WEEK 4 — DAY 3
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 5:17 “For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
8:37 “But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.”
Romans 5:17 says that we can reign in life by grace. In these days we are speaking about being a God-man, about becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. To reign is to be God. In the whole universe who reigns? Who is the king? There is only one King. But we as the children of this one King can also reign in His life. Since we reign as God does, by reigning in life we become the very God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. God reigns and we reign.
To reign is to conquer, subdue, and rule over Satan, the world, sin, the flesh, ourselves, and all the environmental circumstances. In Romans 8 Paul says this: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (v. 35). Then he says, “We more than conquer through Him who loved us” (v. 37). Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, because we are more than conquerors over all the troubles in our environment...We also have to rule over the sin within us, to rule over Satan, and to rule over the world. We should not let the world’s fashion conquer us. Instead, we should conquer all things and reign in life by grace. (Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans, pp. 209-210)
Today’s Reading
We must seek the experience of reigning....First, we must know our position....If we are in the position of ascension, we have authority and can reign. If we are not in the position of ascension, we do not have authority and cannot rule.
Even in the case of the Lord Jesus, the basis of reigning depended on His position of ascension. Not till after His resurrection and ascension did He obtain all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18) and have dominion over all things (Eph. 1:20-22). Therefore, if we would reign, we must be in the position of ascension....Only after we have experienced death, resurrection, and ascension, can we obtain the experience of reigning.
Our reigning is...also [based] on the position of order arranged by God..Matthew 8:5-13 tells us of a centurion who came to ask the Lord to heal his servant’s sickness. His faith was based on his knowledge of the position of order..He knew that in order to reign, he first had to submit to the reigning. In order to be the authority, he first had to submit to authority.
When God created man in the beginning, God gave man authority to have dominion over all the creatures in the sea, in the air, and upon earth. At that time, man was submitting to God’s authority; hence, God’s authority was with him, and all creatures were made to submit to man. But once man fell and rebelled against God, unwilling as he was to submit to God’s authority, he then lost the authority of God. As a result, all the creatures under man were no longer in subjection to man’s authority. Therefore,...even the tiny mosquitoes and fleas can bite us. This indicates that the entire fallen universe is full of the creatures’ rebelliousness and insubordination.
It was not until the Lord Jesus came as the Word become flesh that there was in this rebellious universe a man who submitted absolutely to God’s authority. In the life of the Lord Jesus, every word and action, every move and cessation, were in accordance with God’s will and in subjection to God’s authority. Philippians 2:8 says, “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.” Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, that every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bow to Him, and every tongue should call Him Lord—all in submission to His authority (vv. 8-11). Because the Lord Jesus submitted to the authority of God the Father and kept the position of order, He obtained authority and was able to reign for God. (The Experience of Life, pp. 347-350)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 46-47
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 5:17 “For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
8:37 “But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.”
Romans 5:17 says that we can reign in life by grace. In these days we are speaking about being a God-man, about becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. To reign is to be God. In the whole universe who reigns? Who is the king? There is only one King. But we as the children of this one King can also reign in His life. Since we reign as God does, by reigning in life we become the very God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. God reigns and we reign.
To reign is to conquer, subdue, and rule over Satan, the world, sin, the flesh, ourselves, and all the environmental circumstances. In Romans 8 Paul says this: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (v. 35). Then he says, “We more than conquer through Him who loved us” (v. 37). Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, because we are more than conquerors over all the troubles in our environment...We also have to rule over the sin within us, to rule over Satan, and to rule over the world. We should not let the world’s fashion conquer us. Instead, we should conquer all things and reign in life by grace. (Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans, pp. 209-210)
Today’s Reading
We must seek the experience of reigning....First, we must know our position....If we are in the position of ascension, we have authority and can reign. If we are not in the position of ascension, we do not have authority and cannot rule.
Even in the case of the Lord Jesus, the basis of reigning depended on His position of ascension. Not till after His resurrection and ascension did He obtain all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18) and have dominion over all things (Eph. 1:20-22). Therefore, if we would reign, we must be in the position of ascension....Only after we have experienced death, resurrection, and ascension, can we obtain the experience of reigning.
Our reigning is...also [based] on the position of order arranged by God..Matthew 8:5-13 tells us of a centurion who came to ask the Lord to heal his servant’s sickness. His faith was based on his knowledge of the position of order..He knew that in order to reign, he first had to submit to the reigning. In order to be the authority, he first had to submit to authority.
When God created man in the beginning, God gave man authority to have dominion over all the creatures in the sea, in the air, and upon earth. At that time, man was submitting to God’s authority; hence, God’s authority was with him, and all creatures were made to submit to man. But once man fell and rebelled against God, unwilling as he was to submit to God’s authority, he then lost the authority of God. As a result, all the creatures under man were no longer in subjection to man’s authority. Therefore,...even the tiny mosquitoes and fleas can bite us. This indicates that the entire fallen universe is full of the creatures’ rebelliousness and insubordination.
It was not until the Lord Jesus came as the Word become flesh that there was in this rebellious universe a man who submitted absolutely to God’s authority. In the life of the Lord Jesus, every word and action, every move and cessation, were in accordance with God’s will and in subjection to God’s authority. Philippians 2:8 says, “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.” Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, that every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bow to Him, and every tongue should call Him Lord—all in submission to His authority (vv. 8-11). Because the Lord Jesus submitted to the authority of God the Father and kept the position of order, He obtained authority and was able to reign for God. (The Experience of Life, pp. 347-350)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 46-47
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