“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live!” (Gal.2:20) As this is the basis of much of my writing, one person asked me, “OK, how do I die?, give me some practical, tangible suggestions.” First, let me address this; If I say, “OK, I’m going to do everything I can to DIE. I’m gonna fight the flesh, deny myself, fast, pray 10 hours a day, even work in the church nursery!”... well then , I’m off to a bad start. Are there three easy steps to crucifixion?... not hardly.

There IS a death for us, but it has already been provided. Rom.6:6 tells us “...we know that our old self WAS nailed to the cross with Him...”(Amplified Bible) Even the death has been provided, but we must appropriate it. To appropriate this, I believe it helps to have an understanding of the difference between our SPIRIT and our SOUL (mind, will & emotions). I Cor. 15:45 speaks of two Adams, one a living SOUL, the other a life giving SPIRIT. The SOUL consists of your First Adam-nature (sin nature), the SPIRIT consists of the Last Adam-nature (Christ in you). Eph. 2:5 tells us that we were “dead” in trespasses and sins... was our BODY dead? NO... was our SOUL dead? NO... we were SPIRITUALLY dead. However, that verse goes on to tell us that “...He made us alive together in fellowship and in UNION with CHRIST. He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him.”(Amplified Bible). Col. 2:10 says “And you are IN HIM, made full and have come to fullness of life - in Christ, you too are filled with the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and reach full spiritual stature...”(Amplified Bible). So we have the very life of God Himself WITHIN us, the exact same Spirit as Jesus Christ!... however, “as a man thinketh in his heart, SO HE IS” (Prov. 23:7) The word “heart” in that verse means mind, will, emotions (Strongs Hebrew Dictionary), in other words, the SOUL. The first step is REALIZING that “you ARE DEAD, and your life is hid with CHRIST in God”(Col.3:3)

You see, our SOUL is subject to great deception because that is the realm which principalities, powers, rulers of darkness have authority, gaining an entrance through iniquity. The word “darkness” there means to OBSCURE, and rulers of darkness are those demonic princes that obscure the truth of God. In reality, our SOULS are deceived and lying to us about who we are! “Strip yourselves of your former nature (First Adam nature) which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from DELUSION...” (Eph.4:22 Amplified Bible) The strongholds of the mind (SOUL), those inaccurate deceptive thoughts that exalt themselves above what God says we really ARE in Christ, MUST be pulled down and our thinking be brought into agreement with what God says.(2Cor. 10:5)

Example: Someone is offensive towards you; your SOUL (First Adam nature) tells you that you have the right to be treated better and you don’t have to put up with it, because after all, you DO have rights! You become angry with them (not a righteous anger like Jesus displayed when cleansing the temple), a defensive anger and retaliate by walking away or shutting them out (men are good at this!)... or verbally putting them “in their place” while reminding them of all their other faults also (we won’t say who is good at this!)... or we do the really “spiritual” thing and just be “wounded” and then carry that wound around for all to see as another badge to decorate our “false humility” banner. In reality, you are DEAD now, you don’t have ANY rights, you have NO place being defensive or holding unforgiveness. You may confront the person for ungodly behavior, but you cannot defend yourself, and forgiveness is NOT optional. Now, forgiveness is NOT saying that their behavior was OK, it IS releasing the person to the Higher Authority of God rather than holding them within the sphere of OUR judgment. This is just meant to be an example of how our SOUL is deceived.

2Thess.2:8 speaks of the “man of sin” being revealed (I’m not necessarily negating the traditional interpretation of this passage) and we know according to Rom. 5:12 that sin entered the world through one man - Adam. We all inherited a First Adam nature, a sin-nature that is resident within our SOUL. That 2 Thess. scripture goes on to say that when the “man of sin” is revealed, Christ will slay him with the breath (or Spirit) of His mouth. Well, Christ is residing IN YOU, so you’re going about your day and someone is offensive toward you... the “man of sin” is revealed in you, the First Adam-nature rises up... THIS is when Christ must slay him with the Spirit of His mouth! So you say (remember, He is IN YOU), “That feeling is a LIE from my SOUL, I have the compassion of Christ for this one who is being offensive.” You respond from your SPIRIT, a higher dimension, NOT from the SOUL realm in which principalities and powers have authority... you can only defeat principalities and powers by operating from a higher realm. You see, the proper response is already WITHIN you because Christ is IN YOU, and as the “man of sin”, the First Adam nature that is lodged in your mind is slain, it is replaced with the MIND of Christ (I Cor.2:16). This is what Rom.12:2 refers to as the renewing of your mind. Your focus must NOT be on overcoming the sin-nature of your SOUL, your focus must be on Christ IN YOU who has ALREADY overcome the sin-nature. It’s not a matter of training your First Adam-nature to act better, it is a matter of a NEW nature, the nature of Christ which is IN YOUR SPIRIT, because “...he who is joined to the Lord becomes ONE SPIRIT with Him.”(I Cor.6:17) It is a matter of first REALIZING that the perfection of Christ is IN YOU, no matter what your mind, will and emotions tell you. Then realizing that your mind, will and emotions (SOUL) are deceived, and stop listening to their lies. Then denouncing them when they try to manifest... when the “man of sin” is revealed, let Christ in you (His Spirit, the Last Adam) slay the First Adam-nature, the “life of the flesh”, with the breath of His mouth. It is interesting to note that in the Greek when it says “breath of His mouth” there in 2Thess., the word for mouth - stoma, holds the implication of the “front or edge of a weapon”(Strongs Greek Dictionary).

The picture I get is one of the temple... the Holy of Holies is our SPIRIT filled with the presence of God... the Holy Place, or Inner Court is our SOUL. As we allow ourselves to be “crucified with Christ”, just like when Jesus was crucified, the glory of the presence of God in the Holy of Holies (our SPIRIT) like a two edged sword PIERCES the veil (the flesh life) that hides the glory and that separates the holy of Holies (SPIRIT) from the Inner Court (SOUL). The veil is rent in two, divided asunder (Heb.4:12) and the glory, Christ IN YOU, from the Holy of Holies (SPIRIT) FLOODS the Inner Court (SOUL). Now your SOUL (mind, will, emotions) is filled with the same glory and perfection of your SPIRIT... you have the MIND of Christ (ICor.2:16). Unlike the crucifixion of Jesus however, I don’t believe this is a one time event, and then you’ve “arrived”, rather I believe it is a moment by moment, working OUT (from the inside out) of your salvation (Phil.2:12), an ONGOING flooding of your SOUL with Christ. Also, when we say, “I am crucified with Christ”, I believe it is Christ that is doing the crucifying! “In Him also you were circumcised... in a spiritual circumcision PERFORMED BY Christ by stripping off the body of the FLESH, the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts.”(Col.2:11) Christ is the Word of God (Rev.1:16 & 19:13), sharper than any two edged sword (Heb.4:12) dividing asunder our “life of the flesh” (Heb.10:20) just like that veil that hid the glory of God in the temple... and as that happens, the glory of Christ, the true resurrection life flows out from the Holy of Holies (our SPIRIT) through the rest of the temple, out from under the threshold toward the east and becomes a River of God to FLOOD the nations and bring healing to what it touches!!!!! (Ezek.47) Goodness!... I’m about to start preaching!... so I think I’ll stop. Once again, this is the revelation that I have now... tomorrow I’ll have a more full understanding, so if I’ve overlooked something then let the Spirit of Truth lead you into a more complete understanding.

P.S. I probably should have let my wife write this as we have 4 children and she home schools... she wrote the book on dying to self!... well actually she doesn't have the time to write! :)
 

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