:3-11
The contemporary style of believer’s baptism by immersion is often used to describe how believers were included with Christ in His death and resurrection. As a believer stands and makes a profession of faith, he is then laid down under the water as if dead, and raised up out of the water, as if resurrected. This symbolizes a complete change. We must recognize that as dramatic as the physical act of baptism may be, and as large of a change as it may indicate, it merely symbolizes what has happened spiritually. Upon belief of the gospel, the Holy Spirit enters (indwells) our bodies; He sanctifies us to be simultaneously spiritually baptized into Christ. By means of this spiritual baptism, we become intimately joined to Christ.
The believer’s union with the indwelling Spirit; his oneness with Christ; and sonship with the Father will never be broken. The security of our salvation is sure since it is based on the Word of God. Nevertheless, the believer is encouraged to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). To that end, we will continue to explore some enlightening illustrations provided for our benefit. These figures illustrate the unity of Christ to believers in our dispensation. Reflection on such matters will prove to be invaluable in times of sin and doubt. An educated believer is a fruitful believer. Knowledge cancels out fear as light displaces darkness.
1. Christ is the Head; believers are the body (Colossians 1:18; cf. Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-29; and 1 Corinthians 11:3). This figure is remarkable as it takes a complex relationship and compares it to something even a child can understand, the human body. The head is the source of direction and intelligence. However, the head is incomplete without the body. The individual believers collectively comprise the body which makes all of them dependent on the same head. The unity of this relationship is obvious.
God has brilliantly orchestrated an abundance of examples from our natural world to illustrate spiritual truths; none is as fundamental as Christ and believers as one body.
2. Christ is the Vine; believers are the branches (John 15:1-17). The emphasis in this figure is on the importance of being connected to a life source. Fruit is formed on the branches, but not without a nourishing connection to the vine. Christ supplies all we need to bear spiritual fruit: e.g., compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love (Colossians 3:12-14). As a branch must rely on the vine to bear fruit, so also the believer must rely on Christ to love others. An added element to this figure is God the Father who administers effective disciplinary action for believers who are unfruitful. As a master gardener strategically prunes to increase healthy yields, so also God is involved attaining all that He desires in each one of His beloved children.
3. Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride (Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 19:6-9). In this unique example, the believers together comprise the figure of the bride. Christ has demonstrated his love for the church by paying the full redemption price to free us from the bondage of sin. He demonstrates His loving attention by cleansing us through the washing of the Word (Ephesians 5:26-27). He has left to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). We are anxiously awaiting our heavenly life with our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. This figure effectively incorporates all that Christ has done, is doing and will do for believers. We are assured that Christ will return and we will reign with Him eternally (Revelation 22:1-17).
The love of Christ was unrevealed without an object of affection with whom to demonstrate His love. Christ’s love for the Church prompted Him to share the accomplishment of great things through them. Christ promised that the believers would do greater things than he did personally in his earthly ministry. The potential of this spiritual relationship is infinite!
The preceding examples from Scripture are more than sufficient to communicate our union with Christ. Our position, as believers, is secure. Our security does not depend on our effort or endurance, but on the infinite power, love, and promise of God. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul rejoices in God’s love for us: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).
Next Section: Spiritual Gifts
Table of Contents: The Last Adam
Text for this post has been borrowed from my Kindle eBook The Last Adam (Book 1 of the Grace and Knowledge Series), by Brother Woody Brohm. Copyright 2012.
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