<html><head></head><body><div><div><div>Roman’s 8;12&amp;13<div><br></div><div><b>12. &nbsp;So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—</b></div><div><b>13. &nbsp;For if you live, according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death&nbsp;the deeds of the body you will live.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Paul reveals that&nbsp;the divine&nbsp;spiritual war between God and Satan,&nbsp;Light and darkness, Life and death, is&nbsp;now&nbsp;going on within us as well.&nbsp; It is&nbsp;a struggle between our old nature the&nbsp;“<i>flesh,” </i>and the new&nbsp;meta-physical&nbsp;union of Believers&nbsp;(the born-anew inner-man,&nbsp;whose life is hidden in Christ in God), with&nbsp;<i>“the Spirit.”</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>This&nbsp;earthly struggle&nbsp;will end when we finally are allowed to leave in the grave&nbsp;these <i>“bodies of death”.&nbsp;</i><span>(Romans 7;24)</span></div><div><br></div><div>In this new-born earthly life,&nbsp;and by&nbsp;our participation in this spiritual war,&nbsp;we,&nbsp;as children of God,&nbsp;are also&nbsp;in preparation&nbsp;for the future&nbsp;Life&nbsp;which&nbsp;God has awaiting&nbsp;us, (see 1 John 3;2)&nbsp;<i>“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” &nbsp; </i>(2 Corinthians 4;17&amp;18)</div><div><br></div><div>Even now, as children of God,&nbsp;we are servants of God, slaves of righteousness, equipped with the armor of God,&nbsp;commissioned into spiritual warfare, called&nbsp;to <i>“live for the praise of His glory.” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 1;12) In Christ, we are to&nbsp;put&nbsp;to death&nbsp;all temptations to sin, resisting, enduring temptation, not yielding the ground of the kingdom of God upon which we stand. &nbsp;&nbsp;We are called into His own holiness for the&nbsp;making of&nbsp;disciples, through the proclamation of the Gospel, by&nbsp;baptism and teaching them to ‘obey’ all that Christ has taught us. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Note: This is called <i>“the obedience of faith.” </i>(Romans 1;5) &nbsp;It is the new Life which we share in our union with Christ by the Holy Spirit. &nbsp;It is the Life and love of God at work&nbsp;in us,&nbsp;lived out willingly. &nbsp;It is&nbsp;not coerced from us by external threat or force. &nbsp;This new life flows out of us like <i>“Living Water.” &nbsp;</i>(John 7;37&amp;38).&nbsp;The &nbsp;living out of this Life in us the Church, (the very Body of Christ), (even though we are constantly&nbsp;being opposed by our enemies)&nbsp;is intended by God to be a&nbsp;display to all,&nbsp;especially God’s enemies,&nbsp;His surpassing wisdom, revealed through&nbsp;mercy,&nbsp;grace, and our&nbsp;salvation. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As Paul says, <i>“To me, though I am the very least of all the Saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things;<u>&nbsp;that through&nbsp;the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in&nbsp;the heavenly places.</u>” </i>&nbsp;(Ephesians 3;8-10)<u></u></div><div><br></div><div>We, the Church, the dwelling place of Christ by the Spirit, <i>“partake of the Divine Nature” &nbsp;</i>as we deny our <i>“old selves” </i>and,<i>”by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.” &nbsp;</i>(v. 13) &nbsp; &nbsp;The weapon given us is&nbsp;<i>“the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.” </i>(Ephesians 6;17)</div><div><br></div><div>The new Life given us in Christ is one of&nbsp;spiritual warfare. &nbsp;In this battle, by reason of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, we are more than conquerors. &nbsp;<i>“For&nbsp;He who is in you, is greater&nbsp;than he who is in the world.” &nbsp;</i>(1 John 4;4)</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, we praise You for the joy and power You have given us in&nbsp;Christ, the&nbsp;partaking&nbsp;of the Divine Nature and sharing in the&nbsp;spiritual war. &nbsp;This is really living The Life! &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a Day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp; God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing,&nbsp;children of God, are His.”</div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>

Roman’s 8;12&13
12.  So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—13.  For if you live, according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.
Paul reveals that the divine spiritual war between God and Satan, Light and darkness, Life and death, is now going on within us as well.  It is a struggle between our old nature the “flesh,” and the new meta-physical union of Believers (the born-anew inner-man, whose life is hidden in Christ in God), with “the Spirit.”
This earthly struggle will end when we finally are allowed to leave in the grave these “bodies of death”. (Romans 7;24)
In this new-born earthly life, and by our participation in this spiritual war, we, as children of God, are also in preparation for the future Life which God has awaiting us, (see 1 John 3;2) “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”   (2 Corinthians 4;17&18)
Even now, as children of God, we are servants of God, slaves of righteousness, equipped with the armor of God, commissioned into spiritual warfare, called to “live for the praise of His glory.”  (Ephesians 1;12) In Christ, we are to put to death all temptations to sin, resisting, enduring temptation, not yielding the ground of the kingdom of God upon which we stand.   We are called into His own holiness for the making of disciples, through the proclamation of the Gospel, by baptism and teaching them to ‘obey’ all that Christ has taught us.  
Note: This is called “the obedience of faith.” (Romans 1;5)  It is the new Life which we share in our union with Christ by the Holy Spirit.  It is the Life and love of God at work in us, lived out willingly.  It is not coerced from us by external threat or force.  This new life flows out of us like “Living Water.”  (John 7;37&38). The  living out of this Life in us the Church, (the very Body of Christ), (even though we are constantly being opposed by our enemies) is intended by God to be a display to all, especially God’s enemies, His surpassing wisdom, revealed through mercy, grace, and our salvation.  
As Paul says, “To me, though I am the very least of all the Saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.”  (Ephesians 3;8-10)
We, the Church, the dwelling place of Christ by the Spirit, “partake of the Divine Nature”  as we deny our “old selves” and,”by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.”  (v. 13)    The weapon given us is “the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6;17)
The new Life given us in Christ is one of spiritual warfare.  In this battle, by reason of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, we are more than conquerors.  “For He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world.”  (1 John 4;4)
Prayer:  Merciful Father, we praise You for the joy and power You have given us in Christ, the partaking of the Divine Nature and sharing in the spiritual war.  This is really living The Life!  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a Day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.   God’s Word is our habitation, and we, broken-hearted, contrite, forgiven, believing, children of God, are His.”

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