CHRIST-DAILY
DEVOTIONS
 December 30th

GLORY IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST

"But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14).

When Paul had Christ revealed him by the Father (Gal. 1:16), his preaching and teaching was radically changed.  Paul declared that glory should forever and ever go to God the Father (Gal. 1:5).  Paul knew it was the Father's eternal will that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).  Paul knew that the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), and that everything was 100% finished by Jesus Christ on the cross.  Paul stood in and preached that 100% grace of God for salvation.  This is why Paul "determined not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (I Cor. 2:2).  Paul knew that Christ living His resurrection life in and through the believer was the power of God (I Cor. 1:24).  Paul also knew that if he preached that man was to become or be anything within himself, that the cross of Christ would be deprived of its cleansing and outworking force within believers (I Cor. 1:17).

That is why Paul marveled at the Galatians who had turned to a different gospel from the 100% grace of the finished work of the cross.  They thought they could live the Christian life in their own flesh by their own strength aside from Christ (Gal. 3:3).  Paul called them foolish and bewitched (Gal. 3:1).  The cross of Christ put to death the last Adam. Everything about Adam living in the flesh for God on his own was put to death on the cross.  Christ has now come to live His life in and through every born again believer in a new creation shared-life or the Christ-life (II Cor. 5:17).  Only Christ in us can live the Christian life.  This is why Paul said if some want to pervert the gospel of Christ or preach any other gospel let them be accursed (Gal. 1:8). For anyone who did not clearly understand his importance about this issue, he repeated a second time (Gal. 1:9).  Paul declares that unless you preach that Christ lives in you as your only life (Gal. 2:20),then you are not preaching the true gospel of Christ. Paul is serious about this matter. Any other preaching is out of the knowledge of good and evil with the wisdom of man and robs men of the outworking power of the cross and the liberating secret of Christ living His resurrection life spontaneously in the believer through the shared-life or the Christ-life (I Cor. 1:17, Gal. 5:1, 2:20).

Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, and concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Phil. 3:5-6).  Paul stated that he worshiped God in the Spirit and had no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).  Paul goes further and declared that he counted all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Phil. 3:7).  Paul strictly wanted to stand in the imputed righteousness of God by faith (Phil. 3:8). Paul declares this is pressing toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, and is mature minded for a believer (Phil. 3:14-15).  Paul declares that those otherwise minded are enemies of the cross of Christ.  Paul also says "to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom. 8:6).  Sowing to the flesh, reaps corruption; but sowing to the Spirit, reaps His eternal resurrection life in and through us (Gal. 6:8). So in conclusion, Paul can only glory in the cross of Christ, and Christ as his all in all!   V

Written by Dwight Davis
Christ-Ministries
 

                                               

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