6/1955 - The Body is Dead

" . . .because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:10,11).

This old man is dead. David Morsey is dead. Insofar as he remains dead the appeals that are made to him will have no acceptance. "Likewise reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). If I have been crucified with Christ then it is no longer I, but Christ. It is not I who live the life on earth, but Christ. It is not I who repel sin, but Christ. It is not I who witness to a soul, but Christ. Christ not only fights for me, but through me. Christ not only gives me strength to resist temptation, He resists temptation through me. I rest in the assurance that He is within. My only responsibility—perfect submission.

Does Satan come knocking? I send Christ to the door. Does the work seem too much? Christ is able. Is my faith weak? His faith is strong. Personal comforts may be lacking, but He does not need them. Offenses may come—He has borne them before. The way may be dark, but He sees through the darkness. We think the cause lost—He cannot fail.

How is this possible? Who can have Christ that real? I can; you can; anyone can. Simply open the heart and ask His Spirit to come in. Is the Spirit in your heart at all? Salvation, you know, is more than believing in the truth of Christ. There must he a receiving—of the Spirit into the heart. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Romans 8:9). Then after the Spirit has come in, there must be a total commitment of the whole heart to Him—letting Him occupy every area of it. This is the filling of the Spirit. Now the old tenant must leave. There is room only for the Spirit. "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

With the old man gone, I may walk in the confidence that my life is under the control of the new tenant—the Holy Spirit. And so it is that the body is dead