 the recording is started. Good morning once again and welcome to the class on Identity BC 110. So even before we could begin with a class, we can start the class with a word of prayer. Dear God, we surrender ourselves and this day into Your hands. We are thankful Lord that You are with us. You're leading us and You're guiding us. Lord, we thank You that we are able to identify ourself in You. We are growing in this understanding of being identified in You, O Father. Thank You that the work that You did on the cross, Lord, that we are able to relate ourself, restore us back with God, one with God, O Lord. Thank You, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. So we are on page 57, section 5, Identity with Christ. So how are we identified with Christ? Okay, today we're going to talk on two topics, substitution and identification. So what do we mean by substitution? When we say substitute or substitution, what do we mean by substitution? Sorry? Replaced. Okay, okay, okay. We understand the substitution where one person is replaced instead of another. There's a substitute, one on behalf of other or many. So here in this place, we're going to see that one person has become a substitute towards many, for many. So we see that Christ, the sinless one, the righteous God, who died for our sins on the cross and He has become the substitute for us, for each of us, where through Christ, our sins have been forgiven. We have been made righteous and where we have been restored back to God. So there is another truth in the scripture when we talk about identification. What is that? Can we turn to Romans chapter 5 verse 12 and 19. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 and 19. Okay, Romans chapter 5 verse 12 and 19. It goes like this. Verse 12, therefore, just as through one man, sin entered the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. So what happened here? Just as though one man sinned, just through one man, the sin entered the world and death through sinned and then this death spread to all men because all men sinned. And verse 19, it says, for as by one man's disobedience, one man disobeyed and many were made sinners. So also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteousness. Now what happened here? What is Paul trying to say to the church in Romans? Through one man, Adam, the sin entered. He disobeyed and the sin entered to all men, to all the natural man. And what happened? Through one man's obedience, through one man's obedience, now everyone have been made righteous. Now it's easy for us to believe like Adam sinned and because of that, the natural man, the death entered. So through one man's sin or through one man's disobedience, like everyone are made sinners and the death entered the natural. So it's easy to believe that but it takes the belief on God for us to accept this truth saying that as how through one man death entered, it is a game through one man. Through one man, we have been made righteous. So that's what Paul says. You know, we need to renew our mind in the book of Corinthians. He says we need to renew our mind with the word of God so that we can understand this truth and identify ourselves with Christ. It is very important that we can identify ourselves with Christ and exercise and accept the truth that we have been made righteous. We have been made righteous because there's a substitution that has happened. There's an exchange that has happened on the cross where Jesus took our place on the cross and he died for each of us, for each of us that he died on the cross. So we need to understand the truth that happened. We need to understand the spiritual exchange that happened on the cross. So in one Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, when we turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 21 to 22 and later we can read from verse 45 to 49. Okay, I hope everyone have turned. So verse 21 and 22 says, for since by one man came death, by one by man also came the resurrection of death. Verse 22, for as in Adam all died, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. That's a good news, isn't it? Through one man the death entered and again through the one man Jesus Christ who was resurrected and we have the resurrection of death. Now the second verse that is verse 22 says, for as in Adam all died, Adam all died, but in Christ we have been made alive. We have been made alive. It is talking about the spiritual death and spiritual life. Okay, spiritually the man died when Adam sinned and now in Christ we have been redeemed. In Christ we have been made alive and we have a new life. This is the life that Paul talks about new creation. He says in Christ we are the new creation. So verse 45, can we turn to first Corinthians chapter 15 verse 45? Okay, we will read in our notes it's from verse 47, but we'll just read it before. So it is written, the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. The first man was a living being, that's it, but the last Adam, that is Jesus, became the life-giving spirit through whom each of us can live. Well, we move on to verse 46. However, the spiritual is not first, right? The spiritual was not first, but the natural. How was Adam created? Adam was created from dust. Okay, so he was a natural person and afterward a spiritual person came. So Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was not created by a dust or by human, but he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what the scripture says. The scripture says every word that has been recorded has been breathed by God, right? It's been recorded, it's been breathed by God. It is God's breath, it's God's word. So the word of God says that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit through a virgin. So he was a spiritual man, okay? Yeah, so we will continue. 47. The first man was of the earth made of dust, but the second man is the Lord from heaven. He's the Lord from heaven. 48. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust. And as in the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. So what does it say? The first man, the natural man was created from dust. So he'll get back to dust. So because he was created in dust, he was in the image, the natural man. We all took the same image, right? What happened? And as the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. So when we believe in Jesus, we also become more like him. Now verse 49 says, and as we have born the image of the man of dust, so as we carry the bond of the image of the natural man was created from dust, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly man. The same manner, when we believe in Jesus, we also carry the image of the heavenly man. So what happened here? So those who believe in the second man, that's the last Adam, we have the free gift. We have the free gift when we believe in the second man. That's the last Adam, Jesus Christ. So what happened? The free gift brings the grace of God over each of us. So what is this free gift? The gift of righteousness. We were once sinners. Now when we believe in Jesus, the work that he did on the cross, so there's a divine exchange that took place on the cross. So what happened? A sin nature. A sin nature, God takes a sin nature and puts it up on Jesus and the righteousness of God, the righteousness of God comes over us. So when God looks at each of us, he sees in the image of the second man or the last Adam that we have been made righteous in Christ. And what happens? So now, we are put in a place where we reign in life, in the fullness of life. So what does John 3.16 says? Can anyone read John 3.16? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. What is the next verse? Whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. So we believe in Jesus, the work that he did on the cross, have the access for this eternal life. Whoever believes in him shall not die, but have eternal life. It's not talking about the natural death, it's talking about a spiritual life. We will live one with Christ in them. So one man sinned and we are always made sinners. But through one man's death, we have been made righteous and have the access for the eternal life. So we have been made alive. So what does Paul says in Corinthians? Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. I think I should keep this open. Okay, second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. What does it say? Therefore if anyone is in Christ, it says therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. So what happened here? The old things have passed away and behold all things have become new. So this is what Paul says that when you believe there is a divine exchange that took place on the cross. So the death nature of man has gone away and here we have become live in Christ and we have the access for the eternal life. How did we get access to this eternal life through one man's obedience? One man obeyed and many were made righteous. Now when we believe John 3.16, when we believe on this one man Jesus Christ who died on the cross for you and me, there's a divine exchange. Our sin has been taken up on the cross and the righteousness of Jesus has been put over us. There is a divine exchange. Now what happened many years ago, many years ago, we talk about substitution, what happened many years ago? Six thousand years ago when the man was created, he disobeyed and he died. The death entered the natural realm and whereas all the human, everyone who had been born on this earth carried death. Now how that has been effective and how the natural man experienced that death, the same manner two thousand years ago or two thousand twenty two years ago, the last Adam, one man obeyed and he died on the cross for each of us. He took away all our sins and he died on the cross and there's a divine exchange that happened. And here when we believe in Jesus, there's an eternal life. That's what the scripture says. How six thousand years ago the disobedience was effective the same way two thousand twenty two years ago when one man obeyed, the eternal life is effective to every mankind. Every mankind in the sense the one who believes Jesus receives Jesus as a Lord and Savior, you have access to this eternal life. You have access to it. So we have been identified in Christ. So this is not something that suddenly God thought about a new plan and God created. No, God is all knowing, right? He's omniscient. He knows everything. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows it. So this whole thing was in God's mind. This new creation was in God's mind. How to bring it through Christ was in God's mind and God planned it in the right way. In the right time, God brought in Jesus Christ who can redeem the mankind because God loved us people. God loved the world. So we see in scripture that teaches us that because we are in Christ, we have been identified in Christ. Now, how are we identified in Christ? In His crucification, in His death, in His burial, in His resurrection, in His ascension, in the exaltation or where Jesus has been taken the position where He's been seated at the right hand of Father. We have the access. When we identify ourselves, when we accept ourselves that Jesus is a Lord and Savior, this is what happens. So let's turn to Romans chapter 6. We're going to read through this chapter so that we can understand this chapter better. Romans chapter 6 so that we can understand how are we identified in Christ, okay? So Paul explains this to us through Romans chapter 6. We need to look at the entire chapter. Let's turn to Romans 6. Yeah, verse 1 to 23. Okay. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Shall we continue in sin? Now we just take this as an example. Now we are believed in Christ, okay? We have accepted Jesus as a Lord and Savior. So when we believe, every person, we have an old nature, isn't it? Should we continue in our old nature? We have God's grace, isn't it? God's grace is to forgive his children. We have accepted Jesus as a Lord and Savior. Now we have the access to God. We are the child of God. So can being a child of God continue in that sin nature and expect God to forgive us or can we expect that the grace of God is there upon us and he will forgive us? So this is what Paul explains to the Romans church. In chapter 1 it says, what shall we say then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Verse 2 he says, certainly not. Certainly not. How shall we, how shall we would die to sin live any longer in it? For example, let's look at this illustration. If there's an alcoholic, there's a person who's been addicted to alcohol or it can be any kind of addiction. It can be alcohol or smoking or drugs. It can be anything that this person has been addicted to. And now this person dies. No matter how expensive an alcohol could be, if you get and give it to that person, can he consume that? Can he consume that? Can he drink? No matter how expensive the cigarettes could be, if he give it to him or drugs could be, if you give it to him, can he take that? Why do you think he can't take that? Because he's been dead. He's died. He's died. The same way when we receive Jesus as a Lord and Savior, that's what the scripture says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 we just read, that all things have passed away. We have been died to our old things. In the old we have become new. We have been birthed new. We have been born new. We have been born again. When we receive Jesus as a Lord and Savior, we have been born again in him. So the old man nature though, old nature in us are dead. We need to take up the new man's nature, the Christ nature, the fruit of the spirit. So we need to believe this. The enemy may bring in a lot of lies. No. See you remember the old nature that was in you and you know it comes up but you need to tell yourself and remind yourself time and again that this nature has no power over me. Why? Because I am a child of God. I identify myself in Christ Jesus. This nature, the old nature is not in Christ. The old nature is not in Christ. It can be any kind of addiction. It can be anger, jealousy. It can be anything. Those nature which are not of Christ has no power over us. It has lost this grip. It has lost this power over us and we need to embrace this truth for to exercise the new life, for us to exercise or reign in the life of Christ, to reign in the life of new creation. We need to believe this. Mark 923 says, what does it say? Mark 923. Turn to your Bibles. Online you can post the scripture on the chat. Read it loud. If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. So if you believe, all things are possible. It means what? When you believe, you take part in the new things. Apostle Paul says in the Corinthians, in the book of, in the letter to Corinthians he says, for you to live in this new creation, for you to live this new life, you need to renew your mind. So how do we renew your mind? By reading the word of God again and again, by believing what the word says about each of us, that we are the new creation. All things have passed away. The sin nature that was in me has no power. We have been died. We have died to sin and we become, we have life in the nature of Christ. We have become live in the nature of Christ. So the fruit of the spirit should be birthed in us, where we develop, we allow it to grow. So what you feed in you is what you see yourself. You are not right. This is not the nature of God. So God has put the wisdom into every man. So how do we know this is the nature of God or this isn't? There's a natural sense, consciousness. We all have the self-consciousness. For example, last class I gave you all about a child being born new. So the child cries for different reasons. It can cry because of hunger. It can cry for milk or for stomach pain. It also cries when the mother carries another baby. So what do you call this? You see there's a jealousy. So who put jealousy into the child? There's something called naturally been born. So this nature will lose its power when we not give into it. When we don't give into it. So God has given us the wisdom for us to know what is right from wrong. And we need to develop our self to grow in the nature of God, to grow in the gifts of the spirit, I mean in the fruit of the spirit so that the nature of God, the new creation is we are part of this new creation and we can identify our self with Christ. So we will move on to the next verse. Do you not know that as many of us as we baptized into Christ Jesus, we're baptized into His death. This is a very self-explanatory chapter. We can understand it as we read through. See, as many of us we're baptized in Christ Jesus, we're baptized into His death. This is what we believe and we are baptized. We get into the water. What's happening? There's an immersion. We have been fully immersed into the water saying that we take part in the death burial and the resurrection of Christ. So in chapter four, I mean verse four, we see that. Chapter six verse four, therefore, if we were buried with Him through the baptism in death, that just as Christ was raised from death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. So just as our Jesus was raised from the death by the power of the Father, by the glory of the Father, so should we walk in this newness of life. Because now we believe that we have been taken part in this death burial and the resurrection and we have Christ who lives in us and we need to walk in this newness of life. How do we walk intentionally, being aware, identifying ourselves in Christ? Well, that's fine. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. If we are taking part in the likeness of His death, certainly we should believe that we also been part of the likeness of resurrection. So knowing this, that our old man has been crucified in Christ, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. So we need to identify ourselves here. We need to believe on this truth that the sin has no power over us, over our mind, our body. It has no power. It has lost the grip and we have been made new in Christ. The newness of Christ is in us and we need to walk in that. Eighth, now if we die with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. So when you know that we have died in Christ, now we should also know that we need to live in Him. Mindful of knowing that Christ is in me and I need to reflect His nature. Okay. Now verse nine, knowing that Christ, having been raised from death, dies no more. Death no longer as dominion over us. The old man has died. The old nature has died and that has no dominion over us. We need to believe in that. Ten, for the death that he died, that is Jesus, he died to sin once for all. For the life that he lives, it lives to God. So once and for all that Jesus died on the cross so that we don't have to work towards that. Jesus has already done it on the cross. We can receive only by believing on the work that he did and receive the newness of life in us and walk in that. Verse 11, likewise you also reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin but a light God and Christ Jesus are Lord. Verse 12, therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. Verse 12 is very important. Now whatever we spoke when it says, therefore, remember that Jesus died on the cross and we have died to our old nature. Now Jesus is, Jesus raised and he seated at the right end of the Father and we have been resulted in that and we have to walk in the newness of life. Now with that in mind verse 12 Paul says, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that means there's an action required here. Doesn't happen automatically. The sin nature that was in us can only get power when we give it, when we allow it. The minute you speak to that nature get out of me. Renew your mind and walk in the nature of Christ. Now the sin has no power. It's not like once till you overcome that area you may have to exercise that. You may have to exercise in that area to overcome with the grace of God. God's grace is there. God will strengthen you to overcome that sin nature in you. Now you're not alone. You are with Christ that you can overcome that sin nature which is in you. But if you give in that takes the power. Do not verse 13 and do not present the members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourself to God as being alive from death and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Verse 14 for sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under the grace. There are sometimes people say oh I left, I quit smoking, I quit drinking but then I'm not able to. I'm not able to. That habit is not, I mean that nature is not I mean leaving me. I'm again and again getting back to it. No, you need to believe yourself that nature has no power. That nature has no power. We need to believe that that nature has no power over us. That has lost the grip over us. Thank God the power's back. I think the class is bright and clear. Yeah. So verse 15, what happened? What then shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace. Certainly not. Do you not know that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey? You are not the one slave from slaves whom you obey whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. Paul is asking a question. Do you not know that to whom you present yourself as slaves that you should obey? You don't have to obey the sin that leads to death but we need to obey the righteousness which is leading to new life, new creation. So verse 17, but God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that forms of doctrine to which you were delivered. You are Paul is saying he's thanking God that though we were slaves to sin, yet we obeyed from the heart and took form that form of doctrine. Doctrine is the word of God, the gospel that was preached to the people in Romans to which you were delivered and 18 saying and having been set free from sin you became slaves of righteousness. So we need to have this understanding that we have been set free from sin. Sin has no grip over us. The minute we believe this we become the slaves of righteousness. No more we are slaves to sin but we are slaves to righteousness. Verse 19, so I speak in human terms because of the weakness of our flesh for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness. So now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. So we need to believe and present ourselves to the righteousness of for holiness. Now verse 20, for when you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness. 21, what fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death? Now when we look back at our old nature, can we realize those things would have led only to death, those things would have just destroyed us? What did we get? What fruit did we get from that? Was it good? Was it good? No, isn't it? But here Paul is saying in verse 22, but now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end of this is everlasting life. Now when we identify ourselves in Christ, we have been set free from that sin nature, we are no more slaves of sin, but now we have become slaves of God and now we can bear the fruit of holiness. Now what is God's nature? Holy and now we can bear that nature in us. We have fruit of holiness in us and which will eventually end in everlasting life. Verse 23 says the wages of sin is death. Very important. 23, please highlight it. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, the gift of God. So what is it? Here in the verse, you know, we see Paul been talking that just give me a minute, which verses that, yeah, verse 17. Verse 17, we see that Paul is talking about, but God we thank that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine to which you were delivered. So what does this word form mean? So in Greek, this word form means which takes a shape. Form means to obey, take shape, take be molded into. Now anything you pour into this bottle will take the shape of this container, right? Any substance that has been poured into this bottle will take the shape of this bottle the same thing. Anything has been poured into us or into God will take the shape of God. So that's what Paul says, take the form of doctrine when the word of God, when we are poured into the word of God, we take the shape of the word of God, we form into his nature into his likeness. We strive towards become perfect like Christ to be holy like God. So we try to lead a life that is pleasing God, pleasing him. So we are dead to sin. We are dead to sin and we have been made life to the righteousness of God. That's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.17 that therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away and behold all things have become new. So we become new in Christ and Paul is very empathetic in saying that the sin nature has no power over us because we have been born new in Christ. We have taken part in the death, burial, the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and exaltation of Christ. So if Christ, if we believe that we are in Christ at the time of crucifixion on the cross, can you just, I know we all are gifted with the imagination. You can imagine yourself. Now you are inside Christ on the crucifixion and you can identify yourself with Christ on the cross and then in his death, in his burial and in his resurrection and in his exaltation that he's been seated at the right hand of God. Now you can identify yourself at the right hand of God seated in Christ. This is the truth of identification. This is the truth that you are not an ordinary being. You are not ordinary. You have been identified in Christ. You are living in Christ. That's why Paul says the sin nature has no power. Was there any sin nature in Christ? Did we see spotted as the scriptures spot out any sin nature in Christ? The same way, the Christ who lives in us will lead us from that nature. He will help us. He'll give us the grace to overcome every sin nature that we wear. We have heard so many testimonies from people around us or around the world that the minute they receive Jesus as the Lord and Savior, for some it was instant. They were healed, experienced the breakthrough from the bondages, from the curse or from any kind of addiction. But as some of them had their own taken the time to overcome those natures. Now it's not only the outside about the smoking, drinking or any other kind of addiction, but the sin nature also about certain things that are within us like jealousy, envy, anger, pornography. It can be anything, masturbation. It can be anything, the area that one has been addicted to and asking God to deliver. The minute you receive Christ, that which was giving you pleasure. Now in this new creation life, you're not having the same thing. And those nature, those sinful nature has no power over you. It has lost its grip over you. No matter what the enemy can bring into your mind, it can remind you. All you need to say is enemy, you have no power over me. I am of God. I am the body of Christ. I have the mind of Christ and you have no power over me. Why you're able to say what you're able to say? Because you are identifying yourself with Christ. And now Christ who is in you is empowering you to be more like him. He's strengthening you to be more like him. And this whole nature has no power and we have become new in Christ. So we have been identified in Christ. How? We are crucified with Christ. So the body of sin was destroyed. What happened? We are crucified with Christ and the body of sin was destroyed. We have been buried with Christ and separated from the past life. We have been resurrected with Christ and we have been given new life. We are raised up into heavens with Christ and separated from the present age or the world. And lastly, we have been seated with Christ where we can position to rule and reign in our life. So this is what we need to believe. We need to identify in our Christ so that the sin nature has no power. Jesus has become our substitute and we have been identified in him. Okay? So with that, we will end the session and next class, we can talk in detail about the Crucification, Burial Resurrection, and Ascension and Jesus being seated at the Christ. We can talk on each of these points in detail and we can end this class with a word of prayer. Dear God, we thank you that you have expanded our mind and given us the understanding to understand the truth of your word, to understand the divine exchange that took place on the cross. Father, we thank you for Jesus, for the work that he did on the cross for each of us, our Father. Lord, we pray that you will expand our mind, that we may understand this divine exchange and walk in that, embrace this new life and walk in fullness of it, our Father. We pray over each of our students that they will experience the love of God, experience the newness in their life and work free from every sin nature and embrace the new life that has been given through Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining in today's session. I hope it was a blessing. Thank you and God bless.