WWhy Am I a Bassket Case?
I AM ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,”
Before salvation, we are dead in our sins and the “uncircumcision of our flesh.” Dead is a metaphor for “spiritually dead, destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God, given up to trespasses and sins, destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative.” Dead is our spiritual condition prior to salvation. The divine Spirit of God isn’t operative in unsaved people who sin without remorse. Spiritually dead doesn’t mean spiritually annihilated. It means spiritually separated from God. Paul explains that prior to salvation we’re dead in our transgressions. Transgressions carries overtones of “falling beside or near something, a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness, a sin, misdeed.” Were we to die in this fallen state, we’d be separated from God; fallen eternally in the kingdom of darkness. However, through Christ, God forgives us all our transgressions and makes us alive together with Christ. If you’ve not said, “Hallelujah,” and responded to His offer of salvation, why not now?
Heavenly Father, what a joy to contemplate that I am alive together with Christ for eternity!
From If God in In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case?
CHRIST’S POWER MIGHTILY WORKS WITHIN ME
“For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
Does Christ’s power mightily work within you? It can. It should within each of us. The apostle Paul, who wrote these words was flesh and blood – just like us. What made him different was that he was “sold out” for Jesus. What does that mean? It means that he had an encounter with the living Christ and believed that Jesus was who He said He was; that nothing made more sense than committing his life to serving Christ. Paul said Christ’s power mightily worked within him. In this verse, working means “working efficiency, used only of superhuman power.” It is power in exercise. Our word energy is derived from this word. Mightily is power in the sense of natural inherent ability. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament for the English Reader says, “The struggle is carried on in proportion, not to Paul’s natural powers, but to the mightily working energy of Christ within him.” Isn’t this exciting? The mighty working energy of Christ is in you if you’re a Christian. Perhaps if we’re spiritually impotent it’s because we’re living by our strength rather than Christ’s.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Christ’s Spirit and power which mightily works within the believer. Help me be ever sensitive to His Spirit and serve Him wholeheartedly.
UNDERSTANDING
“…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His (God’s) will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
Last year we looked at who God is. This year we’re looking at who we are in Christ.Today, we’re considering the gift of “understanding.” Understanding “is what the Greeks sometimes described as critical knowledge, meaning the ability to apply first principles to any given situation which may arise in life.” When Paul prays for believers to have wisdom and understanding, he’s praying we not only understand the great truths of Christianity, but we also apply them to everyday living. In other words, it’s not enough to have head knowledge of God’s Word. We must take the great teachings of the Bible and apply them to our hearts and daily lives. We must connect the dotes between what the Bible teaches about child rearing and how we actually raise our children. We must connect the dots between what the Bible teaches about marriage and how we treat our spouse; between what the Bible teaches about difficult people and how we handle relationships.
Perhaps we’re sometimes “basket cases” because we fill our minds with spiritual teachings, but leave them at the church door rather than apply them when our child is upset, we’re under financial pressure, our spouse angers us, we’re at wits end with a co-worker, or despair looms like a black cloud. But, we have a choice! We can choose to live filled with God’s gift of understanding.
Lord, thank You that You not only supply Biblical truths, but through the filling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, I can apply Your teachings to my life.
from If God is In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case?
