The first experience in the third stage of our spiritual life is dealing with the flesh by the cross. As we have mentioned before, dealing with sin can be likened to removing the dirt from a shirt; dealing with the world to removing the colorful prints in the shirt; and dealing with the conscience to removing the minute bacteria from the shirt. Then the shirt is completely cleansed. From the human viewpoint, it is sufficient to be dealt with to such an extent. However, it is not so with God. God has to further cut the shirt into pieces with a knife. This is dealing with the flesh. Although this seems unreasonable, it is real in our spiritual experience. After we have dealt with sin, the world, and the conscience, it seems that all the outward filthiness has been dealt with. But if the Lord enlightens us, we will discover that the greatest difficulty encountered by the life of God within us is our natural life, our own being. Although we have dealings with unrighteousness, unholiness, and all the feelings in the conscience, we still live by our natural life, not by God’s life; we still live in ourselves, not in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are still soulish, not spiritual. If we want to be delivered from this kind of difficulty, the only way of salvation is the cross. Only when we accept the cross to break our natural life shall the life of God be manifested and overflow. Only when we put ourselves to death shall we let the Holy Spirit do the quickening work within us. When the Israelites passed through Jordan, the wandering in the wilderness came to an end; they entered into the realm of new life. Thus, they were able to enjoy the produce of the land of Canaan, fight for God, and bring in the kingdom. The Israelites passing through the Jordan signifies our experience of the death of Christ that we may be delivered from the flesh and enter into the riches of God’s life. If we receive the mercy of God and go on faithfully in the path of life, we will also fully experience the putting to death of our flesh by the cross and be conformed unto His death. Only when we experience the deliverance of the putting to death of our flesh by the cross shall we be delivered out of the realm of desolation and failures and enter thereby into the riches and rest of Christ, living in the heavenly realm to fight for God and bring in God’s kingdom. Therefore, the experience of the stage of dealing by the cross is a very important crisis. Blessed are they who can experience it in a full and thorough way, for they are close to maturity in their spiritual life, and Christ will grow and be formed in them.
1)Romans 8:7-8, “Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” This speaks of the condition of the enmity of the flesh toward God. A fleshly person can never please God or be accepted by Him.
2)Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.” The old man refers to the flesh when it is not expressed. This passage reveals that our old man, or our flesh, has been crucified with Christ, and that it is a fact which has been accomplished long ago.
3)Galatians 5:24, “They that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts thereof.” In the sight of God, dealing with the flesh is also a fact which has been accomplished long ago. Hence, we should no longer live by the flesh.
4)Romans 8:13, “If ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” This tells us that we need to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit and thus experience the dealing of the cross in a practical way.
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