#498 – The Inner Life, The New Mind, The “New” Life for the Mortal Body

            You Are Not In The Flesh But in the Spirit

            The Mind Set on The Flesh Is Death

November 12, 2011

These should be very familiar terms to anyone who has read or studied the Bible. Many people quote these concepts without knowing what they mean and without experiencing any of these realities. Each of us will have certain doubts about their personal reality in our life. Why should that be true? Because these basic concepts of the Christian life require a different dimension of insight and interpretations even though these things are presented as absolutes. Maybe we can reveal, in some small way, how these things function and in what realms they become real. (Of course I am speculating about some of these things.)

Before we come to the reality of Romans 8, the sequence of the Book of Romans reveals that by this time in the Christian life many of the remedial experiences have been completed. For example: Forgiveness of sins, Crucified with Christ, Death with Christ, Burial with Christ, the Infusion of Resurrection Life, the Consecration in Romans 6 and then experiencing the reality of our utter inability to serve God by any natural means and the total failure of the natural man to do the will of God or even please God! That is what we see in Romans 7. Romans 7 seems to end in condemnation and despair. Romans 8 then begins with a certain encouragement, confidence and hope of victory. We find certain absolutes in Romans 8 that are disturbing to us because they seem so far beyond our experience. However, even though there are absolutes in the context, the big “IF” is present in the context of the absolutes. Example: if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. The “IF” puts a question mark in the absolutes.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Rom 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God: for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so: 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1Cor 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

There are more and more scriptures that appear to me to be “absolutes” and unreconcilable with the experience, the attitude and the behavior we see in the universal church. These things in Romans 8 are certainly presented as “ABSOLUTES” and not as options. To “live in the Spirit”is presented as the “normal Christian Life.” If you think this was just Paul’s opinion you have missed the TRUTH inherent in these verses. The context is based upon this “the Law of the Spirit of Life” and this contrary law that is in conflict with the “life” dimension, “the law of sin and death.” One “law” is related to the Last Adam, Christ Jesus, and the other “law” is related to the first Adam of Genesis 1. It is obvious that we are living either in one law or the other. I am speculating that we must read Romans 8 from within this context and from this premise (the two Laws) to understand what Paul meant by “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” This statement has never made sense because most of the church’s testimony certainly conflicts with and is contrary to this statement.

We speculated about the Tree of Life being the “absolute and continuous source of Life” that is essential to fulfill the Purpose of God. If we understood that The Eternal Christ, the Living Word of God, in whom is the Life of God, because He is God, we could make the application that the Eternal Christ is the Tree of Life that we see on BOTH sides of the River of Life in Revelation 22.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He {The Word} was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, {The Word} and apart from Him {The word} nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him {The Word} was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

It seems reasonable to relate this Eternal Word, which is LIFE, to the Tree of Life, both in the Garden and in the Eternity of Revelation 22. Since He was in the beginning with God and since He, Himself, is God and since ALL things came into being through Him, it is fair and sensible to see the Tree of Life as within Him, the Eternal Christ. IF we were eating continuously from the Living and Abiding Word of God that would certainly provide for us a continuous flow of His Uncreated Life, Zoe. Eating from this “Living Word” is not synonymous with reading the Bible.

John 5:38 “And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.

It is amazing that this same error is with us today after such clear teaching! Many still think and teach that “LIFE” is in the Bible but the Bible is designed to bear witness of Him, the Living Word of God: the Christ who speaks!

Since we have shown from several scripture that the New Inner Man is “Christ in us” and that we, at sometime during our Christian Life, must “live by His Life” it is reasonable to insist that we must live the real Christian Life by living by the Life of Another. I am speculating that “But we have the mind of Christ” is integrally connected to “Christ in us” and is part of the package!

Gal 2:19 “For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. 20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in (of) the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

If this scripture is really true in our actual experience, it is certain that living the experiential Christian Life MUST be lived by His Life and NOT by our former life. (law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.) Our former life was fused to the law of sin and of death. To be free of the “Law” we must be free from the “life” that is connects us to the law. Therefore, we can affirm that the Christian Life experience is actually lived by the HIGHER LIFE of another, even Him who was raised from the dead. In another Romans study we focused upon the fact that we must experience a co-death with Christ [Crucified with Christ] and then a co-burial [in authentic baptism] and then in a Co-Resurrection with Christ so that we can live in a continuous flow of His Uncreated Life in us and through us! It appears that many in the visible church system have not yet escaped from the “law of sin and death.” Why? They have not yet escaped from the old life or the old man! How is this possible in those who faithfully attend a church? Many have been told not to worry about that because the grace covers it. Of course that is a lie according to Romans 7 and 8.

I am assuming the Authentic Christian Life must be lived within the “Law of the Spirit of Life” according to these scriptures. This continuous flow of His Life in us and through us is what I am relating to “Eating Continuously from the Tree of Life.” {Also eating from the Showbread in the Tabernacle by the priesthood} The twelve kinds of fruit, a new fruit each month, corresponds with the Tree of Life seen in the eternity of God and revealed in Revelation 22: 2. This proximity to the Throne of God and to the River of Life and the Lamb’s Book of Life along with the destination of the Bondservants emphasizes and fixes the position of this Zoe Life in God’s Eternal Purpose!

Since man is absolutely helpless to produce this Life and God has determined by His Sovereignty to invest His own Life in Man, the question is this: does God give us the life as a thing received, as a gift, OR has God determined that we should Live by the life of the Eternal Christ in us? This transition from one life to the other may be the deciding factor in whether we are successful in living the authentic Christian Life.

If we have been crucified with Christ (died) and yet we are still active and moving in the earth realm, by what Life are we living? Paul is very clear that we can ONLY be living by the Life of Christ in us. Why? If we have been crucified with Christ, and therefore dead, we must also be buried and if we have been resurrected with Christ there seems to be NO alternative but to Live by the Life of another, even Him who was raised from the dead.

Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.

When we speak about bringing forth a harvest, the subject generally comes up that “a grain of wheat must fall into the earth and die before it can produce a harvest.” This “grain of wheat” is NOT related to baptism and that death with Christ. Neither is it related to “death to sin or death to the flesh” but is directly related to the Eternal Cross Principle and bringing forth fruit for God. This “death” is related to “producing something for God.” Being “joined to Him who was raised from the dead” to bring forth fruit defines the principle and the process and the Life.

Trying to bear “fruit for God” out of the old life is a big waste of time, effort and totally futile and counted as worthless by God. How do we know that? Because, those in the flesh can NEVER please God! Even if you have 1000 in Sunday School by natural, human means this cannot please God. If this is true, it would be profitable to learn what God means by being “in the flesh.” Being in the flesh seems to be the strongest deterrent to the church doing the will of God and fulfilling the purpose of God or even just pleasing God.

Rom 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Paul’s understanding about the death of the body, in the past tense, is disturbing. Why? Because, we really THINK the body is alive now but one day it will die. Here, in the visible realm, being in the body and being in the flesh is the same thing. However, since we have been crucified with Christ the body is dead. God said “the Soul that sins shall surely die” so the sentence of death is upon every man that sins. God has made provision for that “sentence of death” to be carried out at Calvary where each one of us MUST be crucified with Christ. From God’s point of view when He died, WE DIED in Him.

2Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The idea of a whole new creation that is separate from the flesh is difficult to accept in casual Christianity. Therefore, this statement of “you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” flies in the face of what we have experienced and the testimony of the visible church. Especially, with the Pentecostal Church that speaks about being “filled with the Spirit” but still manifesting the flesh. It appears that Paul is not addressing this common problem in the church, which is quite evident, but, rather, it appears he is addressing how God has set us free from the Law of sin and death.

Rom 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Rom 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

We still see these two laws in verses 5 and 6. The key appears to be in which way the mind is focused. If our mind it is set upon the flesh it is focused upon death but if the mind is set upon the Spirit it brings life and peace. Why is the mind set on flesh set on death? Because, if we have been crucified with Christ, the body is dead because of sin so to focus upon the flesh / body is to focus upon that which has died and is now dead. In God’s provision the flesh / body has NO usefulness in giving Life or function in the Christian realm, EXCEPT AS A TENT in which we dwell. We will speak about that later.

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

The mind “set upon the Spirit” is Life and Peace. Set upon which “Spirit?” The Spirt of Life in Christ Jesus! If the Holy Place is illuminated by the Seven Spirits of God we should not get disturbed by the Spirit of Christ AND the Holy Spirit. Since we have identified the Spirit of Christ with the Living and Abiding Word of God that became flesh, this merely refers to the Word of God AND Holy Spirit, both of which SHOULD inhabit every experiential Christian.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. If we have put the law of sin and death behind us by being crucified with Christ that the body of sin may be eliminated (done away with) then how does this body receive this resurrection Life and how does that Life come to us? By what power? By the in filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the same One who raised Christ Jesus from the dead so He also will give life to our mortal bodies. I could make this work rather easily if it said “that Life is put into our mortal body.” However, “give life TO your mortal bodies” seems counterproductive.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

The Holy Spirit is the conveyor of resurrection Life and provided that Life for Jesus so He could live in a new realm after a genuine death. I am NOT presenting this as something very easy to understand but as an explanation of how God has designed the New Inner Man to live and minister the Christian Life while trapped in this body. If our body does NOT receive the reconciliation it will always just be the body of sin and death and the experiential Christian Life will remain a fantasy. However, if the body is reconciled to God through death and burial it is clear that by the new Resurrection Life, ministered by the Holy Spirit, our body can and must receive the resurrection from the dead along with the very Life of Life of Christ in our New Inner Man.

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Can there be any other explanation to this confusing phrase? Through His Spirit who indwells you seems to be quite reasonable even though rejected by multitudes of Bible scholars.

The very Presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit who IS Life has given the “Presence of Life” in the body, to the body. We might say the Holy Spirit floods the body with His Life so that the Ultimate Zoe, Life is in the body.

The question I am ultimately bringing is this: Is the next dimension of healing going to be through a revival of the Gifts, including the Gift of Healing, OR will healing be by the manifestation of His Life in the ministries? How will the Holy Spirit “give life to our mortal bodies?” By a new manifestation of a Gift or by His indwelling Presence? What does this mean: “through His Spirit who indwells you.” Is that the indwelling Spirit in the minister or within the one needing healing?

This is not clear but there may be another quite NEW dimension of healing in the Holy Place Life and Ministry that we know nothing about now. Even though there are many who are still being healed today, the magnitude of healings are not like we saw in the huge tent meetings and in a lesser degree in the Charismatic renewal. It is NOT that God is not healing by gifts but that there may be another and higher dimension of healing that is available to us. To now live “by the faith of the Son of God” appears to be a higher degree of faith beyond our own feeble faith.

Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ: and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ( OF) the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

If we could live by His Faith it is impossible to guess at what our ministry would look like. Even greater things than He did might be possible for us by using His Life and His Faith! Also living by His Life may remove many restrictions and limitations to “ministry” that we experience now. If there is this very unique Resurrection Life functioning in us how will that affect our authority, power and dominion over the elements of darkness in an outward ministry? I am speculating that the Holy Place LIFE and Ministry will uncover many mysteries that have been hidden from past generations. I can’t imagine any ministry originating in the Holy Place being boring, lifeless or routine.

If we actually were living by His Life we would be living within the Sovereignty of God. In that realm we should know for certain that we can no longer use God for our purposes but in these realms God uses us and not according to our desire but according to His Eternal Purpose! In this Realm of God’s Sovereignty we can no longer look back at our former experiences nor return to how we did things then. None of those former things can possibly relate nor should we use them to judge what God is saying today. Why? Because this next dimension of Life and Ministry will be flowing out of a continuous UNION of RESURRECTION LIFE with Christ. This UNION is with the Living and Abiding Word of God. How can we even measure or guess at the potential of living in that realm? Maybe, that IS the realm of the greater works.

Rom 8:11 He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies by His Spirit who indwells you.

Even though this seems like a strange truth, it nevertheless has a witness on the inside that confirms this reality. For example: If there is available to us TODAY a continuous source of His Uncreated Life is there also a continuous source of energy from the indwelling Holy Spirit? Could a new “source of energy” be provided to us to finish His Work that we are predestined to complete? Could that be that referring to the greater works?

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

If the natural man is totally helpless to complete the predestined works of God, by what method can we fulfill His purpose? Is there another energy that has its source in the Divine Life that we know nothing of at this time?

2Cor 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

There is obviously so many things about Life and Ministry that we don’t know and one unknown thing is about the source of power, authority, dominion and supernatural energy. Since it is well documented that none of this can originate in the natural / flesh man, our only alternative is to assign this power to God by His indwelling us and working in and through us.

Col 1:28 And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Since I will be 86 in a few months I am wondering if there is a strength available that will help me finish the work predestined for me to complete.

There is this other statement “But we have the mind of Christ” that makes very little sense unless there really is a totally new realm of understanding within this New Inner Life of Christ in us, our hope of glory. If Christ, the Living and Abiding Word of God, dwells in us, it seems logical that He has the Divine Mind. If anyone of us could begin to function within the realm of the “Mind of Christ” it would surely transform our ministry from just the earth realm into the Eternal Realm.

Since I am speculating now, beyond human reason, why not delve into the ministry in the next dimension. Will the Holy Place Life and Ministry require that we function by the “Mind of Christ?” If this Holy Place Life and Ministry will be by the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek and function under the Sovereignty of our High Priest, will the sons of the High Priest be part of His Body in the Holy Place realm? If each member of His body has on a head covering (since our High Priest has on His Head covering, the bonnet) it would indicate that their own mind is covered. In that case they would not function on their own initiative but only as they heard or seen. There would, therefore, be ONE MIND for the whole body. Each member / son would have “the mind of Christ.”

Even though this speculation is most likely a stretch, there must be some explanation for this statement except, like some think, it is a misprint or a gloss. Therefore, let us review certain pertinent facts, including our speculations.

Since Our High Priest has His head covered, He is witnessing to us that He is NOT the head but He only does the will of His Father. Therefore, we can speculate that every son of the High Priests that is a member of His body must also have their head covered. Why? Because, our High Priest is the sovereign Head of the entire priesthood. Every member of His body will do His will and He will do the Father’s will so that God can be all in all. All kingdoms will ultimately be functioning under the absolute Sovereignty of the Ultimate Kingdom of God.

1Cor 15:27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subject all things to Him, that God may be all in all.

All things have been put in subjection to the Man Christ Jesus that the original purpose of God, the Almighty, in Genesis 1 will be completely fulfilled. God’s original purpose was for “man” to have dominion, authority and rulership over the created earth. The Man, Christ Jesus, IS THAT MAN.

However, now, in the present age, He has overcome and been given authority over both heaven and earth but of course not over the highest heaven which is the Exclusive Domain of God, the Almighty, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. It is the Man, Christ Jesus, now the Lord, the King, the Ruler and the God of Creation, and His sons, His body, who will be given dominion over the world yet to come. However, He and all others will be fully in subjection to the Almighty God, the All in All God, the Creator of all things. He dwells on Mount Zion and the Man, Christ Jesus, sits at His Right Hand. This means that one of our species has made it to the Throne of God. Now He welcomes all those of His same species who “overcome” to sit with Him on His Throne.

When we get serious about these three areas of man in our theme, the question that appears is this: after God has finished all the remedial work in our life to just restore us BACK to where the first Adam began, “HOW DO WE THEN GET ON THE HIGHWAY TO FULFILLMENT” to complete what Adam failed to do? In other words God has not abandoned His plan for man just because the first Adam failed. How do we know that? Because, now the scriptures reveal there is the Last Adam who is the second man. He, the Man, Christ Jesus, certainly did NOT fail and is now ruling until EVERY enemy is put under His feet.

1Cor 15:45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

1Cor 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

The Last Adam, who is the second MAN, ( NOT the one millionth man) will have MANY SONS whom He will bring to glory. Our message is to these “many sons” because our message is not tailored to those whom are just in the remedial phase of salvation but to those who will pay the price of completing the journey on the “highway to fulfillment.”

Isa 35:8 And a highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it: These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10 And the ransomed of the LORD will return, And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

This scripture seems clear and needs very little explanation. Those that retain their beast nature, the fools, will not be on that highway to Zion. This “highway” will not be overrun with a crowd of fools. (the fools can remain in the casual atmosphere of the church pew and speculate about sitting on the throne)

Of course, this is the Ascending Call or the Upward Call that Paul was pressing toward. He was certainly on the highway to fulfillment but knew he had not yet attained to that perfection.

Philp 3:12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

We should ask ourselves if Paul was pressing on into this next realm by human energy and out of a natural ambition to ascend to some eternal leadership position. He said this “calling” was exactly what he was laid hold of by Christ Jesus and his goal was to lay hold of that exact same calling.

Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Paul’s calling was exposed from the very first mention and was defined as “suffering.” There was no attempt to hide the real meaning of his calling. We should understand the tremendous difference between some carnal and human ambition to achieve “success” for the ego centric and for personal reasons and the God given desire to fulfill God’s purpose and to bring joy to His heart.

Ecc 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

It is my opinion that this inner desire (that we have no idea from where it came) is really part of this term “THE MIND OF CHRIST.” It is inherent within the new inner man which is Christ in us, our hope of glory. How did it arrive? Through the Divine Sperma by which we were born again. But why do some have it and others do not? I am guessing that this is not always a matter of conception but of birth and growth! However, it appears that even the reality of conception has failed in many “believers” simply because some strange or counterfeit gospel was preached and believed but NO Divine Sperma was imparted.

This is the tragic result of the departure from the Gospel of the Kingdom and the experiential, internal Government of God in the “ministers.” Irrelevant messages seem to be the result of a failed system that functions outside the absolute Sovereignty of Almighty God.

Mat 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it.

We must remember that the Kingdom is NOT sentimental.

Mat 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Mat 22:13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’