Christians typically wonder how that the eternal life God has given
them can break forth and get into the rest of their inward parts. The largest answer is found =
in
Romans 8:13, where it says that if we by the spirit put to death the practi=
ces
of the body, we will live.
The practices of the body are not matters of concept and religious
assumptions. We need not appr=
oach
life with a checklist of do’s and don’ts. As long as we are open to it, the =
Spirit
will lead us to know what the practices of the body are, and will provide t=
he
power needed to terminate those things.&nb=
sp;
Being
led in such a way defines what it means to live life as a Son of God—=
our
fleshly deeds are terminated and we are filled with life. Even a new Christian can begin to =
have
these experiences. That=
is
all due to the fact that we have received the spirit of sonship
that cries out, “Abba, Father!” This cry was first uttered by the =
Lord
Jesus as He struggled in the garden
of Gethsemane over =
the
matter of accepting the cross (Mk.
14:36). He blazed the trail of sonship,
setting the standard of what it means to be the Son of God in the midst of =
this
world. Now the same spirit of=
sonship is with us, leading us into the same pathway =
of
becoming sons with the cross that kills and then resurrects.