Quote: "to quote Tozer again this must not be a logical deduction drawn from proof texts but the consequence of a living personal encounter with Christ."
The finished work of Christ really has gone to the root of our problem and dealt with it. There are no half measures with God. " Knowing this," says Paul, " 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 " (Rom. 6. 6). " Knowing this "! Yes, but do you know it? "Or are ye ignorant?" (Rom. 6. 3). MAY THE LORD GRACIOUSLY OPEN OUR EYES! Watchman Nee - The Normal Christian Life (last paragraph of chapter 2)
This is a penetratingly powerful question that Nee asks: Yes, but DO you know it? Or are ye ignorant? Paul begins the 6th of Romans with the question, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized (past tense) into His death?
Pauls prayer for the Christians at Ephesus was
.I do not ceasing praying for you
.(that) the eyes of your understanding may be opened; that you may KNOW what is
..
I once had opportunity to lead small group study of Nees The Normal Christian Life. Here, at the end of chapter 2, I introduced some supplemental material, including among other things a message by Major W. Ian Thomas called A Death Like Ours and a Resurrection Like His. The Lord began to give the light of revelation to one man at this point. He began to realize with conviction that, when Christ died, he died also. He realized that 2,000 years ago he had been included in Christ, that the Lord had taken him into Himself, and in being made Sin, and in tasting Death for him, the Lord had died the Death into which all of us were born in order that like as Christ was raised from the dead, we too, in Him, might be raised into (the) newness of Life.
John Owen gave one of his books the powerful title, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.
Something else thats powerful (awesome as the young people say :-)) is Ron Baileys series on Baptism, if not available on this site, then available at http://www.biblebased.co.uk/RonBailey/
To return to Nee: In the book, he describes how important it is to KNOW that we have died with Christ in His death before we try to Reckon ourselves dead. He describes the futility of his own trying for years to reckon himself dead before he knew that he had died. At one point he told the Lord that he refused to preach another sermon until and unless the Lord revealed to him the truth that he had died when Christ died. He goes on to describe the day the Lord opened the eyes of his understanding.
_________________ Roger P.
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