Good Morning Girls!
To be perfectly honest with you, this was one of those classes that I wish I had recorded for a podcast. I only have time to touch on a few things this morning. So gather your notes and thoughts together and join with me in bringing them into The Comment Cafe to share with your sisters to help build into their lives.
We discussed in this class session what it means to "press on", found in Philippians 3:12, by looking at the transliteration from the Greek diṓkō. If you look at the rendering closely you will see two things going on, the "to make run or flee" and the "to run swiftly to catch, to run after to catch". This is profound to me in the sense that as we "press on" we are accomplishing two very distinct things at the very same time. As we follow after Jesus, intent upon appropriating all that He has for us, we simultaneously make run or flee our adversary! This is multi-tasking at it's finest!
It is so important that we remember that this truth, this principle, is a spiritual one. If you are thinking at any moment that, by pressing on to lay hold of all that Jesus lay hold of you for, you will never have another trial, testing, opposition or grief in your life then you have been misled. It is the inner woman that God is speaking to here, the woman who walks by the spirit and not by the flesh, that understands what perseverance in the faith looks like! It's the fruit of the Spirit being made evident, being produced in you during those times of testing. Pressing into Jesus is putting to flight the opposition that tries to extinguish our faith! We see this in 1 Peter 1:5-7 where we are told that we are "kept by the power of God THROUGH FAITH" and that it is in this that we "greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, IF NECESSARY, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the trial (proof) of your faith, being MUCH MORE precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" Go back and personalize these verses, say out loud "I am kept by the power of God THROUGH FAITH". Listen, if you want to be kept by the power of God, it will only come one way girls... it will come through FAITH. Trials will come. According to these verses, trials may come because the are NECESSARY in order to prove our faith... the very faith that God uses to pour out His power upon His child. This is a Word in season for me today, I pray that this falls afresh upon your weary soul as well.
We also looked at Philippians 3:10b "...and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..." and discussed what this means. We definitely discussed the former but I believe it was the latter upon which we spent the most time.
In light of "the fellowship of His sufferings, we looked at
1 Peter 4:1
"Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin."
... and also 1 Peter 4:12-13
"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed you may also be glad with exceeding joy."
Let's take these verses apart. How did Christ suffer? He suffered in the flesh. How are we to arm ourselves? We arm ourselves with the same mind. What mind is that? The mind (of Christ) that we too will suffer in the flesh. He who has suffered in the flesh (meaning you) has ceased from what? Ceased from sin.
OK, so here's the thing. If you were to go to Romans 8:13 you would see this statement "...for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:6-8 says, "For the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,". Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit...".
Christ suffered in the flesh because He died to the flesh. Yes, many believe that this verse is in reference to the brutality done to His physical body preceding and including His being nailed to the cross. Yet, I believe that the cross was WON in the Garden.
Jesus dropped blood on the thirsty ground of Gethsemane before the thorns ever touched his brow. Before the lashes ever tore open His back. He WON the cross with this one statement... "...yet not My will but Yours be done." Yes, Jesus also had a will. His will was spoken out through the great drops of blood that fell from His brow, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me."
And then there came the death to His flesh. His sacrificial offering of Himself before the cross was ever laid upon His back. He died in the Garden that He might give us life on the cross.
"yet"
One little word. One little word that contains the total humbling of Himself before the Father.
One little word, that pivoted His spiritual eyes off of His earthly flesh and onto the Father's will.
"yet"
And the words that were to follow would beckon mankind throughout the ages to do likewise. To arm ourselves with the same mind, "...not my will by Yours be done."
Dying to our flesh. How do we do that? We live according to His Word. We live according to the Spirit. We press into Jesus. And according to Romans 8:13, as we do this, we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh. This is why Paul could say he died daily, because he was pressing into Jesus!
So girls, we are to not think it strange concerning the fiery trials that we go through, but we are to instead rejoice that we are partaking of the sufferings of Christ. Dying to our flesh that we live to the Spirit. That we might have joy abundant as we live out our days here. And when we see Him face to face, we might have exceedingly great joy.
Bless you today!
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