I believe it is critical that the reader seriously ponder this message. It contains a key that must be used to unlock our overcoming walk with Christ. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
There are many categories of “three”. There is FATHER, Son, and Holy Spirit; the three feasts- Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; three harvests: barley, wheat, and grape. Let us focus on the personal level of living according to the flesh, mind, or spirit. Those living according to the flesh and/or mind expect to die whereas those who live according to the spirit expect to live for they know Jesus has overcome death. I Hebrews chapter 2 it is written by THE SPIRIT:
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
As we make the transition to walking in THE SPIRIT we no longer fear death for we know life is eternal and physical death is simply a transition itself. There are those who will not experience death for they will receive glorified bodies. Enoch was a precursor to this reality. Jesus who did not live according to the flesh or mind willingly lowered Himself and took on the sin of the world that He would conquer and defeat death once and for all. In Revelation chapter 1 Jesus spoke:
18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
By THE SPIRIT Paul wrote of Jesus’ victory over principalities and powers in Colossians chapter 2:
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Paul understood the need to make the transition from being sin conscious to being Spirit conscious. In Philippians chapter 3 Paul clearly stated that once the transition to being led by THE SPIRIT was revealed to him, he no longer had any confidence in the flesh:
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so…
Until he met Jesus, Paul had his own course of life planned out according to the traditions of man. Paul excelled in every aspect of this vocation only to find that it was rubbish. Thankfully, he quickly jettisoned his past and embraced the revelation of walking by THE SPIRIT in Love. No matter what path we take we will submit ourselves as slaves… either sin or righteousness. By THE SPIRIT Paul wrote in Romans chapter 6:
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
Each of us has a choice to live according to the flesh (and death) or according to THE SPIRIT (and life). In order to receive the benefits set aside by FATHER, we must fully accept the deliverance by Christ on our behalf. He died for our sins and sicknesses two thousand years ago. This act of unconditional Love is greater than any sin we have committed. It is greater than the multitude of sins we have collectively committed. We need to get over ourselves and accept His supreme sacrifice and be freed from the sin consciousness perpetuated by the flesh and the logic of the mind.
We must be freed from sin consciousness and transition into being led by THE SPIRIT. We must believe the Truth which had been a mystery but since has been made known to us. What is the point of revelation without walking in it? Paul speaks of this mystery in Ephesians chapter 1:
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 Paul writes by THE SPIRIT and expressly points out the reality that we are a new creation:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
WE MUST ACCEPT THIS REALITY and no longer accept the enslavement of the old man. We are not under bondage to the old creation even though our flesh and our mind would attempt to deceive us into thinking otherwise. We must renew our mind and put our flesh into subjection instead of subjecting ourselves to the flesh. Let us no longer be as children tossed to and fro with divisive doctrines designed to enslave our minds. We must embrace the reality that we are a new creation in order for us to maximize our service to mankind. Peter wrote by THE SPIRIT in his 2nd Epistle chapter 1:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Many are waiting for an external transition to occur and thus continually look for signs of the coming transition. Why wait for transition when we have the mystery revealed that we can be partakers of the Divine Nature now? Our focus has been directed to the outward when it really needs to be focused inward where the Kingdom resides. As Paul stated in Romans 8 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” If we were not able to make the transition, there would be no encouragement or expectation in Scripture to do so.