Some Key Words (8/15/00)

Believe (pisteuo [4100]):

to believe, give credit to, to have a mental persuasion, to be of opinion, to believe in or on Christ; to think to be true, to credit, place confidence in, to trust in Jesus or God as able, saving faith, acknowledgement of some fact; to have faith in a person or thing, to credit

Live with (suzao [4800]):

to live together with one, to live a new life in union with Christ; to continue to live in common with, to co-survive

Knowing (eido [1492]):

to perceive with the senses, to perceive with the mind, understand, to experience, to be acquainted with, to acknowledge, to know how - and be so inclined, to consider; to see, to perceive with the eyes, or other of the senses, to notice, discern, discover, to turn attention to anything, to pay attention, observe, to ascertain what must be done, to inspect, examine, to behold, to experience a state or condition, to know, to understand, to know how, to have regard for, cherish, pay attention to; to see, to know

Master (kurieuo [2961]):

to be lord of, to rule, to have dominion over, to exercise influence upon, to have power over; to rule

Sin (hamartia [266]):

sin, missing the true end and scope of our lives, an offense in relation to God - emphasizing the guilt; to be without a share in, to miss the mark, to be mistaken, to wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to wander from God's law, that which is done wrong, an offense, a violation of divine law; a sin

Once for all (ephapax [2178]):

once, at once, all at once, once for all; upon one occasion only

Consider (logizomai [3049]):

to put together with one's mind, to occupy oneself with reckoning, to reckon, to put to one's account, to value or esteem, to conclude; to count, compute, calculate, to take into account, to impute, to consider as equivalent to, to number among, to account, to weigh the reasons, deliberate, to gather, infer, to meditate on, to suppose, to purpose or decide; to take an inventory, estimate

 

Paraphrase: (8/15/00)

8 If we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him, 9 because we know that having been raised from the dead, He will never die again, and death is no longer His master. 10 When He died, He died to sin. In His life, He lives to God. 11 We ought to think of ourselves in the same way - as dead to sin, but alive to God, in Christ Jesus.

Key Verse: (8/15/00)

6:11 - How we are to live - dead to sin, alive to God - in the power of Christ Jesus.

People Mentioned: (8/15/00)

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Some Parallel Verses 8/16/00()

6:8

2Co 4:10 - We carry Jesus' death with us so that we can also make His life manifest. 2Ti 2:11 - If we died with Him, we will live with Him.

6:9

Ac 2:24 - God raised Christ from death, which couldn't hold Him. Rev 1:18 - Christ, who lives forever, holds the keys of death and hell.

6:10
6:11

Ro 7:4-6 - We have been made as dead to the Law, and to sin, so that we can live anew in Christ, and serve God in newness of the Spirit. Gal 2:19 - Dead to the Law, alive to God. Col 2:20 - If we are dead to the world, why do we accept worldly decrees regarding what we can or can't do? Col 3:3 - We have died, and our lives are hid in Christ. 1Pe 2:24 - He bore our sins on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

 

New Thoughts (8/16/00)

We know that we will live. We know that we will live! We KNOW that we will live!!! With Him. Though daily our hearts may question it. Though daily we may stare at this thought in wonder, amazed that God would be willing that such as ourselves should live as His. Sin's great power - death - has been broken by our Lord. He has redeemed us from our bondage to the kingdom of death. He has brought us in to His kingdom of life. Our purpose, then, is to make that kingdom of life - the essence of life that has been made ours in Him - manifestly evident to those we come in contact with. What an awesome task! What an awesome responsibility! We have been given freedom from the rigidity of the Law, because our spirit has been renewed, and can now will to do as it ought. The body may not follow as well as we'd like, but the spirit can will. That's a huge gain over where we were. Without God's Spirit in us, we would never have been even willing to obey, never mind able!

God, how do I make Your life manifest in my actions? How do I present You to the world around me? Is it by pushing You in their face with tracts and dogma? I know there's a place for that, but it all seems so wrong to me. Isn't it more effective to show a person a changed life than to simply hit 'em with a tract and run? We are Your evidence to a lost world. We are Your tracts. Lord help us! Help me. Keep me, God, from sullying Your image by my foolishness. Keep me, oh Father, from spoiling Your message by my mistakes. Make of me the testimony to Your goodness and life that You have desired. The spirit within me is willing, oh Lord. Cause this flesh to follow.