Jesus' First Death
Is it possible that Jesus died before the cross? I believe so.
Read Matthew 4:1-17. Before going to the desert (perhaps like this pic from Judea) the most important words of these 17 verses is, "Jesus was led by the Spirit." When we are led by God's Spirit, you better believe the Spirit will ask you to die so that He can live through you.
After that important verse... notice Jesus dies 3 times here:
1. Jesus died to his flesh. As he was fasting and Satan tempted him to turn a rock in to bread so he could satisfy his flesh and eat. Jesus quoted scripture and died to his flesh.
2. Next Jesus died to self. Satan took him to a high place and tempted him to show off his divinity by throwing himself off a cliff so the angles could save him. Again, he quoted scripture and died to self.
3. Jesus dies to self again! Satan shows Jesus"all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor" and says "all this I will give you if you bow down and worship me." Jesus quotes scripture again, and dies to self AGAIN!
Jesus started his ministry by dying to flesh and self. THEN he dies several times over the next 3 years in order to prepare him for his last death on the cross. Flesh crucified, self completely denied, and by the power of the Spirit speaks words of love ("Father forgive them...").
Something else I noticed. Jesus dies to flesh once and to self 2 times! Coincidence? I think not. Have you died to your flesh? Have you identified the fleshly temptations that trip you up? Ask God what they are. God's Spirit wants to help you die to those (Rom. 8:13, Col. 3:5).
But, once you die to flesh...there is still self. Jesus has to die to self twice. Perhaps this is the most difficult one to die to. In my experience it is...the issues of the flesh are obvious... but the issues of the self are down deep and not so obvious. AND they're not always sinful either...but they're there. My hunch is, like me, you know they're there too.
I thought being a spiritually mature Christian meant putting the flesh to death. But, once I began to do this... there was my soul or "self" who loves to be in control that need to be dealt with. Jesus quotes scripture because he knows the truth of Hebrews 4:12.
I praise you God for your Word that seperates soul and spirit and judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart (or soul) SO THAT I may die to self and live by the power of your Spirit.
Read Matthew 4:1-17. Before going to the desert (perhaps like this pic from Judea) the most important words of these 17 verses is, "Jesus was led by the Spirit." When we are led by God's Spirit, you better believe the Spirit will ask you to die so that He can live through you.
After that important verse... notice Jesus dies 3 times here:
1. Jesus died to his flesh. As he was fasting and Satan tempted him to turn a rock in to bread so he could satisfy his flesh and eat. Jesus quoted scripture and died to his flesh.
2. Next Jesus died to self. Satan took him to a high place and tempted him to show off his divinity by throwing himself off a cliff so the angles could save him. Again, he quoted scripture and died to self.
3. Jesus dies to self again! Satan shows Jesus"all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor" and says "all this I will give you if you bow down and worship me." Jesus quotes scripture again, and dies to self AGAIN!
Jesus started his ministry by dying to flesh and self. THEN he dies several times over the next 3 years in order to prepare him for his last death on the cross. Flesh crucified, self completely denied, and by the power of the Spirit speaks words of love ("Father forgive them...").
Something else I noticed. Jesus dies to flesh once and to self 2 times! Coincidence? I think not. Have you died to your flesh? Have you identified the fleshly temptations that trip you up? Ask God what they are. God's Spirit wants to help you die to those (Rom. 8:13, Col. 3:5).
But, once you die to flesh...there is still self. Jesus has to die to self twice. Perhaps this is the most difficult one to die to. In my experience it is...the issues of the flesh are obvious... but the issues of the self are down deep and not so obvious. AND they're not always sinful either...but they're there. My hunch is, like me, you know they're there too.
I thought being a spiritually mature Christian meant putting the flesh to death. But, once I began to do this... there was my soul or "self" who loves to be in control that need to be dealt with. Jesus quotes scripture because he knows the truth of Hebrews 4:12.
I praise you God for your Word that seperates soul and spirit and judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart (or soul) SO THAT I may die to self and live by the power of your Spirit.
posted by Scot at
9:44 AM
4 Comments:
Hey Scot.
I haven't listened to your sermon yet, I assume its good if this is in addition to it. I connected with what you said about always thinking spiritual maturity was connected to dying to flesh...though it is, dying to self is also appart of the equasion. Thanks for the insight into God's truth.
I believe this to be an exceptional truth. The difficulty lies in having the knowledge; wisdom; discernment to know when we are being led by our soul (will; emotions), and when we are following the Spirit (our spirit surrendered to the Holy Spirit).
In Galatians 5:16-21 it talks about the fleshly nature being contrary to the Spirit. I believe the beginning of discerning the Spirit's leading is dying to the old and surrendering to the Spirit. I think that it's not only possible to discern the Spirit's leading but that it's His priority that we grow in it. Just like our souls are made up of our mind, will, and emotions, Watchman Nee says in our spirits is where our intuition, conscience, and fellowship with God lies. He has good reason to believe that as well. We're born learning to follow our mind, will, and emotions... but when we're "born again" we start learning out to hear, discern, and obey our spirit that is led by God's Spirit. Crazy cool stuff.
I thought you might want to hear what some of the ancients said:
Third Council of Constantinople
(681 AD, Sixth Ecumenical)
This council further clarified the Definition of Chalcedon,
dealing with the question of whether the two natures of Jesus
Christ (God and man) had two separate wills as well. The
issue was important because of the existence of the
Monophysite (one nature) heresy, which maintained that Jesus
Christ has only one nature, truncating to some degree His
humanity in favor of His divinity. Some taught that not-
withstanding Jesus' two natures, He had only one will. The
Third Council of Constantinople rejected this view as being
too close to the teaching of the Monophysites. The statement
is an effort to tread the line between the Monophysite and
the Nestorian heresies.
The Statement of Faith of the Third Council of Constantinople
(681 AD, Sixth Ecumenical)
We also proclaim two natural willings or wills in him and two
natural operations, without separation, without change,
without partition, without confusion, according to the
teaching of the holy Fathers -- and two natural wills not
contrary to each other, God forbid, as the impious heretics
have said they would be, but his human will following, and
not resisting or opposing, but rather subject to his divine
and all-powerful will. For it was proper for the will of the
flesh to be moved naturally, yet to be subject to the divine
will, according to the all-wise Athanasius. For as his flesh
is called and is the flesh of God the Word, so also the
natural will of his flesh is called and is God the Word's own
will, as he himself says: "I came down from heaven, not to do
my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me," calling
the will of the flesh his own, as also the flesh had become
his own. For in the same manner that his all-holy and
spotless ensouled flesh, though divinized, was not destroyed,
but remained in its own law and principle also his human
will, divinized, was not destroyed, but rather preserved, as
Gregory the divine says: "His will, as conceived of in his
character as the Saviour, is not contrary to God, being
wholly divinized." We also glorify two natural operations in
the same our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, without separa-
tion, without change, without partition, without confusion,
that is, a divine operation and a human operation, as the
divine preacher Leo most clearly says: "For each form does
what is proper to it, in communion with the other; the Word,
that is, performing what belongs to the Word, and the flesh
carrying out what belongs to the flesh." We will not
therefore grant the existence of one natural operation of God
and the creature, lest we should either raise up into the
divine nature what is created, or bring down the preeminence
of the divine nature into the place suitable for things that
are made. For we recognize the wonders and the sufferings as
of one and the same person], according to the difference of
the natures of which he is and in which he has his being, as
the eloquent Cyril said.
Preserving therefore in every way the unconfused and
undivided, we set forth the whole confession in brief;
believing our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, to be one of
the holy Trinity even after the taking of flesh, we declare
that his two natures shine forth in his one hypostasis, in
which he displayed both the wonders and the sufferings
through the whole course of his dispensation, not in phantasm
but truly, the difference of nature being recognized in the
same one hypostasis by the fact that each nature wills and
works what is proper to it, in communion with the other. On
this principle we glorify two natural wills and operations
combining with each other for the salvation of the human
race.
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