Sagitta

The Big Picture

This is an arrow, sent forth by God, bringing death to the old nature. Remember what Paul said in Romans 6:6-7, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.” All of Book Two in this gospel presentation in the stars reveals our inherited blessings as co-heirs with Christ. We must also be crucified — obviously not in the body, but our spirit must die to its bondage to sin and will then be resurrected to the countless blessings of abiding with Christ.

The Gospel Truth

Jesus Christ said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself daily, take up his cross, and follow after Me.” (Matthew 16:24) It sounds hard. It sounds painful. But it’s exactly the opposite. It is freeing to give up your bondage of sin! Notice that this is an instrument of death. God has no plans to rehabilitate our old nature — He’s going to get rid of it and give us a new nature. The moment we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we entered into a new relationship with God. We were given a new position — children, heirs, brothers and sisters of Christ. What is His, is now ours! But this surrendering to God, this crucifying of ourselves, is not just a one-time thing. We surrender daily! Our plans, our ambitions, our affections, our desires, our everything — and in return God gives to us an abundance of the real issues of life — joy, peace, love, patience, and most importantly the Spirit of Christ within us.