God’s plan, called “the mystery” (below) is that the believing members of “the body of Christ” would be in union with Christ in them, and thereby be “born of God.” They enjoy the fact that they are forever seated in “heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3) and have Christ in them (cf., Col 1:28)

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to My (Paul’s) Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the MYSTERY (Gk. musterion, secret), which was Kept Secret Since The World Began,” (Romans 16:25).

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Eph. 2:6)

“I (Paul) am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; ²⁶Even the MYSTERY which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of This Mystery among the Gentiles; Which Is Christ In You, the hope of glory: ²⁸Whom (Gk., Hos, which) we preach,” (Col. 1:25-28)

The verses above tell us this former secret now revealed is “mystery” gospel that we are to preach today. These verses reveal the fact of our mutual indwelling that began from the moment we first believed. This union is the focus and key to Paul’s life-changing “Gospel of the grace of God” (Act 20:24).

But the fact is that we as beleivers are often tempted by ‘the lying one’ and sometimes fail the Lord by failing in mind and action. But if we fail we’re never condemned… we need only to ‘turn our “heart’ from the Law-keeping to the Lord (read 1Cor. 3:14-16, Moses). Turning our heart is not a difficult work. It is the new and living way of continual acceptance in Christ. We simply turn our heart’s mind to the Lord, returning to union with Him, and this makes the “veil of the (sinful) flesh” of no effect (cf., Heb. 10:20).

Paul wrote of something “much more” (Rom. 5:10a) than our initial reconciliation and salvation, which also comes to us by the shed blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul says we as to our soul-self “shall be saved (Gk. sozo, completed) by His life.” (Rom. 5:10b) God’s ongoing work in us is to renew our soul’s mind to the truth by our daily experiences of failing and thus learning to turn to Him (cf. 2Cor 4:16).

There remains for us only to abide in our union with Him. When we fail, we automatically soon realize that we’ve made a wrong choice to leave our permanent rest and union with Christ… having been lured by the lies of the Evil One. When we turn away to the ways of our “Old Man,” we then are like an adulterous wife, even while our union with Christ remains intact … because He loves us unconditionally and never leaves us.

Our position in Christ is secure, we are forever in Him and have His Spirit of Life in us (cf. Rom.8:8-10). We can never lose our position of being “in Him.” So, we did nothing to gain our place “in Christ” except to believe to “receive Him” (John 1:12). This was meritless and thus can never be lost due to any failure or shortcoming of ours. However, our subjective or personal union state of being at any given moment is changeable due to our ‘disposition.’ Our disposition at any moment can be good or bad depending upon whether we abide in the permanent union we have with Christ or not.

We sometimes find that we, as a soul-self, have abandoned or left our proper place of trust in and dependence upon Him who dwells within our spirit. We sometimes leave Him by “by turning to our own way”. (Isaiah.53:6) and so we lose the peace, rest, and joy of our union with Him. We, as a soul-self, “turn to our own way” by independently doing our own thing – even religious or good things that came by asserting ourselves independent of Him, by our self-doing. Sometimes the seemingly good things of religious tradition and religion’s teaching are contrary to the way of His life. Jesus condemned religious tradition. “… ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9)

We must see that all our independent self-works are of “the flesh” and evil in His sight. There are ‘evil good works’; i.e. good works done out of improper motive and intent, perhaps to make our self “look” Christian or good. These, along with the grosser sins of man. are all considered evil (cf. Mat. 7:23). Good works, done independent of Him and His leading, are evil! Artificial ‘good works’ come from an impure motive of self-seeking to look good and feel good about our SELF. This “flesh” is insatiably restless.

Having turned aside from self-rule, we automatically return to union with Christ simply by giving it up.

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. ² For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. ³ For we which have believed do enter into rest…” (Heb. 4:1-3a) “Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein (to rest), and they (Israel) to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:” (Heb. 4:6).

“For he that is entered into his (God’s) rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, …” (Heb. 4:10)

Since Christ indwells our spirit, we need to do only one thing… and that is to cease from asserting ourselves to have our way. To return to Him within (for He never leaves us) we need only to;

• let go of asserting ourselves independent of the Lord’s leading.
• let go of endless reasonings and worry over ‘being right’ in what we do and say.

Paul says grace believers “shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:7); their moving and doing is to be in accords with Christ’s life. The Christian life is to be lived spontaneously while trusting submissively in the Lord’s governance, always in accord with “the word of truth.” In the very moment of giving up self-rule and self-effort, we automatically return to our default or automatic position which is in union with Christ. The strain of pulling away and asserting our independent self-will is choice and effort. But having gone wrong, our return to Him is effortless. It’s like releasing a stretched elastic band that brings us back to union with Him. Ceasing from self-effort automatically returns us to our union with Him. There’s no work involved in letting go. It is when we rest that God works in and through us.

This is an important matter to catch hold of because we cannot succeed and grow spiritually by exerting ourselves to keep any external religious law and standards given to Israel or those of religion’s traditions, or for that matter, make ourselves “abide” in union with Christ. The Lord must do the work within us to teach us to “abide.”

If we’ve turned away from Him and gone independently rogue, we can simply turn our heart… to trust and rest in Him again. In that one turn of the heart, we’ve let go of self-assertion and spring back into our union with Him. 

I realize learning to live spontaneously and freely sounds scary to the zealous or overly careful Christian. But consider the time when you may have first learned to float on water on your back. There was that one almost fearful moment of letting go to trust the water – but the water did all the work of bearing our weight, so long as we exerted no self-effort to try to make us float. Walking with Christ is by faith in that way.

Just as the day we first believed and trusted to receive Christ as our Savior, Paul says we must also trust His ongoing work to be the Sanctifier and the renewer of our soul… in the same way of faith.

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:” (Col. 2:6). “For in him we live, and move, and have our being (existence) …” (Acts 17:28a)

Lacking understanding, we are lured by “the flesh” into self-effort. But, Paul says, “yield yourselves unto God” (Rom.6:13, 16), “you (have) put off the old man” (Eph.4:22; Col.3:9), “put on the new man” (Eph.4:24; Col.3:10), and “reckon (count) yourself to be dead indeed unto sin” (Rom.6:11). This permits the out-working of “His life,” thus “you work out your own (personal) salvation (in soul)” (Phil.2:12). The one work that we as Christians can and should do is… to trust the liberating work of Christ’s cross… for us.

“Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you, that you believe in the One Whom He has sent – that you cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in His Messenger.” (Jn.6:29, Amplified Bible).

So, other than trusting Christ in us as the new us, there is no further work that we can do. In fact, all the works of self-effort only serve to remove us from our natural and normal, subjective union with him. The moment we choose self-doing, the independent self, the Old Man, regains the throne of our lives, pushing Christ aside. Thankfully, we can simply abide in our natural regenerated new state of being in Him. This is our “default” or automatic position when we let go! “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4) To “abide” simply means to ‘stay in place.’ There’s no work because we are carried along in Him!  

So, the only legitimate work we can do is to trust Christ to live through us as He wills it. This we do by ‘looking to Christ’ (cf. Heb.12:2).  “Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfecter) of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2a) Our faith began by salvation through Christ’s death of the cross and we will come to completion by the ongoing work of His life and power in us, as it flows from His cross-work for us.

“For consider him that endured such contradiction (the hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” (Heb.12:3). Never be disheartened; consider that you have Him who endured all… now living in you; this is the very “person of Christ” (2Cor 2:10) guiding and empowering you in righteous living and in overcoming “the flesh.” It’s not just Christ in you, but Christ living in you as the new you. 

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” (Gal. 2:20a)

We are simply to abide, yielding to Him as our “Lord” (Gk. kurious, governor). But some say, what about Paul’s words; “work out your own salvation?” (phili. 2:12) We must see verse 12 in its context of v13.

“… work out your own salvation with fear (alarm) and trembling. ¹³For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philip. 2:12-13)  

And here’s our part in working out our salvation. Our work is from a position of resting and trusting Him. Paul says; “...yield yourselves unto God” (Rom.6:13, 16), as Jesus said “… abide in me, and I in you…” (John.15:4). Yielding and abiding are acts of ‘not doing.’ We work out our own salvation by the only legitimate sort of ‘work’ we can do under grace, which is to trust the cross of Christ and in God’s ongoing work within us. As we trust Him we remain in our “default” position of abiding in Him. God is now free to do the work that only He can do. He causes us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13).  

When we let go to trust Christ within “the old man” is “put off (Eph.4:22; Col.3:9), and simultaneously “the new man” is “put on (Eph.4:24; Col.3:10). This letting go is not a work! The words “put on” in Greek is “enduo,” Strongs 1746, meaning; “in the sense of sinking into a garment.” We sink into Christ in the same way that a person would learn to float on his back in water. Is this a work? No! It is a ceasing from self-effort? Yes, we choose to “let go” by simply trusting in the One who will uphold us. This is how we “put off the Old Man” and “put on the New Man.” We yield rather than assert our self, trying to fix our self. When we “try” we revert to self-effort to produce ‘seemingly good,’ yet evil… “works of the flesh.” 

Again, all we can do is to trust the riches of Christ’s cross working in us. We now wait on and trust in God to make this truth real to us, personally… the truth of our liberty from the dominion of “the flesh.”

All Christians, male and female, have been circumcised “in Christ” by their death with Jesus Christ (cf., Rom 6:2-3), where their “flesh” was cut-off from reigning over our lives.

^“In whom (In Christ) also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: ¹² Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Col. 2:10-12)

This “circumcision made without hands” is the “operation of God” (Col 2:12), as pertaining to our spiritual “circumcision” in Christ, whereby “Sin in the flesh” was cut off, made powerless. In short, the Father surgically severed us away from the flesh, delivering us from the “Sin-nature in the flesh”; when Christ was the “lifted up” as Moses lifted the Serpent on the pole (Jn. 3:14, cf. Num. 21), the “flesh” was cut off.

An understanding of this truth will enable us to live overcomingly by “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:2). We must come to know and trust in the work of the cross on our behalf. The Father will accomplish this in us as His Spirit reveals the riches of Christ’s Cross to us (cf. Eph.1:17, Rom 8:8-10).

Being one with the Christ we are one with all that is “in Him,” including the work of His cross in disempowering “the flesh.” When we subjectively come to know of our death with Christ, we will then naturally and spontaneously reckon (count) ourselves dead (Rom.6:11). This becomes effective as we learn to live in accord with this realized truth. There will be no self-effort or mental gymnastics to reckon ourselves dead – rather we can simply ‘count our self-alive’ in Him all the time… we can be certain He will let us know if we are about to go wrong.

With the revelation of our oneness with Christ in His death, we will naturally reckon ourselves to be alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom.6:11b). Being dead as to the “old man,” we are freed from the that old life. We are left free to live by the only legitimate life we now possess, His “Spirit of life.” We don’t try to make our self ‘dead to Sin’ by any work of “the Law” … Christ did that for us when He died ‘as us’ at the cross. He fulfilled the Law’s demand, dying for us and as us. Now we need only to live in the “knowledge of the Truth” (2Tim. 3:7) … by resting in that Truth of Christ alive within us.

“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” (Gal. 5:18) “I (Paul) do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal. 2:21)

 “If (since) we live in (since we have His life in) the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25)

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall (automatically) not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)

Our walk is to be “in the Spirit,” and in accord with the word of truth. Whereby Christ’s ever-present Spirit leads and limits us. Such a step by step walk of “faith in the operation of God” automatically executes the cross upon “Sin in the flesh” in the power afforded us by His righteous overcoming life.