Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 Crucified the flesh:

 

Galatians 5:24

24     Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

     

            We belong to Jesus, so this says that we have (past tense) crucified the flesh. When Jesus was crucified, lawfully in Him we were being crucified also. Our flesh with all its wants and desires, some good and some not so good, was crucified. Of course, it certainly doesn’t seem like it at times. We have to start believing that it is so, in order for it to begin happening. Our minds are programmed to do whatever it takes to satisfy any desire. It takes time to retrain it to think the way God thinks. We need to supply it God’s thoughts through His Word.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Why do you act as though the things of the past still control you? Why do you think as one of the people who are still in the world? You are in the world, but the world is not in you. So act like it! My children are free from the things that control the world. They are free from its influences and its passions. The things that your flesh used to desire are no more as far as your spirit is concerned. So don’t let those influences control you. You are no longer subject to them. You are the one that is in control now … not your flesh. So don’t act and think like your flesh is the one who is the boss. Your spirit is if you let it. Allow My Spirit to control your life, and you will have an abundance of joy.”

 

            91. My flesh has been crucified with Christ along with its passions and desires. With His help I can resist the urges of the past and stand blameless in His sight.

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

 Results:

 

            Freed from sin:

 

Romans 6:22

22     But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

     

            Before we came to Jesus, we were enslaved to sin. It was our master, and we obeyed it … many times willingly. Now that we have been set free from its enslavement, we have willingly enslaved ourselves to God. In the Old Testament, if a Hebrew slave was about to be set free by his master, and he so loved his master and was so well treated by him that he didn’t want to leave, his master took him to the door post of his house and pierced his ear with an awl. He willingly surrendered himself to his master for life, even though he was free to go. That is what God wants … that we willingly submit ourselves to His Lordship. This enslavement results in sanctification. We are set apart as holy unto Him. This eternal life that the Scripture talks about is not in the sweet bye and bye. It is here in the nasty now and now.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are free, My children. You are no longer slaves to those things to which you were once enslaved. You have been set free … now act like it! Do not go on acting like you once did … as a slave to those things of the world. Trust in Me to provide the way and the desire to obey My Word. Then you will know My cleansing in your life. I washed you and made you whole. Now I want to complete the work in your life by showing you how to walk in My righteousness and true holiness all the rest of the days of your life.”

 

            90. I have been set free from sin and it no longer has dominion over me. This will bring about my sanctification with its result … eternal life!

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Spirit, soul, and body complete without blame:

 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

23     Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     24     Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

     

            God is not just paying attention to our spirits. He is concerned about all three facets of our lives … spirit, soul, and body. He wants us to be sanctified lock, stock, and barrel. Sanctified means set apart as holy unto Him. He wants our spirit, soul, and body to be preserved completely and without any guilt when Jesus returns. Our sprits were sanctified when we asked Jesus to come into our lives. Our souls are in the process of being sanctified. There should be a point in time when we dedicated our lives to God. In other words, we made Jesus not just our Savior, but also our Lord. Some people believe that this sanctification is a separate work of grace, like salvation. Let’s not argue about whether it is or not. We will agree that there should be a moment in time when we turn our lives over completely to Him. That is when the sanctification of our souls can truly begin. These verses also mention that He is faithful to bring it about. If He says He will do it, you can be sure He will.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My desire in not just that you be perfect in your spirit, but in all aspects of your life. I desire that you be blameless within and without. I desire that your desires blend in with Mine … that you walk fully in My Word. Only then will you truly know happiness. Joy is neither in things nor in people. Joy is obeying My Word and doing My will. Then you will know true happiness. It is not based on circumstances, but on knowing Me fully, which you cannot do as long as you obey your former desires and ambitions. Walk fully in Me; then you will know My joy.”

 

            89. He is sanctifying me totally inside and out. I will be completely without blame when Jesus returns. I can depend on Him to do it. It will happen!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

 Keeps us from stumbling:

 

Jude 24

24     Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

     

            Isn’t this magnificent? He is able to keep us from stumbling. Well, if He can, why doesn’t He? He could force us to not stumble, but then we would be robots. We should have the yearning to not stumble. We also have to work together with Him in the effort. He does the work, but we have to be agreeable and put forth the effort too. We have to avoid certain conditions that would put the temptation to sin in front of us. We sometimes have to call upon His name in desperation when these situations confront us. It says that He can bring us to the point where we can stand in the presence of His glory. In the Old Testament, whenever the glory of the Lord was present, no one could stand. We will be able to stand because He will make us blameless. No wonder we will do it with great joy. How spectacular to be blameless in His holy sight!

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My desire for My children is not that they barely make it in this world. It is not that they continually fail to keep My Word. My desire is that you walk completely in My Word and to not ever disobey My commandments. You have that ability residing in you through My Spirit who indwells you. You can do this. You can succeed in keeping My Word in your every day life. It is My will that you do so. If you ask anything according to My will, it shall be done for you as you have believed. You have nothing to fear. You will not fail. You will succeed; for this is My desire … that you walk in My holiness, blameless with great joy!”

 

            88. Even though at times it may look like I won’t make it, He is able to keep me from stumbling and make me stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. Hallelujah!