Posted: 10/31/2008 at 1:08pm
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The Narrow Gate To Abundant Life
By Ron McGatlin
A few days ago my friend Ken Tolliver and I were discussing this basic principle as it applies to individuals especially elders in the kingdom. Because it is a universal principle it also applies to nations, tribes and governments.
CROSS BEFORE RESURRECTION
In the light of the kingdom, God is revealing a far greater reality of this principle than we recognized in the passing church emphasis age. The passageway to the abundant life of freedom and glory is through a very narrow gate called the death of the cross.
Mat 7:13-14: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Consider this. Only that which is alive can experience death. Only those who have passed through death of the cross can be resurrected to greater life. There are two levels of death on the cross. The first level is the cross of Christ. As believers we were first made alive in coming to the cross of Christ. Identified in the cross of Christ our spirits are made alive and the process of sanctification begins as we work with God who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure in this present life. This is the second level of death on the cross. This is where our own death by crucifixion appears. We become followers of Christ and take up our own cross and die daily during the process of our own death by the cross.
Mat 16:24-25: Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Death-by-cross is a special kind of death. Jesus was not being judged when He died on the cross. It was sin that was judged at the cross of Christ. Likewise when we take up our cross and follow him in our own death by crucifixion we are not being judged. Our sin was already taken care of in Christ’s death on the cross.
Then why must we endure our own death on the cross in this life? Glad you asked.
Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him of resurrection life seated at the right hand of God. The death of Jesus on the cross purchased for Him the far heavier weight of glory of RESURRECTION LIFE which, He can now impart within His people by the Holy Spirit. Jesus has fully become the way the truth and the life. He is the resurrection life that will indwell all who are prepared by their own cross. Our death by cross is the progressive annihilation of our old life. Our self life must be crucified to make room for the resurrected life of Christ to indwell us replacing our old life with His resurrection life.
The Narrow Gate and Difficult Way of Our Personal Death by Crucifixion
When we first receive the work of the cross of Christ and give our lives to Jesus, we experience our spirits being made alive and are much like a baby. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and most of us can remember experiencing a season of love, mercy and grace as we were nurtured by the Spirit and fed with the milk of His word. After some time our life became like we were moving into a narrowing funnel. Much of the things that were part of our lives fell away. The strengths and values of our past lives crumbled and died. As people and things were leaving us we had to let our past life go. Piece by piece over a period of time we became less as our path of life narrowed and became more difficult.
Life can seem a never ending battle as we desire to follow Christ but try to hang on to some of the good things of our old life. The road continues to narrow until in one final devastating episode we pass through the narrow gate of death and the last threads of our old self-life are crucified. This is our personal death by the cross - the crucifixion of our self-focused independent life. Then and only then are we ready to fully receive the resurrection life of Christ flowing in and through us to the glory of God.
The resurrected life is a life of rest in Him. There is no more personal strife against sin and self. We are free to be who God designed us to be. We are no longer up and down like a roller coaster and no more round and round like a merry go round. We live in a very wide place with Him. We no longer fear man or the devil. We are free to love everyone including our enemies. We hear His voice and speak His truth. We no longer seek to please man or gain wealth and position. Whether we have much or little we have all things and can do all things through Christ Jesus. We walk in the Spirit and live in intimacy with God. However, we are never rightly understood by natural worldly or religious people.
Transformation through the Narrow Gate
We were once in a broad place of sin, self and darkness where we thought we were free and could do anything we were big enough to do and were not greatly concerned how our actions affected others. But at some point light came and we turned toward the light, met Jesus and began a journey toward the greater light of God’s real kingdom. Our journey led into many circumstances that seemed beyond our control. We continually had to lay down more and more to get through the narrow places. Finally, when we thought we were totally ruined and had nothing left we came through the tiny orifice of the narrow gate. Suddenly we stood on the other side face to face with the Lord in a wide space of light, love and glory. We had really entered into the real kingdom of God as grown sons living in glorious freedom.
Most Christians are yet somewhere in this process. Many leaders, those who should be elders are yet in some part of this process. Many who are not yet completely through the narrow gate do not believe that this total freedom is possible in this life. They have been taught that they would always have to struggle with their old self-life and fleshly desires. They were taught by teachers who have themselves not yet made it through the narrow gate. Religion is no help with this and for the most part is a stumbling block to those seeking the real kingdom.
Praise God there is a remnant generation of people growing up in the wilderness who are coming to the truth and are moving through the narrow gate into freedom in God. Our handcuffs and leg chains come off as we pass through the narrow gate of death by crucifixion. We need never again face the death of crucifixion once we are fully through the narrow gate. We will never turn back once we are all the way through. Finally we can stop turning back to repentance from dead works and go on with God to the work of bringing forth kingdom disciples to be a part of setting free the groaning creation in bondage.
Heb 6:1: Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Heb 9:14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The cross is not the goal it is the gate. The cross is not the end it is the beginning of abundant life.
The cross is death. Resurrection is life. There can be no resurrection life until after there is death.
Death at the cross is passing. Resurrection life is forever.
Once the cross is fully experienced the work of sin and death is finished and resurrection life of pure holiness comes to abide forever.
As it is for individuals so it is for nations.
America and the nations of the world have been in the broad place of darkness and are now being drawn into the narrowing funnel toward the narrow gate of death by crucifixion that will do away with arrogance, pride, independence, immorality, greed and lust. This is a national opportunity to receive the work of the cross of Christ and begin to bare our national death by cross that leads to resurrection life in the kingdom of God.
Mat 4:17: …. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Heb 12:2: looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Edited by Ron McGatlin on 06/02/2010 at 5:43pm
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