Since the Lord Jesus always lived a life of being salted, a life under the cross, He was always in resurrection. The life He lived was a life in resurrection.
For the Lord Jesus to live in resurrection meant that He denied Himself and His natural life and that He lived not Himself but the Father. We see this clearly in John 7. In verse 6 He said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.” Whereas others had the liberty to go anywhere at any time, He was limited, not living in the natural life.
In verses 16 through 18 He went on to say, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him, this One is true, and unrighteousness is not in Him.” Here we see that the Lord Jesus did not speak His own word but the Father’s word. The source of His speaking was not Himself-it was the Father. This indicates that He rejected His natural life and lived by the life of the Father. This is resurrection. Therefore, even before He was crucified, the Lord Jesus lived a life in resurrection, denying the natural life and living the Father’s life.
We need to live in resurrection in our married life and family life. Suppose something happens in your married life to make you unhappy. If at such a time you live yourself and your own life, surely you will lose your temper. But instead of living your own life, you may live the kind of life revealed in Galatians 2:20. In this verse Paul first says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” This is a matter of experiencing the salt, of being put to death, of being crossed out. Then Paul continues, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” This is resurrection.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was fine flour, He was oiled with the Holy Spirit, He was always being salted, and He lived in resurrection, having the flavor of frankincense. But with Him there was neither leaven nor honey. Therefore, He could be a meal offering.
The situation with us today should be the same. This means that our Christian life should be a duplication, a xerox copy, of Christ’s life. This is clearly revealed in Romans 8.
Romans 8 puts Christ and us together. Here we have Christ’s humanity (v. 3), the Spirit of life (v. 2), the cross (v. 13), and resurrection (v. 11) wrapped up together as one. This shows us the kind of living we should have today. We should live the same kind of life Christ lived. He was a man, and we also are human. He was oiled with the Spirit, and we also have been at least somewhat oiled with the Spirit. We have been mingled with the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from among the dead. Christ was salted, crucified, and we also should put our natural being to death. Furthermore, Christ lived in resurrection, and we also may live in resurrection.
Romans 8 definitely reveals that we should be a duplication of Christ as the meal offering. We should be a copy, a reproduction, of Him and thus be the same as He is. Christ became a person in the flesh, and we today are persons in the flesh. As a man in the flesh, Christ was oiled with the Spirit. Today we are being oiled by the indwelling Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us to do the work of oiling us. Since the indwelling Spirit is oiling us, we should set our mind on the spirit, not on the flesh (v. 6). Then by the Spirit we should put to death the practices of the body (v. 13). If we do this, we will live, and this life will be a life in resurrection. As a result, we will be suitable to be a meal offering for God’s satisfaction.
The purpose of the meal offering is to satisfy God. The top portion of the meal offering, the portion containing the frankincense, was burned in fire for God’s satisfaction. Christ today is the reality of the meal offering. He alone has the fragrance that ascends to God for His satisfaction. In the entire universe, Christ is the only person who can be offered to God in fire to produce the fragrance that satisfies God and makes Him happy and joyful.
As the members of Christ, we should be His duplication and live the same kind of life He lived. This is a life of humanity oiled with the Holy Spirit. Day by day we need to be oiled with the Holy Spirit. We should also continually receive the salt; that is, we should receive Christ’s cross and put our natural deeds to death. Then we will live in resurrection and have the frankincense for God’s satisfaction.
All the frankincense in the meal offering was burned in fire. This indicates that all the frankincense was for God; none of the frankincense was for the priests. From this we see that all the frankincense in Christ as the meal offering is burned to produce a fragrance for God’s satisfaction. This was Christ’s experience. Since we are the members of Christ, His duplication, this should also be our experience today.
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