The Overcomer Trust

THE SPIRIT OF CALVARY. 

By J.C.Metcalfe.

In seeking to explain how God the Holy Spirit makes the work of the Cross real in the Christian I would like to turn to Romans 7 verse 4, which reads, “So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God”. There are three natural sections to this verse and we will deal with them separately. 

In the first place it states that we, “died to the law through the body of Christ”. By nature we are all subject to the “law of sin and death”. We cannot help ourselves, our natural tendency is to sin, and our way of life leads to death. ‘Sin and death’, wrote one of the commentators on Romans 8 v2, ‘are here conceived objectively as powers which impose their own law on the unredeemed’. In Old Testament days, and under the old covenant, the law of Moses was given to keep human nature within bounds, and to reveal something of the righteousness of God. By ourselves we are so absolutely under the dominion of the law of sin that we are utterly unable to fulfil the law of God.

Only One Man has ever lived a sinless life, the Man Christ Jesus. He came “in the likeness of sinful flesh”, and identified Himself with us, becoming  our champion in the struggle against evil. In his conflict with Goliath David stood up as the representative Israelite, all the issues of victory or defeat were staked in him. In the same way the Lord Jesus Christ entered the fight as the representative Man. Paul puts it this way, “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering” (Rom. 8 v3). ‘Paul does not mean’, says a commentator, ‘that by His sinless life in our nature Christ had broken the power of sin at one point for the human race; he means that in the death of His own Son, who had come in our nature to make atonement for sin, God had pronounced the doom of sin, and brought its claims and its authority over us to an end.’

Here is something which has been done by God once for all. We are become dead to the law by the body of Christ and we are commanded to “count” ourselves “dead to sin”, because “we were buried with Him through baptism into death”. This unalterable fact has as its purpose, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, that we might live holy and Christ-like lives and manifest Him in this world. 

The Spirit of God helps us in two ways. In the first place He takes of the things of Christ and shows them to us (John 16 v15). He takes the veil off and reveals to us the fact of our identification with Christ in His death, for He alone can open our understanding so that we can grasp the significance of that mighty atoning sacrifice. In the second place He applies, in our lives, the vision thus imparted. We must always bear in mind that God does not deal with us in order to give us a series of experiences, but that we may live holy lives. “If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8 v13), is a clear description of this operation of the Spirit in making real the work of the Cross in us. 

Resting upon the miracle of Calvary, where Christ not only died for us all, but we died in Him, we may bring those things we know to be of the old life to God. When we find it impossible to deal with the things of the old life by ourselves we may call upon our Saviour and in His hands we can catch a glimpse of the power of His death over the old life and begin to enter into the rest of faith, a rest of union with the living Christ. 

Our verse goes on, “That you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead”. The words of the wedding service seem to fit in just here, ‘For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health’. Everything now has to be shared. Two lives are to be made one. There is nothing more wonderful on the human plane than that, and this picture is used of the union between the Lord Jesus Christ and us. There are no secrets, nothing between, the difficulties, the problems, the trials are all mutual responsibilities, and the joys too are equally shared. It is a wonderful thing to share everything with Him. We are one with Him, we are joined to Him. This union has been accomplished through the body of Christ, through the Cross, and the tomb, and we have been united with Him in His resurrection. “He who is joined to the Lord in one spirit.”

Here again the Spirit of God is the agent who makes this union possible. That is why Paul prays for the Ephesians, “That out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”.

Down in the very depths of our being He prepares the dwelling place of the Lord, who dwells in our hearts by His Spirit, to “Strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being”. It is a very precious thing to be “One with Him”.  Every thing we have comes from Christ. He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and I am joined to Him and He supplies my need. Wherever God has placed us we are united to the one source of all supply. We have to be free from ourselves and our own works and ways, in order that Christ may supply our need and manifest Himself in us.

If you want more life, you must have more death. If you want to be more aware of His love and grace, it must be more brokenness as far as the old nature is concerned. There comes a time in human affairs when the bride is taken to the home of her husband. It is now his responsibility to care for her. How joyfully we can rest in the house of our Beloved, “His banner over me is love.” I am joined to Him and His life is mine. Only the Spirit of God can make this real to us. Oh the wonder and glory of it. His infinite tenderness and grace in taking us, lost, hopeless, rebellious sinners, and not just saving us but making us one with Himself. This is the rest of which the world knows nothing, it ushers us into that life which is life indeed.

Why is this? In order that we might bear fruit to God. For all fruit that God brings forth there are two people responsible, there is Christ and you. “Apart from Me you can do nothing”, He has said. What a lesson to learn! It is now a case of the fruit of union, not the fruit of effort, but how often  we try to bring forth fruit by our own efforts. Fruit comes from union with Christ and those who are buried with Him in baptism, into death, share His resurrection and will bring forth fruit to God. If God is not blessing our ministry the fault lies in the lack of union with Him. Why fret about results? Our union with Him will bring forth fruit. Here again it is the work of the Holy Spirit to give the results. You must have noted the contrast between the works of the flesh, the flesh at work on its ‘production programme’, the flesh labouring in the divisions and jealousies within the Christian Church, and the quiet stillness of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy and peace. 

The desperate need of our churches is just this, the need of a new revelation of Calvary and union with the living Christ. There can be no revival without it.

“You died.” Praise God for that, belonging to another, joyous, vital union. We died that we might bear fruit to God. We have all brought forth an abundance of fruit for self and the evil one in times past. Now rich fruit waits for you of which you will probably be largely unconscious. The knowledge of your union with Him will bring forth fruit spontaneously, and He will see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.

From:‘The Spirit of Calvary’.

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