Good day. I pray you are doing well and ready to receive fresh insight. I hope you find it as rich as I do.

Over the last five years the Lord has opened up an area of Scripture to me. It concerns Christ’s personal journey.

I find it fascinating and exhilarating because his journey is our journey. The two are inseparable.

Receiving revelation in the Word, eating from the tree of life, is always exciting and life giving.

But it is also so very humbling and a call to go deeper by him. His call is not one to be postponed but to be sought at all cost.

The path to the treasure of Christ is clearly laid out in the Scriptures. Centuries upon centuries and layers upon layers of writings, teachings and traditions have made it difficult to find the pathway to Christ.

But Jesus continues to unfold more and more of his nature to us in move after move of God. And he continues to do that in our generations.

The Lord’s given me an understanding of the treasure map the Scriptures hold in a particular area. Others have received copies of the treasure map as well.

I’m going to share some of mine with you in this post.

It will take a full series of posts to do justice. I plan to do a series in the near future under the category, “Death and Resurrection, Heart of the Gospel.”

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In this post I give new insight of the passage referenced in the title from 1 Peter 3:18.

(We’re continuing our journey in 1 Peter Chapter 3 and now specifically in relationship to Christ. In earlier posts we’ve covered Noah, “the disobedient,” Christ’s proclamation to those who were once disobedient, and the Scriptural meaning of baptism and the journey in Christ.)

On the surface, the passage, “… put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (NIV, 1 Peter 3:18) appears to speak of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, but, upon closer examination – based on scores of Scripture’s throughout the Old and New Testament (Scripture interpreting Scripture), it is in fact one of the many describing his personal journey, many of us have missed or misunderstood.

Commentators

To say the least, this passage has given commentators much difficulty.

Simply, the wording does not fit a persons’ “physical death and subsequent resurrection,” as they point out, yet, having no alternative, they conclude it must refer to Christ’s death and resurrection at Calvary. What else could it refer to?

That’s what I will begin covering in this post.

(There are a number of good bible sites on the internet with commentaries, free of charge. I encourage you to read for yourself, you may be surprised at what you find.)

Commentaries are valuable – a great source of history and the thinking of great minds. But commentators are people like you and me.

Though theologians, they are subject to the same limits we face, the depth and degree of revelation and Spirit the Lord gives the Church at any particular time.

Christ in Portions

You wouldn’t give your Corvette keys to your 12 years-old son or daughter, nor an F-35 to a brand-new airman or woman; neither does the Lord.

There are certain truths lost in centuries past that take time to restore. The human heart is a delicate creature, and God is taking great pains to grow his Church “up” over generations to become complete and mature in him.

The rebirth started with Luther and continues today. (I’ve written much in earlier posts about “moves of God.” Let’s not be a bystander to today’s move but eat from the banquet Christ has for you and me.)

It is Christ who leads the church. It is he who imparts truth, revelation and Spirit. It is he who determines how much and how far the church can apprehend in a particular season based upon their ability to retain, mature and grow to the next level.

The church cannot outpace the grace of God and the revelation of truth and Spirit, inherent in his grace.

We can only go as far and as fast in Christ as the church is able to carry the weight of glory revealed in old truths in new ways.

In other words, moves of God build upon prior moves of God, and though God may leapfrog individuals to pioneer a new move they can only go so far until those the Lord is calling and choosing catch up.

Jesus

In the past, many, maybe most, have not understood or given much thought to Christ’s journey.

We’ve thought more about what Jesus did for us on Calvary and what he does now, than the personal journey he endured on his own account.

We’re well-versed with his water baptism, 40 days in the wilderness, 3 plus years of public ministry, and physical death and resurrection.

But who is this person we so admire, apart from his public ministry and accomplishments for and on behalf of us?

What did God accomplish in him, and what did he undergo?

The Deep Work of Christ Today

God is doing a new work, a profound work in the body of Christ today you do not want to miss.

The last hundred years or so has seen an accelerated outpouring of his Spirit and revelation.

The Lord is taking those he calls and chooses to deep waters, the bedrock of Christianity – putting to death the lower nature to walk in newness of life – the resurrection life and power of Christ this side of heaven.

Christ experienced it – this side of heaven – and so shall we.

It is upon this generation. Many are experiencing the deep cleansing and healing work of God in their life.

A new day is arising in the church. You do not want to miss the gifting of his grace in the revelation of him.

The church is being ushered, for lack of a better term, into a “squeeze.”

Darkness is encroaching, the Lord is beckoning, and there are multiple layers of challenges and obstacles standing before us and the path the Lord is leading us on – with the light of the Millennium slowly appearing on the horizon.

The Lord is using the “squeeze” to chase us into his arms, we might run, not walk, into his will, grace, love and care.

Right now, in many ways, it’s all about care, and receiving the care of Jesus Christ for your life and mine. His care cleanses and heals.

We cannot face what’s coming upon the church in the condition we find ourselves. Now is the time to seek the Lord. Today is the day of salvation.

Press into the things of God and utilize all the resources Jesus brings your way. Great righteousness and trouble are on the horizon.

The enemy is preparing many for great trouble. Let’s prepare for great righteousness.

Back to 1 Peter

If “…put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (NIV, 1 Peter 3:18), is not about Calvary, i.e., Christ’s crucifixion, physical death, and resurrection, then what does it describe?

You may want to ponder this: Death and resurrection are used extensively in the New Testament – in what ways are they used and can death and resurrection be used in reference to Christ in ways other than Calvary?

How can we be ambassadors of Christ and the gospel if we do not have an intimate knowledge of him, his journey, his story – apart from him carrying the marks of our sins in his body on Calvary?

How can Jesus ask us to persevere, endure, and suffer hardship at a deep and personal level – having nothing to do with ministry – but everything to do with one’s personal growth, maturity, and completion, – if he had not done the same thing?

Is ministry and Calvary all there is about Jesus – his ministry, rejection, and death at the hands of sinful men?

Is there a greater story about Christ other than what he did for us?

Are “all” the tests and trials and hardships of Christ in the New Testament about his preparation and ministry, or are there other things involved that pertain strictly to him as a person?

Are the plans and purposes of God to make us into his image and likeness first and foremost, of which, Christ, was the “first and only” one to be completed and perfected without sin?

Our Pioneer and Perfecter

The greatest story about Jesus is not what he did in healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, speaking the truths and oracles of God and prophetic utterances, and all the other wonderful things he did, but, who he became as a person, the wonderful and marvelous transformation that occurred in his life, being made perfect, exalted to the highest position, King, Prophet and Priest, and given a name above every other name, pioneering the faith that saves you and me.

And 1 Peter 3:18 is the key to that journey.

A journey filled with initiation, tests, care, love, discipline and training to make him into the man he became. A journey fathered by God.

Timing

Was Christ perfected during the 40 days in the wilderness, or during his public ministry, or in the closing days of his life before or at Calvary?

Or, was the man we know as the Christ completed and perfected before he presented himself to John to be water baptized?

If the answer is yes, the man who stood before John, was Lord, King, Priest and Prophet, then what about all the Scriptures referring to his perfection, exaltation, authority, passing through the heavens, having a name above every name – when did these events occur?

How can we apprehend Christ if we don’t know who he is and what he apprehended?

And how can we truly know ourselves, and the baptism Christ has called us into, if we do not know his journey, the baptism he underwent, making him into the perfected Son of God?

In Closing

There is much, much more, of the treasures of Jesus Christ to be revealed to the church now and in the days ahead.

The book of Hebrews is a lovely recount of the journey and story of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his testimony and the first in the set of testimonies that ends the New Testament.

The revelation of Christ will encourage you to go deeper in him and see what a treasure he truly is and the treasure you truly are.

If you believe we know all we need to know about Jesus, his story, his journey, and who he is, and what we know about him is etched in stone and complete, an awakening is coming to you when Jesus takes you deep in him and you explore the scriptures.

Blessings, Drake

(NIV) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblical, Inc.™