Spiritual Submission
Matthew 16:24 ESV Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Do not think for one moment that your spiritual brokenness will end….
It will only intensify as you spiritually submit to Jesus.
The third stop on the road to sanctification is your spiritual submission to the heart of Jesus. Matthew 16:24 above shows us the pre-requisite for spiritual submission.
Matthew 16:24 is immediately after Peter:
had correctly identified Jesus as the Christ (Mat 16:16); and
had immediately reverted to his flesh by rebuking Jesus (Mat 16:22-23).
We see in these two instances the stark reality of our fleshly existence. We may know of the things of God, but without an indwelt and regenerated heart, we default to our own understanding. Jesus seized on this occurrence to lay down the pre-requisite to everlasting spiritual discernment.
If you desire to be a follower of Jesus, you must:
be prepared to be charged with the exact false charges as Jesus;
be ready to be judged and humiliated in front of the wisdom of the world;
be co-crucified with Jesus on your own cross that you carried to Calvary on your own;
be glorified in secret where no one else can see it.
Humanly speaking, the above is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
This is the hub of your eternal salvation….
It is a paradox….
The more you think you are, the less you are…..
The less you think you are, the more you are….
Spiritually speaking that is….
The more you think of yourself and your human existence, the less chance of eternal spiritual existence with our glorious hope.
Does this mean that you walk away from your current everyday life?
It may, but not necessarily so…
The secret to waging your personal spiritual war against the flesh is staying in the fight without feeling defeated. Defeat is of the deceiver. We are the victor, and we can NEVER be defeated in the spiritual realm.
We are powerless to influence (if we have the heart of Jesus) what happens to us in the physical realm of our current existence. We are His instrument, not our own.
We are merely to be the best human in Jesus’ eyes we can be, nothing more or less.
Always remember….
More of Him, the less of us.
What will blossom is a love for God and people that surpasses all understanding.
Let us look at John Chapter 6 and the spiritual wisdom of submission it contains:
John 6:53-59 ESV So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (54) Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (55) For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (56) Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (57) As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. (58) This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (59) Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
Eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking His blood is an image of spiritual submission to the sustenance of Jesus. All things we require for our spiritual well-being are contained in Jesus and the Word of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
We see immediately after Verse 59 above that the disciples started grumbling about the difficulty of His teaching. The clear distinction between the fans (those in the stands waving banners and looking for the next miracle play) and the followers (those on the field in the game) becomes obvious. There are few followers, but lots of fans.
John 6:60-69 ESV When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (61) But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? (62) Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? (63) It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (64) But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) (65) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (66) After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (67) So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (68) Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, (69) and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
V63: “It is the spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life”.
Your indwelt spiritual slave to Jesus (Gal 2:20KJV)
Amen brother!