Gospel and Spiritual Growth Series by Pastor David K. Spurbeck, Sr.

 

Message #43 – 3-3-2002 – Synopsis and Outline

 

WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE RECKON IN REGARD TO THE SIN NATURE – II

 

This message continues in Romans 6:9-11.  The whole chapter focuses on how the believer's mental perspective pertains to his relationship to the sin nature.  Paul says that it is essential for the Christian to know what his or her position in Christ is.  Without that knowledge, it is impossible for the saint to have victory over the sin nature (i. e. the flesh).  This is an important place where one's position counts and is counted.  In Christ I died, was buried, was raised and am ascended.  When the believer lives in light of his or her position in our great Substitute, he or she is enabled in the biblical use of the possessions provided in Christ.  When any true believer deprecates positional truth, that believer is deprived of the information necessary to have victory over the sin nature.  They are carnal and deny the efficacy of the information that will permit them to defend themselves against the lusts from the flesh that war against the soul.  Without this information they are carnal, living in the sin nature with no way to deal with it.  They will remain carnal until they die or the rapture comes.  Last week we addressed the fact that a believer has experiential knowledge of the joys of living in his or her position from the early days of his or her salvation.  During the first days of one's salvation, God prevents the believer from being approached by any of the spiritual enemies until enough information is given so that one can handle the temptations presented by the enemies (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). 

 

God the Father imputes the work of Christ to the believer (cf. Rom. 4:24, 25).  When a believer understands this, he or she is able to understand how to reckon.  Verse nine presents the fact that it is necessary to have intuitive knowledge, information in the mind, concerning these facts.  This requires instruction in these truths by human instruments and by the Spirit of God.  "Knowing" is a perfect active participle from oida.  This is information that has been taught and learned and is the ongoing possession of the believer.  What does one intuitively know?  One knows that Christ has been raised (passive voice) out from among dead ones and that He no longer is dying (present tense).  His death is done.  It is finished, complete.  He will die no more.  He is alive!  The passive voice indicates that someone else was involved in His resurrection without specifically identifying the Person or Persons involved.  I have included under I. C. a list of passages around the two key words for resurrection concerning who was involved in Christ's resurrection.  This list was not in the outline I originally distributed at Valley.  Christ is seen as raising Himself.  The Father is clearly involved.  By implication the Holy Spirit probably had a role in acting as a part of the resurrection of Christ.  Christ is raised and will die no more.  As a result, death no longer lords it over His human nature.  "Lords it over" ("has no more dominion" AV) is the verbal form of the word Lord (kurios). 

 

There is no question that Christ died at a point in time in verse 10.  He died once and for all and only did this once.  Now Christ is living at the right hand of God the Father and continues to live there.  The focus here is on Christ's human nature as the glorified resurrected one.  Christians need to understand these facts in order to understand his or her relationship in Christ to the sin nature.

 

Because a believer is in Christ, there is a practical application of Christ's death and resurrection to the believer.  The AV "likewise" literally means "in this way also" or "thus also."  This links our attitude to what we intuitively know about Jesus Christ, His work and His present accomplishments.  Verse 11 is very emphatic in its Greek construction.  In a sense, he presents a triple whammy in the matter of personal responsibility for reckoning.  The beginning of verse 11 could be translated "you on your part you reckon for yourselves (middle voice = reflexive) yourselves (reflexive pronoun) to be dead."  This is very important from God's perspective as is seen in the text.  The word "reckon" is the Greek word logidzomai that is found 41 times in the New Testament.  In the AV it is translated by 13 different English words listed under III. C. 2.  I took a few moments to use this word to illustrate the problems with English language concordances.  Young's concordance lists all 13 in its Greek-English index with the numbers of occurrences.  That means it is necessary to look in 13 places to find every passage in which the word is found.  Strong's creates more of a problem.  When one looks up "reckon," one will be referred to #3049 in the back.  It lists 12 terms (when you pursue the parentheses) or only 10 when the parentheses are missed.  It is impossible to find every occurrence of logidzomai translations because one is omitted in Strong's.  On the other hand, Englishman's Greek Concordance lists every passage and translation in one listing under the Greek word.  The AV of Romans four translates the word by "counted, reckoned and impute."  The word means to count something to be so or true in one's mind.  Here there is added weight.  The reckoning is based in the fact that Scripture declares that God the Father counts the believer to be in Christ and sharing in the work of his or her Substitute.  The biblical definition is found at the end of Romans 4:17:  God the Father [articular singular] is "the one calling the things not presently existing as presently existing."

 

Verse 10 tells the saint to count himself or herself to be two things:  to be presently and continually dead indeed to the sin nature and to be living with reference to God.  A believer counts it to be so just like God the Father counts it to be so!  "In Christ" clearly identifies the basis for our reckoning as the fact that we have a position in Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13).  Christians are dead to the sin nature but alive to God.  Because a saint is in Christ, he still has a sin nature but has the provisions of grace to live as one counted dead.  He or she counts himself or herself to be dead in his mind reflecting on his or her position in Christ on the heavenly throne counting that position to be just as the Father counts it.  This verse is essential for the believer to have real victory over the sin nature. 

 

The Romans six teaching concerning the sin nature involves knowing the facts, counting them to be true and then presenting oneself to God in Romans six.  In Christ, I died to the sin nature.  In Christ, I am alive to God.  In Christ, it makes no sense for me to live to the sin nature since God counts me as having died to it.  Why shouldn't I count myself as God does that I am dead to it?

 

So much to be thankful for and attributes to praise in the provisions of grace,

 

Reckoning and so rejoicing,

DKS

 

 

#43 -- Gospel and Spiritual Growth

Valley – March 3, 2002 p.m.

 

WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE RECKON IN REGARD TO THE SIN NATURE -- II

Romans 6:9-11

 

Proposition:   To focus attention on what a Christian should know and appropriate by reckoning in relation to the sin nature.  This evaluates how elements of positional truth can give the spiritual victory over the lusts that comes from the flesh.

 

        Introduction

              A.  The Intricacies of the Imputation of the Work of Christ to the Believer

              B.   The Information that Contributes to the Believer's Resisting the Lusts from the Sin Nature

              C.  The Imputation by God the Father Provides a Basis for Understanding

              D.  The Incorporating of Reckoning into the Life of a Spiritual Believer

 

TRANS:   Romans6:9 speaks the spiritual Christians involvement with the facts concerning Christ's resurrection which provides a basis for understanding the efficiency of the work of Christ in relation to the believer and his or her sin nature.  A believer needs to have the information in mind in order to relate to his relationship to his own sin nature.

 

  I.   THE NECESSITY FOR HAVING THE INFORMATION IN ONE'S MIND CONCERNING CHRIST'S RESURRECTION -- THE EXPECTATION CONCERNING THE POSSESSION OF THE FACTS -- A PREMISE GUARANTEEING THAT DEATH HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER CHRIST -- Romans 6:9

        A.  The Possession of a State of Knowing -- perfect active participle

        B.   The Person Acted Upon Is Christ (cf. Acts 2:36)

        C.  The Position of Christ as Raised Out from Among Dead Ones

              1.  He Was Raised by Someone Else --

              2.  He Was Raised by the Father --

              3.  He Raised Himself –

 

Involvement of Persons in Christ's Resurrection with the Verb evgei,rw

 

References to His Resurrection with Simply the Passive Voice (24 times):

 

Aorist Passive:   Matt. 16:21; 26:32; 28:6, 7; Mk. 14:28; 16:6; Lu. 9:22; 24:6, 34; Jn. 2:22; 21:14; Rom. 4:25; 6:9; 7:4; 8:34

Future Passive:  Matt. 17:23

Perfect Passive Ind.:  Mk. 16:14; 1 Cor. 15:12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20; 2 Tim. 2:8

 

References to His Resurrection by Himself (2 times):

Present Middle:   Matt. 27:63

Future Middle:  Jn. 2:19

 

References to the Father's Raising Him (17 times):

 

Active Voice:   Acts 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30 (26:8); Rom. 4:24; 8:11; 10:9; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Cor. 4:14; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:20; 1 Th. 1:10; Heb. 11:19; 1 Pe. 1:21

 

Involvement of Persons in Christ's Resurrection with the Verb avnisth,mi

 

Christ's Involvement in His Own Resurrection (8 times):

 

2nd Aorist Active:  Mk. 8:31; 9:9; 16:9; Lu. 24:7; Acts 17:3

Future Middle:  Mk. 9:31; 10:34; Lu. 18:33

 

The Father's Involvement in Christ's Resurrection(5 times):

 

Future Active Ind.:  Jn. 6:39

1 Aorist Act. Ind.:  Acts 2:24, 32; 13:34; 17:31

 

        D.  The Permanence of Christ's Resurrection and No More Death

        E.  The Power of Death No Longer Lords It Over Christ

 

TRANS:     Jesus Christ is alive today having once and for all died for every sin nature of mankind.  When the believer understands that this is directly applied to him or her, it provides a basis for intelligent reckoning oneself to be dead against he sin nature.

 

 II. THE NATURE OF CHRIST'S DEATH AND THE NATURE OF HIS PRESENT LIFE -- THE EVENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS FROM CHRIST'S WORK -- THE PROVISIONS FROM THE WORK OF CHRIST EXPLAINED -- Romans 6:10

        A. The Explanation of the Fact That Christ Died -- 2nd aorist active indicative

        B. The Provision by His Death for the Sin Nature Once and For All

        C. The Confirmation That Christ Lives and Continues to Live

        D. The Affirmation of His Living to God the Father

 

TRANS:     Key to the process of appropriating is the mental act of reckoning mentioned in verse 11.  There are two sides of a believer's reckoning.  One involves reckoning one to be dead to the sin nature and the other is reckoning one to be alive to God in his or her positioning Christ.

 

III.  THE NEGATION OF THE SIN NATURE BY ONE'S RECKONING IN TOW AREAS -- THE EMPHASIS OF RECKONING BY THE SPIRITUAL BELIEVER AGAINST THE LUSTS FROM THE SIN NATURE -- THE PROCESS OF COUNTING SOMETHING TO BE TRUE OR IMPUTING IT TO BE SO -- Romans 6:11

        A.  The Identification of How to Appropriate One's Position in Christ Against the Sin Nature

        B.   The Isolation to Grace Believers -- "you" = emphatic

        C.  The Information Available Concerning "Reckoning" in the New Testament

              1.  The Occurrences of lo,gizomai in the New Testament

                  a.  In the Gospels -- three times (Mk. 11:31; 15:28; Lu. 22:37

                  b.  In the Book of Acts -- one time (19:27)

                  c.  In Paul -- 35 times

                       (1)   In Romans -- 19 times

                       (2)   In 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians and 2 Timothy

                               --15 times

                       (3)   In Hebrews -- one time (11:19)

                  d.  James 2:23; 1 Pe. 5:12

                  e.  41 occurrences in the N. T.

              2.  The Translations in the AV:  think (9x), impute (8x), reckon (6x), count (5x), account (4x), suppose reason, number, despise, conclude, esteem, think on, lay to one's charge = total of 13 different translations of the 41 occurrences

        D.  The Idea of "Reckon" in the Text

              1.  In the Verb Form -- present middle imperative

              2.  In the Meaning of the Word

                  a.  An Activity of the Mind

                  b.  Count It to Be True or Impute It to Be So

                  c.  Definition of the Term in Romans 4:17

        E.   The Imputation in Two Areas

              1.  To Presently and Continually Be Dead Indeed to the Sin Nature

              2.  To Be Living with Reference to God

              3.  In Jesus Christ Out Lord = "in Christ" truth

              4.  Dead But Alive Not Dead or Alive

 

TRANS:   Romans six is clear about what a believer intuitively know that provides the basis for reckoning.  Reckoning is God's provided mechanism for appropriating the benefits of God's provisions for defending against the lusts of the sin nature.  Christ's work is very efficient in making provision for a believer to maintain spirituality in spite of the presence of one's sin nature.

 

      Conclusion

              A.

              B.

              C.

              D.

 

© by David K. Spurbeck

Valley Baptist Church

P. O. Box 99, Gaston, OR 97119