The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Yield Yourselves"
"We yield to God not merely ourselves, but rather ourselves as united to the Spirit of the Lord Jesus."
"Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead" (Romans 6:13).
The word "yield" in the Apostle Paul's command means to place beside. This involves how we view ourselves in spiritual proximity to God. Born again believers must see ourselves as united to our Lord, and thus "alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (I Corinthians 6:17). We acknowledge His presence with and within us, yielding selves declared by Paul as alive in the life of Christ.
"And you hath He quickened (enlivened) who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).
This may seem counterintuitive, based on how we feel, how we naturally view ourselves, and what we have experienced in our walk with God. We may often appear and seem anything but "alive unto God" and "alive from the dead." Believers can still live in a manner that ignores and neglects the truth of the risen Christ dwelling within us as the Life of our lives. We can walk after the flesh rather than by the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). If we fail to yield ourselves in accordance with Paul's mandate - as "alive from the dead" - we limit by unbelief the "the power that worketh in us," seeking to journey upon the path of righteousness as if alone and apart from our only hope for consistent faith and obedience (Ephesians 3:20). "We shall live with Him by the power of God" (II Corinthians 13:4).
We also unintentionally minimize the effect of Christ's atoning work in His death and resurrection. Did He die for us and thereby justify us as righteous in God's sight? He did. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Did He also birth and enliven our spirits by sending the Spirit of God to dwell within us when we believed? He did. "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6). Can our spiritual selves be anything other than vibrantly alive if the risen Christ dwells within us? They cannot. Thus, we yield to God not merely ourselves, but rather ourselves as united to the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. We do so as a matter of faith, a matter of faith based on the reality of God's faithfulness and the promise He made to all who believe. Indeed, even to the carnal Corinthian believers, who walked after the flesh, Paul affirmed, "the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (I Corinthians 3:16; 3:3).
"Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You that You sent Your Son to the cross of Calvary so that You might send Him into our hearts to serve as the Life of our lives. We acknowledge His living presence as administered through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and yield to You our risen selves, alive in the life of Christ. Father, we rejoice that this is truth and reality, and by Your grace, we will more and more live accordingly as we believe the truth of so great a salvation and so great a Savior. In His name we pray, Amen."
Appearance, emotions, and experiences may conflict with such blessed truth. They do not change the truth, however. Thus, we obey the Word of God by yielding a self acknowledged as alive unto God through Christ's presence and life. Thereby we "live through Him" and avoid the sad indictment of long ago: "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (I John 4:9; Matthew 13:58). Yes, the risen Christ dwells with us if we have believed. Moreover, He dwells within us as the very Life of our lives. In the light of such grace and truth, how can we yield anything other than a self "alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord?"
"Christ… is our life."
(Colossians 3:4)
"To live is Christ."
(Philippians 1:21)
Weekly Memory Verse
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
(Jude 1:2)
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