Deference  |
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Three kinds of knowing The way to know your worth |
Romans 6 v6 &8 “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him… Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.” |
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Project of knowledge My son has just completed a project on the planet Mars. I now know that there is a canyon there as long as the United States of America and that there is a volcano bigger than any on earth. I have never seen these things myself but I take it on trust from those who have sent probes and used large telescopes and I know these things now. Experience There are other things that I know. I know that if I am driving in my car at 40 mph it will take longer to stop than if I were driving at 30mph. I was told these things by those who taught me to drive but I have since experienced them myself and I know it to be true through my own personal experience. |
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Revealed Something else that I know is stated in the Bible. Romans 6 v6 says, “we know that our old self was crucified with [Jesus].” How do we know this? We know because we have been told by other people who have explained the Gospel to us and we know by experience more and more as we grow as Christians—but we need another sort of knowing. This is because we don’t always believe what we are told (Satan constantly sets out to confuse and deceive us) and our experience seems to vary from day to day. This third sort of knowing is a divine knowing revealed by the Spirit of God to our spirit. When our heads deceive us and our experience has let us down we still know that our old self was crucified with Jesus because we know in our spirit. |
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When our heads deceive us and our experience has let us down we still know that our old self was crucified with Jesus because we know in our spirit. |
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Old self What has this got to do with the subject of deference? If we have been crucified with Christ we are no longer our own, we belong to another—that is God. In this knowledge deferring to others is not a problem to us. Why? Because the needs of the ‘old self’ do not need to be satisfied; we have already laid them aside. I do not need to be better than others. I do not need to dominate others. I do not need to overcome the will of others. I do not need to smother others. I do not need to belittle others. I do not need to elevate self. I do not need to promote self do not need to pander to self. If I am crucified I am also raised. When I am the new creation I am a temple of the Holy Spirit so I must care for myself but this is in a holy and measured manner. |
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Better worth My dear Christian sister, you may today be feeling weary, burdened and taken for granted but the old self does not need to dominate in order for you to have a sense of worth. Our worth comes from the price that God paid for us. Continue in the way of deference drawing your strength from God’s Holy Spirit in your times of Prayer and Bible Study. (yes, please make some) Draw on the Holy Spirit in your tasks. Draw on the Holy Spirit when you are feeling weary. His power will overcome the needs of the old self and you will truly be a person who is raised up. |
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