The Transition from the Outer Man to the Inner Man - by Pastor Doug Riggs
by John Mark on 07/24/24
This message was originally recorded March 3,
2016.
My notes:
Death
is God's provision for us to be free from what we are by nature in Adam - our
deliverance from the kingdom of Satan to the Rule and Reign of God in Christ
As
Doug is referencing 1 Peter 4:1, "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in
the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has
suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin", I'm reminded of Hebrews 5:8,
"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He
suffered." Jesus didn't cease from sin through suffering - He was sinless.
But the question arises, if He learned obedience through suffering, how might
we learn obedience? Evidently, it's the same - it involves suffering. I've
learned to appreciate times of suffering as the means to teach me obedience
instead of chafing and complaining about whatever pain or causes of suffering I
encounter. Though in my flesh I may think suffering to be negative and what I
don't want in my life, here we see it is a very positive tool for God to bring
me into obedience.
Similarly,
death from the perspective of our old man is negative, but from that of the new
man in Christ is the path to resurrection. Without death we can never
experience resurrection. "That which is on resurrection ground in union
with Jesus Christ is possible only through death. And so we look back on the
cross on resurrection ground, the cross
is all positive plus.. and you pass through the cross and come out the other
side; that cross is life."
"Death"
means a separation from one's environment. Death in the spiritual sense is
separation from God, separation from fellowship with God. The second death, the
experience of eternal death, "means an eternal conscious separation from
God; whereas life is a conscious communion with God." So many who reject
the gospel believe that their eventual death is simply a loss of existence, a
lie the enemy foists on unbelievers heading for an eternity of the
consciousness of their separation from God and their loss of any hope of
redemption.
We
read in 1 John 3:9, "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His
seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Who we
are in Christ are incapable of habitual sin, because as members of Christ's
body, identified and incorporated into Him. He cannot sin, neither can we when
we are abiding in Him. The key is living by faith in abiding union with Him.
When we do sin, we know we have forgiveness in Him. If we continue in sin, we
face the potential ‘sin unto death’ – God removing us before we finish our
course.
Whenever
we experientially step out of who we are positionally in Christ back into the
old man, we cannot help but sin and fall short of all potentiality of pleasing
God. In that old man, we are under the rule of sin. "Everything that
represents the rule of sin ended there in Jesus Christ, who is the 'last
Adam'".
Our
old man died in the last Adam when He was put to death on the cross. The old
man was not resurrected; positionally he remains dead in the grave. It's when
we step back out of our abiding union with Christ that we step back into that
death, experiential separation from fellowship with God. "Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in a
new creation quality of life. That's only on resurrection ground."
So
how do we keep from experientially returning to the old man? "Crucifixion
is the answer to the old man... Death is the answer to the old man... We are
commanded to put off the old man." And how do we do that? We look back on
the fact that we were crucified with Christ 2,000 years ago and choose to put
off the old man and put on Christ, the new man, making no provision for the
flesh (Romans 13:14). We choose to act in faith to obey God rather than
passively sliding down the slippery slope of sin and death. "The body
ruled by sin is rendered unemployed by what? Co-crucifixion with Him.
Co-crucifixion results in death with Him; and death with Him represents being
co-buried with Him; co-entombed. If we experientially step out of Christ - that
can never be done positionally because when we're in Christ, we are in Christ;
but experientially if we step out of Christ into what we are by nature in Adam,
we go back to the tomb."
Let me share a personal testimony. I learned
the hard way that God would not answer my prayers for many years to deliver me
from sexual immorality, idolatry, pornography, etc. no matter how much I begged
Him. He just wouldn't do it. I thought many times just how unfair it seemed as
I've heard many others being delivered. Why not me? What's wrong with me???
I
finally discovered what's wrong with me. It's the nature I was born with: sin -
the old man - flesh. It's what's wrong with all of us. So why didn't God
deliver me from sinning? He actually did, 2,000 years ago on the cross. He took
me with Himself on the cross when He was made that sin. He died as sin - as the
last Adam - as the old man - as sinful flesh. And after He died as me, He was
buried, I along with Him. That's the end of the story of Adam, the old Adam,
the sin nature, the flesh.
When
Jesus was raised from the dead, it wasn't the old Adam that was raised. It was
the second Man, the New Man, an entirely new race of humanity that came to life
from that tomb and became a corporate man at Pentecost. This is how I
discovered why Jesus won't deliver me, from my sins. He left that old man of me
in the tomb. When I put off that old man with his sinful habits and put on the
new man, I find I don't want to sin. Why? Because the new Man, the head of the new
humanity I am a part of, doesn't want to sin. He only wants to do the will of
His Father - our Father - and to please Him. In other words, when I'm living
out from my flesh, the old man, in my sin nature, I want to sin. But as long as
I'm experientially living in the realm of the new man, in Christ, I am
delivered from sin – even wanting to sin. The old man will never be delivered
from sin. It's all he knows; it's all he is. It's by living in the new man that
I'm delivered from sin.
Back
to the message: "Death is God's provision to be free from what we are by
nature in Adam." And the life of Jesus Christ "is available in us to
live to God."
Doug
refers to a phrase from Dr. Henry Mabie, the "mid-death resurrection
process". "The cross on one side is death; but the cross on the other
side is resurrection." You can find a few of his writings on my Book
Ministry website (about 1/3 down the page at
https://www.bookministry.org/Bookstore.html).
Jesus
tells us that we need to lose our soul-life "as it's anchored and rooted
in Adam and that which is still ruled by the five senses... There has to be a
transition from the outer man (i.e.: natural life governed by the soul) to the
inner man" (the spiritual man governed by the Holy Spirit)."
As we
consider the cross and the sufferings of Jesus, what seems to be such a
negative in our lives, there's something very much related to that dying.
"If I'm going to go on in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians
3:10), I'm going to have to more and more come in to the power of His
resurrection... The process is by being conformed to His death... The outer man
becomes conformed to His death, so that the inner man can come forth in
resurrection union with Christ." That's like the seed going into the
ground. Its outer shell dies, and only then can life spring forth from its
inner being.
Link
to Audio:
https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/3-13-16%2Bsunday%2Bassembly.mp3
Doug
brings up the fact that if (when) we live experientially with Christ, we will
enter into His sufferings. After watching Jamie Walden's recent message The Fraternal Order
of Suffering: The Power and Purpose of Affliction! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5wz_T29HJU&list=WL&index=1),
I produced this short video Are We Avoiding Suffering??? (https://youtu.be/ArkS0Jopl9o) to
challenge us as to what we are constantly trying to avoid. Is it something God is
allowing in our life to bring us into something He wants for us? Consider also
watching an amazing message on suffering by Art Katz: Gethsemane (https://bookministry1.s3.amazonaws.com/assemblies-2024/Gethsemane+by+Art+Katz.mp4)
It's all about this:
(Col 1:24) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in
filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.
Resource
mentioned: The Fabric of Time (I'm guessing this is the correct video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQFoqoWnQ60&t=549s)
Maranatha!
John Mark
...hereby committing this unto the
providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is
blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!