A Gravestone and an Empty Tomb

Something radical, life-transforming, and supernatural happened to me in April 1988. The Spirit of the living God—the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead—came upon me and sealed me eternally to God in Christ. As Paul writes in Ephesians 1, the Spirit is given “as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” That day brought new life, forgiveness, adoption, redemption, hope, and the fruit of the Spirit. But it also brought a gravestone – the death of slavery to sin, Satan, and the rule of my flesh. Like a gravestone marking a burial, this marked the death of my old self and the beginning of my new life in Christ.

When we come to Christ through repentant faith in His finished work on the cross, death and new life occur simultaneously: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). Paul echoes this reality in Colossians 3:3: “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” In Galatians 2:20 he explains, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

As those who have died to sin (Romans 6:2), we are released from its power and are free to live and walk in the Spirit. For 24 years, my sinful nature ruled me, but through the atoning blood of Christ and His resurrection it was rendered powerless (Romans 6:6). As a result, my allegiance is no longer to Satan or the flesh but to the Father, the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14). The Spirit assures us daily of our adoption (Romans 8:15–16) and that we are “co-heirs with Christ” as we share in His sufferings (Romans 8:17).

Paul emphasizes this doctrine because it is integral to the Christian faith. We must know and trust that our death to sin and resurrection with Christ are both present and future realities. Why? Because trusting Christ’s finished work and our new identity in Him is the foundation that prepares us to begin putting off the works of the flesh and putting on His righteousness, so that we can bear fruit for His glory. 

If we try to produce righteousness in our own strength, we will always fail. But when we learn to live by faith in His promises in union with Him, we are enabled to walk in newness of life. Paul exhorts us in Romans 6:13: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.” In Colossians 3:5–18, he provides details of the sin we are to put off, in the Spirit’s power, along with the righteousness we are now called to live in. He uses strong language like “put to death” and “rid yourselves of” to describe how actively we are to resist the desires of the flesh. He then instructs us in the Spirit’s power to “clothe ourselves” and to “put on” the very character and nature of Christ—compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).

Is it that simple?

If you’re anything like me, you’re wondering, “Is it really that simple?” The answer is both yes and no. Paul is not implying that understanding our union with Christ solves all spiritual struggles or negates the need to daily “put to death the misdeeds of the body”(Romans 8:13), which he shows is essential for eternal life. Instead, he’s showing that the resurrection power to live righteously is closely connected to understanding and trusting our new identity in Christ (Romans 6:11). As theologian Sinclair Ferguson writes, Paul knows that, “Our who determines our do.” He is clear that while we’re still tempted to sin and struggle, sin no longer has the right to reign over our lives. About this he declares, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). 

We have died with Christ to the law through His perfect obedience on our behalf. He now calls us to fulfill the law of love, not by our human works, but by grace, as we trust in His righteousness imputed to us. The indwelling Spirit enables us to do this – to live and walk in righteousness, holiness and truth like Jesus did (Romans 8:11; 1 John 2:6). “If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). In Romans 8:4, Paul shows that “the righteousness the law describes is fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

After wrestling to embrace and understand these truths for many years, I’ve come to realize that they are not abstract doctrines but essential for spiritual growth and flourishing in the Christian life. The patterns of the flesh still daily seek to control us (Romans 7:21), but by faith in Christ’s finished work, we can learn to walk in the Spirit and increasingly put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13). 

This gravestone over my sinful flesh is much more than a metaphor. It is a daily reminder of the transforming power of the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in me. The death to sin I experienced in 1988 was not a one-time event but an ongoing reality I embrace each day. By faith, I am empowered to live more and more in the freedom of the Spirit, bearing fruit and walking in victory over sin—not by my strength, but by the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead and now lives in me: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:3-8).

You Can Always Tell (Every Single Time): God's Faithfulness in Every Season

The Father’s wisdom and knowledge are so far beyond our comprehension that we rarely truly understand what is happening behind the scenes in our lives. He often leads us down paths we never expected, to places we were not looking for, through unsuspecting circumstances. At the same time, there is a rock-solid predictability to His character. We can remain steadfastly confident that regardless of the what, where, when and how of His mysterious ways, the “Who” remains the same. Regarding our Father’s character, we can always remain certain – every single time – that He is faithful and we can trust Him!

A strange tension exists between the absolute certainty of His character and our changing circumstances. Without the guarantee of His faithfulness, we’d be left to wring our hands in wonder if everything could possibly work out. We may have to wait long seasons like Abraham and Sarah for a promised blessing, or we might be taken aback by the seeming insignificance of God’s choice for us – like Samuel was when God revealed Israel’s future king, who was just a shepherd. But we can be sure that the One who sculpted us with His loving hands, hears our prayers, sees our tears and has a heart that is steadfastly faithful and devoted to our ultimate good (Psalm 139; 2 Kings 20:5). 

Life may appear on the surface non-sensical rather than ordered and good, like a tangle of loose strings instead of a tapestry. We at times may feel alone in our wilderness, but God assures us he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He also promises that he will bring eternal good and purpose from even our most difficult circumstances and seasons of waiting (Romans 8:28). Like Joseph, we may discover that one disappointment leads to another and then possibly another, only to wake up one day and find all the broken pieces have been artfully formed into a mosaic displaying God’s glory in perfect pattern. 

Those of great faith throughout Scripture could never have predicted all of God’s incredible answers to their prayers, but they could stand with confidence on the character of the One they were depending on to lead and care for them. We can have this same confidence as we start and finish every day, in spite of the perplexing difficulties and long seasons of waiting we experience. Though our paths often take us through valleys of waiting and wilderness, we can always trust—every single time—that His character remains unchanging and His mercies are new each morning. Great is His faithfulness, now and forever!

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33).

Thriving in the Wilderness

God reminded the people of Israel through Moses and Joshua that they must choose who they were going to serve—whether the gods of the nations or the one true God (Joshua 24:14-15). He provided them with a clear picture of the blessings they would experience if they chose to trust Him and the curses they would receive if they turned their backs on Him to worship idols (Deuteronomy 28:1-68). These outcomes served to remind all of Israel that Yahweh was Lord over all and that, to flourish, they must keep Him at the center of their lives.

Jesus taught a similar concept in John 15 to His disciples by using the analogy of a vine and branches. He reminded them that He was the True Vine and that His people were the branches. To bear fruit in our relationship with Him, we must remain in Him by remaining in His Word through trust. He promised that those who do this will bring God glory by bearing much fruit and showing that they are his true disciples (John 15:8).

Since God is the author of life and is life Himself, it’s logical that to experience flourishing, we need to remain in His presence. The Lord helped me understand this better on a trip to the Grand Canyon several years ago. As we walked around the rim, I noticed three sights that initially seemed unrelated. 

The first was a single, small wildflower growing among weeds on the dry and dusty trail. This flower was unique in that it survived the hot, desert climate, revealing that it had just the right amount of light, water, and shade to flourish. 

As we stood at the south rim of the canyon, I looked out and saw a patch of deep green surrounded by an ocean of brown right in the middle of the canyon. I knew there had to be a spring keeping the plants and grass nourished so they could grow in this sun-scorched spot. 

When I turned to look further at the canyon’s north and south rims, I noticed another stark contrast. The north rim was covered in lush, green pines, while the south was filled with dried, dead plants. The shade on the north rim provided not only a higher altitude but much-needed protection from the harsh afternoon sunlight, allowing the trees to remain green.

As I thought about these three seemingly unrelated  sights, I realized they all had a common theme, serving as a metaphor for abiding in the vine of the Father’s love. To survive and thrive in a harsh climate, they required the right amount of water, air and sunlight. 

Like these plants, we must have the right spiritual elements in our lives to survive and thrive. We need to drink from and be nourished by the water of Father’s Word, strengthened by the air of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and find life and shade in the presence of the Son of Righteousness.

The Lord promises that when we rely on Him and His resources, we will be like a fruitful vine that bears much fruit and does not wither in the heat, much like the plants in the canyon (Psalm 1, John 15). As we consistently, day by day and minute by minute, draw life from God, we not only survive but begin to thrive – despite the harsh conditions of life. 

The promise of God is certain – when we remain in Him, we will receive his abundant spiritual blessings and the strength we need to flourish in an often dry and weary land. 

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).