Instruments of Righteousness

“For the one that died has been justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that also we shall live with Him” Rom. 6:7-9.

In the beginning, I don’t think any of us fully understand what happened in us when we are born from above, but we know we have received His Life so we get baptized in water as an outward sign that we have received a inward baptism into Salvation. Now baptism has to do with burial. (“Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism.” Rom.6:4)

Who is it that qualifies for burial?

Only the dead.

Many times I have lost sight of the basis of our relationship with God. From the beginning we have only been fit for death. We do not undergo burial with a hope that it will produce our death. Our death with Christ is a finished work. From the beginning we were already dead in Christ.

“For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. So also you count yourselves to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then do not let sin rule in your mortal body, to obey it in its lusts. Neither present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as One living from the dead, and your members instruments of righteousness to God” Rom. 6:10-13

Paul says we are now to present our members as “instruments.”

Can an instrument play itself?

We also cannot play ourselves. We have to present ourselves to Him, so that He can play the instrument we have presented to Him. Whenever I play my own instrument, no matter how accurately I hit the notes, as long as I am the one living, it rings out a hollow, empty tune. Because it is out from the wrong man, my music has an air of death instead of His Life.

At times I have kept on, thinking that that the problem is that I need to invest more effort and practice. But it’s of no use. The problem is not with my playing, it is the player.

God only recognizes 2 men, Adam and Christ. The first death, the Second is Life. It is not as though He doesn’t know your name, and the number of hairs on your head, it’s just that man looks on the outward appearance God looks at the heart, 1 Sam. 16:7. He knows which man is living and being expressed through your instrument. And just playing all the right notes, does not prove the right Man is playing either.

When they catch the guy picking up sticks on the Sabbath, Moses asks The Lord what they should do with him, and God says “stone him!” It seems too harsh to us, because we just think death? For picking up sticks? But God sees a bigger purpose being violated. He was not at rest. The testimony of rest speaks of us ceasing from living out from ourselves. We forget that from the beginning we all came into this Son through death. It only seems extreme because we forget that our own heart has only been fit for death. We have left rest whenever we are playing our own instrument, living unto ourselves.l
Israel had one purpose in this world.

“Israel is my Son” Ex. 4:22.

Israel is One Son, not many. There was only one exception in the Word when Israel could be numbered. In the wilderness (Nu.2:) they were counted so that twice as many Israelites were camped at the foot of the tabernacle and half that amount at the head and arms of what formed a cross. Outside the cross we are unclean. Only inside the cross are we clean. Only in His death is the Church the true Israel. The point is that in the encampment of the cross Israel was One man, not many. As it is written,

“thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Yahweh, ISRAEL IS MY SON even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let My Son go, that He may serve me” Ex. 4:22-33

1+any other sum = is more than, (instead of) Christ. That which is instead of Christ is anti-Christ.

The death of the Lamb at passover was the basis of Israel’s relationship with God. It was their foundation. When Israel had lost sight of the basis of their relationship with God, God would again bring the dead to their death again. When God saw the blood on the door He saw them as already dead. It was not a way of escaping the death. Neither is our salvation. Whenever they would live their own individual lives they would be brought back to the beginning again. And so He brings us once again back to the cross.

Jesus didn’t die so we can live, He died so we can die. and then He can live in us.

How can our hearts know this transformation out from the first man to the Second? Not by focusing on ourselves. No. Only by seeing and knowing Him. No man can see The Lord and live” Ex. 33:20. We have to see The Lord with eyes of faith, by revelation.

But HOW?

“When one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”. (2 Corinthians 3:16,17)

“Liberty from what? Well, if we turn to the Lord, and are occupied with Him in the way we have indicated, the Holy Spirit sets us free…

More than that, “This beholding of Christ means that the Holy Spirit changes you into God’s likeness: “Beholding… we are changed.”
It is not said, “Beholding, we begin to change ourselves,” and we embark upon self-transformation with all its struggle, and conflict, and battle. We are changed by the Lord the Spirit. Be occupied with Christ, and the Spirit takes up the matter of transforming into His image. Be occupied with yourself, and you will see that the law of conformity to type operates. If you are the type, then you will conform to that type. If Christ is the type, then the Holy Spirit will conform to His likeness.”

T. Austin-Sparks from: Spiritual Ministy