“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (NIV, 1 Peter 3:18)
And supporting scriptures:
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, …” (NIV, 1 Peter 1:10, italicize is mine)
“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” (NIV, Luke 2:40, italicize is mine)
“But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (NIV, Hebrews 2: 9, italicize is mine)
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Hello again. It’s good to get back to I Peter 3:18 and continue discovering the unfolding revelation of grace and truth Peter heralds to the church.
Peter prepared a banquet of the Word for generations to feast upon.
This is one of those treasure scriptures, having the rich and full bounty of Christ.
It captures the essence and heart of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ – who he became, his journey, perfection, and inheritance to you and me.
This Scripture is not about Calvary, as important it is for you and me.
It’s about the second Adam, Jesus Christ, fathered by God, his sonship and gift of grace and truth to you and me.
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There is a generation – those living in that particular season and time – which will experience a period of great stress, a “birthing” if you will, in the body of Christ. It will be a season unlike any other.
It will be a period on the threshold of unparalleled and unprecedented changes in the world and church. It will be a season on the threshold of the Millennium.
To transition from the New Testament dispensation to the millennium will require deep preparation, dedication, and commitment to Christ.
Thankfully, we are incapable of fulfilling all the above entails.
Jesus pioneered and paved the path before us. He knows what each one needs, and only he knows how to get us from here to there.
He is personally committed to you and me. Be of good heart and cheer, he will prepare and walk you through everything you need to apprehend.
Jesus has an ark prepared just for you, to raise you above the flood of evil that is coming upon this world. It is him and him alone.
We need the revelation of Jesus Christ in grace (1 Peter 1:13), we might run the race well.
He will create in you the capacity to love and be loved that you might walk through the darkness in your own life and in the lives of others.
Though darkness may abound and seemingly capture many, Christ, if allowed, will fan the flame of holiness and righteousness in your life and mine as a beacon of hope and love to others.
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Christ, Back Story
It has been said by many we do not know much about the life of Jesus before his public ministry.
But I believe the Scripture provides the highlights of his journey, from his birth to his presentation before John the Baptist.
We know what God accomplished in him, how he began – born of a woman and born from above into grace – and who he became.
We know how he started, how we ended, and the highlights of the journey he faced in the revelation of God, his heavenly father, to him.
Plus, we have the testimony of the apostle’s journey, providing more discovery into the life of Christ. Their journey, like yours and mine, was Christ’s journey.
As I wrote at length in the preceding post, the Gospel is first and foremost about Christ, and not about us. It is first and foremost about his journey, his perfection, and ministry.
It’s all about Jesus, we’re the beneficiaries.
Jesus suffered for himself first before he could suffer for us. He learned obedience by faith and trust just like you and me.
Ephesians 4:20 – 24, like many companion Scriptures, captures the essence of his journey.
What might the daily life of Christ look like in his battle with the hostilities he faced in his flesh – just think about your life, and you get a glimpse of the picture of his life.
Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born into grace, righteousness being his natural disposition – unlike us, who are born into works, sin, being our natural outcome.
Christ was born with a heart and mind like the first Adam, unmarred by sin, though, the second Adam, Christ, inherited wounds and brokenness in his body, soul, and spirit, from Mary’s side of his family.
All was not right, perfect, on the inside of Christ. He needed love, grace, care and healing from his father. He needed the revelation of God in grace to him just like we receive from him today.
The wounds and brokenness he inherited from his mom’s side of the family pulled on him in opposition to God. (Ephesians 2:14 – 15, see an interlinear)
Unlike us, at no time did he embrace the temptation of sin from within or without.
His heavenly father kept him within the bounds of grace and truth during his maturing years until his perfection, oneness with God his father.
His father walked with him, formed him, and perfected him – the Word made flesh, the only begotten of the father.
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Christ, Set toward Righteousness
Unlike us, who sin before we know it, being born outside of grace, into works, Christ was not on sin’s “autopilot” when he was born.
Being conceived of the Holy Spirit, having a newly begotten spirit – born from above – his natural disposition was set toward righteousness, not marred by sins stain, though carrying the wounds and brokenness from the generations, and the strong appetites and desires those represent, from his earthly heritage.
Christ found himself as Adam did, facing temptation, but, Christ, the second Adam, faced greater challenges and feats to conquer.
Not only did Christ have the weaknesses of the flesh faced by Adam, but, the marks of sin in his body from the generations through Mary.
The cost and price for Christ to pay was greater than the first Adam in facing sin, “… But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (NIV, Romans 5: 20)
(The Scripture is clear Christ was fully human and had to overcome the hostility in his flesh (Ephesians 2:14 – 15) and learn obedience (Hebrews 5:7 – 10). The New Testament is replete with the Scriptures showing the humanity of Christ and the journey he took unto perfection, by the hand of his father, being the first fruit, firstborn, pioneer and perfecter of our faith. The subject of the divinity of Christ is saved for later.)
Not only did Christ faced the same temptations as Adam, but the added struggle of subduing a flesh not only weak, but broken and marred by generational sin.
The Scripture clearly lays out Christ’s ancestry back to Adam.
He carried the seed of his father, God, but his flesh carried the seed and fruit of his mother’s generations.
An Example
For illustration, let’s say unforgiveness was a family wound and weakness in Mary’s ancestral line.
Christ, would have inherited that from his mom.
Being born into grace toward righteousness, Christ would not have an automatic response – the natural family line inclination toward sin – to yield to unforgiveness his ancestors were so easily overcome by.
Christ, born into grace, would experience and feel the power of that wound and weakness, just like what we experience from our ancestral lines, but, through his heavenly father’s parenting, Christ continually chose the path of righteousness over sin.
Nonetheless, Christ carried the wounds and weaknesses of ancestral sins, bearing the marks of them in his body, and would be repeatedly tempted to yield to their rulership until those areas were “… put to the death in the body but made alive in the spirit.” (NIV, 1 Peter 3:18)
This would be a battle in his flesh against his spirit – a Saul versus David battle – works against grace, until he died to sin. (Romans 6:10)
God never intended man to live in constant battle, flesh against spirit, hostility of the flesh against the law of God.
The will of God was for Christ, the second Adam, to once and for all put to death the hostility of the flesh and make one man out of the two – the two being, the law, and the flesh. (Ephesians 2:14 – 15, see an interlinear)
This is the baptism of Jesus Christ, the heart of the gospel, to put to death once and for all the deeds of the body, to be made new in spirit, the promised rest of God in man.
It’s All about Jesus
Christ is the only man, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the parenting of his heavenly father, to put to death the deeds of the flesh once and for all, nailing them to his cross, overcoming the sinful appetites, desires, and temptations of the body, soul, and spirit, making one new man, a new creation, firstborn, first fruit; redeeming man fully and holy by the sacrifice of himself to the will of his heavenly father.
Christ sacrificed his whole being to the will of God, the perfect and complete blood sacrifice, the totality of his being, present and future, to the plan of God, the redemption of man and woman.
It was through the seasons of life, in obedience to the will of his father (Hebrews chapter 5), denying himself legitimate and rightful privileges (Philippians chapter 2), learning righteous responses, attitudes, beliefs and actions – preserving and holding firm under the stewardship of his father (Hebrews 3:14) – that Christ overcame the hostility of the flesh in his members.
A battle, struggle and journey to learn obedience, being made perfect, overcoming the deeds of the body, being made alive in spirit by the Spirit of God.
As I’ve mentioned a number of times in previous posts, commentators struggle with Ephesians 2:14-15, 1 Peter 3:18, and other scriptures describing Christ’s journey unto perfection.
(Some commentators readily acknowledge the Greek wording in these verses does not fit with historic Christian teaching about Christ, and frankly, admit, words have to be forced to mean what certain teachings hold.)
It is ironic, because some of the teachings designed to glorify Christ actually diminish the glory of his “baptismal” journey.
The glory shown forth on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:32) – the radiance of new creation humanity – has been muted to a certain degree in the annals of teachings.
Christ’s glory is the result of the work of God in his life, being made into the image and likeness of God, made perfect. It was a journey and a process.
There are yet truths to be revealed and revelation to be understood about the Lord Jesus Christ, his relationship with the Father and the workings of the Holy Spirit.
Each generation adds little by little to the glory and revelation of Christ.
Perfection
Perfection is a journey of choices, dying to appetites and desires of the human nature, a coming into obedience in sonship.
The first Adam failed in the journey. The second Adam, being put back into the stead of sinless man, but, having the same appetites and desires of his fellow man, was born into grace and learned to receive care and love and not embrace sin in each stage of his development.
Christ came into – stayed in “rest” – in his father’s care. He overcame every temptation from within (Ephesians 2:14 – 15), hostility in his flesh, and without; without sinning. He, by the hand of his father, put to death the body of wounds and weaknesses he inherited, made new in the spirit.
Unlike us, who wrestle with certain sins time and time again, and strongholds and the like, sin never took root in Christ, yet, he faced the same weaknesses of the human condition as we, and put to death the appetites and desires of the flesh, once and for all, and was made perfect.
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.™
