Are You Bearing About the Dying of Jesus?

Are You Bearing About the Dying of Jesus?

While Paul lived, there was one thing that he always did. And why did Paul do this? He did it in order to lay hold of more and more of the life of Christ because it was so precious to him. And what did he do so that the life of Christ would be revealed in him? Listen now! If you do the same thing, you will be blessed in what you are doing.

We are continuously surrendered into death for Jesus’ sake, so that Jesus’ life can be revealed in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:11; see also verses 10 and 12.

Do you love Jesus’ life so much that you bear the dying of Jesus in your body, so that Jesus’ life is revealed in you?

Are you bearing about the dying of Christ? Do you know what that means? If you don’t know it, it is because you are not acquainted with it.

Moreover, if you are not bearing about the dying of Christ, then how can the life of Christ be manifested in you? You say, “I simply believe”; alright, then. But a simple faith without bearing about the dying of Christ will profit you nothing.

Paul says in verse 10: “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

Are you always surrendered into death for Jesus’ sake? Why should Paul be continuously surrendered into death? What was death supposed to do in Paul? It had something to accomplish in him. It was his old self-life that was always to be surrendered into the hands of death, into the death of Christ; that is, into the death that Christ died. As long as there was still a shred of the old life to be found, it had to be surrendered into death. His whole longing was to lose the old life so that Christ could be manifested in his life.

One sister said, “But are we always supposed to continue with this?” She thought that she was finished with it. She thought that this must be a miserable life, in which case Paul must also have had a miserable life, and thus she had advanced further than the apostle, as some people say. Here we find those people again who have this doctrine of Satan that the entire self-life was taken away when they were baptized with the Spirit. With the “flip of a finger” their entire self-life has been taken away so that now they are totally purified from all self-life. Such people wouldn’t need more of the death of Christ, would they? Of course not, for the death of Christ is there for the purpose of dealing with the self-life. Nevertheless, Paul was bearing about the death of Christ so that the life of Christ would be manifested. How can these people show forth the life of Christ unless they bear about His death? How can they possibly do it? Think about it! I wonder if it isn’t religious chicanery and Satan’s deception. How can they find life without losing their life?

Let us examine ourselves. Is there something in you that needs to be brought into death? Then let it happen. Isn’t there something? Paul always had to surrender his life into death. You are on the wrong way if you are not going on this same way. Will you be suffering defeat by always having to be given over to death? Not at all! This is victory! For by doing it, the life of Christ is manifested. It is a defeat for the flesh, but the spirit is made alive.