I hope that you had read the earlier article about being Made Perfect in Christ Jesus. You would have noted that the first thing we need to be “IN CHRIST” is to be baptised into his death. If you have been dead in Christ, then its no more you, but Christ lives in/through you. Needless to say that this death is accompanied by the CROSS.
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:20
Remember the Russian Tea Dolls of the previous article? If all the smaller dolls are put in the main doll, you will not see the small doll anymore. you will view the big doll instead of the small doll. Similarly, if you are IN CHRIST, its no longer you but CHRIST is the one who will be seen. However, there is a hidden danger which most of us overlook. It is the inevitability of the CROSS in the process. WITHOUT THE CROSS, there is NO DEATH.
Many of us are very good actors. Therefore, we do not realise if it is CHRIST who lives within us or is it ADAM who is trying to live a BETTER LIFE. Let us run through a simple test if Christ is truly living within us by the Divine Power which is bestowed upon us.
3 His Divine Power Has Given Us Everything We Need For A Godly Life Through Our Knowledge Of Him Who Called Us By His Own Glory And Goodness. 4 Through These He Has Given Us His Very Great And Precious Promises, So That Through Them You May Participate In The Divine Nature, Having Escaped The Corruption In The World Caused By Evil Desires.
2 Pet 1:3-4
The above verse clearly says that EVIL DESIRES are part of our corrupted nature. Let us test to know if we are truly dead and have no evil desires within us.
Test of Evil Desires (Perfect in Adam vs Perfect in Christ Jesus)
Imagine that it is a Bright sunny morning with perfect weather. You are super happy and is jogging in a park near your home. You are thinking that you are glad to be in TPM fellowship and is making all the changes dictated by the TPM Clergy. You have shaved off your moustache, you practice wearing more of white shirts, tries to sound polite when dealing with the clergy etc.
Suddenly out of nowhere a beggar drops in and asks you to give him some money to buy food. You think its God’s provision to test you and see if you are becoming like Jesus. Magnanimously you open your wallet and is surprised to note that you only have a ₹500 note. You check again to find a lower denomination currency. Finding nothing else, you part with that ₹500. The beggar takes the money and leaves you even without saying thanks. You could notice that the beggar is grumbling. While jogging, you are glad that you are trying to get rid of your selfish attitude.
After a few hundred meters, you see another beggar getting in the way of another jogger and asking him for help. You recognize the other jogger as Mr Pandit who is a very wealthy businessman. You see that Mr Pandit is shooing away the beggar and abusing him.
What do you feel after you see Mr Pandit’s actions?
