Paul describes the believer’s life as ‘the life I live in the body’ and then he says that he lives this life in the body ‘by faith in the Son of God’. These two statements give us a good handle on this new life in Christ. We are at peace with God but at war with sin. A new life and new battles.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”
Peter’s greatest failures did not come when he was a vulnerable new believer but when he was a mature follower of Jesus. When that happens you will be confronted by two dangers. One is to dismiss what happened and simply move on. The other is to the opposite. Far from dismissing what happened, your sin leads you to a sense of despair questioning your salvation.
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”
“Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
The life of Moses shows us that God will use a situation that is meant to destroy you, to elevate you. It is in the difficulty that God opens up the door for opportunity. Opposition is an action of resisting, or combating, protesting something, someone, or the state of being opposed by way of comparison or contrast. An opportunity is an appropriate or favorable time or occasion: a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success… In reference to the wind, “in front of; toward” God used Pharoah to save and groom Moses for his purpose. He used the very same man who wanted to kill all Hebrew boys, to groom Moses so that he could rescue his nation. Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the Philippians. Imprisoned because of the opposition he faced, the apostle writes,
“And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear”
Philippians 1:14
Paul recognized that opposition is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t derail your focus on what God has called you to accomplish.
Many people consider our faith in Christ foolish or they at least have some significant questions about our belief. And so it is important to explain ourselves. We defend our faith: gently, respectfully, confidently, boldly, persuasively, and prayerfully. This is the wonderful example the apostle Paul gives us in Acts 26.
Forgiveness is never easy. When wounds are deep, it sometimes feels impossible. But the good news is that forgiveness is possible and the reason why it is possible is that Jesus paid the price on the cross.
Whenever Jesus exposes your rebellion, repent of your sin and turn to God in faith, receiving grace form Jesus that overflows from His heart and it transforms lives. And then spend your life performing deeds in keeping with your repentance, seeking in all that you do to honour your good and gracious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul beloved that God raises the dead. He believed that God made a promise of resurrection to His people. And most importantly he believed that God was fulfilling this promise in Jesus Christ. And those who stood apposed to this hope of resurrection, being fulfilled in Christ, stood opposed to Paul. So, he stands on trail and his faith being tested.
“Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”
By definition anyone that is in Christ is in a lifelong battle. In Ephesians 6 we have one of the Bible’s best illustrations in this regard. But sometimes the illustration is so good that it overpasses the message that it intend to convey. A lot of focus is on the armour, but the message it conveys is about: the truth, righteousness, the gospel, salvation, and the word of God, applied through prayer in the Spirit.
“Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil”
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10 ESV) You are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece. Nobody in this world has your fingerprints. You are unique, original, God’s very own masterpiece!
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