The Exchanged Life The first element is the Exchanged Life. The exchanged life is the great exchange that took place at the CROSS. In Christ, during the crucifixion of the Son of God, the entire Adamic race was crucified. Whoever accepts Jesus Christ as life experiences the exchanged life of their self-centeredness for Christ's sufficiency. Paul gets to the heart of what the exchanged life is all about when he writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20). This statement is phenomenal! Paul is conveying that we have been united with Christ on the cross in all aspects: death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. This is not a metaphor, but is instead a deep spiritual reality. I also like the way Richard F. Hall explains it: "The exchanged life is the exchange (with Christ at the cross) of self-centered life lived out of the Christian's own resources as if he were still in Adam, for a Christ-centered life lived out of Christ's resources because he (the Christian) is in Christ." 1 In a nutshell, this is the exchanged life. The Cross The second term needing further explanation and defining is The Cross. The term 'cross' has a different meanings for different people. For some people, the cross means just the wooden instrument the Romans used to crucify the criminals of the empire, including Jesus. For others, cross means only the substitutionary death of Jesus, but nothing more beyond that. This is the view of the vast majority of Christians today. When I use the term 'the cross,' I am referring to the complete work of Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. In other words, the cross is the single point in the universe where in God's spiritual economy, we are identified with Christ in all these facets of the cross. The crucifixion of Christ is, and is going to remain, the most unique event in history's entirety. It has been done once and for all, as Peter writes, "For Christ also died for sins once for all" (1 Pet. 3:18). Therefore, it will never be repeated. On that cross almost two thousand years ago, God united us with Jesus and made us partakers of the death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ. Paul writes, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" (Rom. 6:3). I know! This is a mystery! From the Cross there are a few rays, which if we let them, will shine with much brightness into our hearts. Following are some of the 'rays' - United with Christ in His death We were placed in Christ, through God's infinite wisdom and the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit. And when Christ died on that cross, we also died with Him. This mystery has been in the heart of God, before the foundation of the world, to save us and to bring us, as sons and daughters, with His only begotten Son in glory. The Bible teaches us, "we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:7-8). All this unspeakable wisdom has been hidden in the cross. And up until today, "... the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). United with Christ in His burial After Christ died, He was buried. This is part of the...Read more here
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Valy Vaduva (Michigan, USA) is a contributing writer for IOM America - Transformational Biblical Worldview & Exchange Life Development.
Knowing Your Definitions. Copyright © 2014-2015 by Valy Vaduva. Used by permission. Articles or portions of articles may be used only with written permission from writer. Editorial changes by IOM America approved by author.
1 Richard F. Hall, Foundations of Exchanged Life Counseling, (Aurora, CO: Cross-Life Expressions), 1993, p. 57.
All Scriptures, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible,© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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