Think On Things Above

Dear brothers and sisters, we must always bear in mind the great issues of our baptism. We put on the saving name of Jesus Christ; we entered into covenant relationship with God in our Lord and we figuratively died. In being buried with Christ, we declared the righteousness of God, and we acknowledged the just reward of sin is death, of which our human constitution is the cause. As completely as we buried our bodies under water, so we declared our desire to completely put to death the outworking of the impulses of the flesh. When we rose from the water, we figuratively rose as a new person in Christ Jesus who wanted the old carnal man to be replaced by the spiritual man which is begotten of God and born of Jesus Christ.

New person, new mind

As new people, we should have a new mind within us that requires our most careful attention. We cannot feed carnal food to a spiritual infant and expect it to grow properly any more than we can feed spiritual food to a baby and expect it to grow bodily.

Christ is our leader an d example in the maintenance and development of our spiritual man from birth to maturity. Morning by morning he opened his ears to hear the words of his Father. These words were sweet to his taste, they were as butter and honey; he fed upon them and grew into a mighty man in spiritual things.

We should be as deeply concerned about the development of our inner man as the faithful and intelligent mother is concerned for her child’s welfare. She devotes herself day after day, year after year — her whole concern is that her child will grow up strong and healthy. She denies herself many pleasures and comforts because her whole heart is wrapped up in the life of her child. We should exercise a like diligence in caring for the man of the spirit born at our baptism.

Medicine needed

Christ is our example and our physician. He prescribes the medicine to counteract the illness that continually afflicts us while we are still in our mortal, corruptible constitution. The medicine — to strive to completely bury the old man of the flesh.

Too often we refuse the medicine because it is distasteful and resort to our own cures. Jesus said, “I do all things that please the Father.” His obedience led him to death on the cross. All other prescriptions, those prescribed by the clergy or our own remedies, are useless. They will eventually result in the death of our new man and the revival of the old man that we profess to have put to death.

It comes right down to this: do we really love our new man of the spirit, begotten of the Lord, and are we prepared to take the prescribed medicine?

Christ said, “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:27-­30).

Finishing the job

The Master uses two figures of speech in these words –one is crucifixion. We need to crucify the way of the flesh daily. The other figure is of completing the job we have started when we begin to build a new way of life.

It teaches us to be prepared to finish the work we have started. The first principles of the truth are like the foundation of a building. But there is still much work and money to be put into the building before it is finished.

In the same way, the new man of the spirit requires much dedicated effort before he will grow into the fullness of Christ. Only by patient continuance in well-doing will we attain eternal life. In the building process, the man of faith quickly realizes he cannot rely on himself for the strength that is required. He learns he can do nothing of himself but can do all things through Jesus Christ, who strengthens him. How is this done? By forgiveness and by the transformation of our minds.

Take the example of building a house. If our assignment was to build a house without making one mistake, having never built one before, we would soon see that the task was impossible and we would give up the attempt. We would need a patient attitude toward our mistakes and the opportunity to correct them. In trying to develop a new man of the spirit, we are going to sin. We need forgiveness! And, if we remain in Christ, we have it. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).

In addition, we must be “transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2). This will not happen by association with the serpent-like world around us. Eve found that out. The lying suggestions of the serpent aroused her natural desires and Eve’s mind became captive to her carnal impulses. The mind, having been influenced by the serpent, became a servant of sin and no longer a servant to God’s law. Right from the beginning, therefore, the message stands out with utter clarity: “be not conformed to this world…set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth…put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:3,10).

How will we ever learn what is acceptable to God from the world around us? We will not! The only way we can do that is by following the example of our Lord and filling our minds with the Word of God. Then the Lord God will help us and we will not be confounded.

We cannot expectancy divine help, however, until we first make the attempt. We declared our desire when we were baptized. We said we wanted to be rid of the old life, the ways of sin which led to death. We publicly declared that we wanted to live as new people in the ways of God looking forward to the gift of eternal life.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above…for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:1,3,4).