Children
of God and children of Satan both obey the Spirit within them (2
Corinthians 4:10-11; Ephesians 2:2). Satan’s children do wickedly.
God’s children experience a lifetime of God’s transforming power. Christ is
our head and we mature into every aspect of Him (Ephesians 4:15). God’s
Spirit renovates us until we mirror the nature of the fullness of
Christ within us (Ephesians 4:13-15; Galatians 4:19). God
loves us and chooses us to fulfill His purpose for us during our lifetime (Colossians
3:12). First, He washes away the stench of sin from our soul and spirit (2
Corinthians 7:1). Then He calls us to walk in holiness as His Saints (Ephesians
4:12, 24, 1:18; Romans 1:4).
Our cleansing comes in stages, like the rings of the tree
or the layers of an onion (2 Peter 3:18). God peels away one stratum at a
time until He exposed our core and brings us to the perfection of His Son (Romans
8:29). Our spiritual growth process brings successive changes and
development into our life by God’s grace and glory (2 Pet.
3:18). Daily the Spirit renews our inner man from one level of glory to
another (2 Corinthians 4:16, 3:18). Christ manifests Himself
in and through us to the world around us. He purifies our heart (James 4:8) as a
people whom He possesses. We soon desire for Him to use us to perform good
works for His honor and glory (Titus 2:14).
We cannot accomplish our own sanctification or purify our
self through self-efforts any more than we can save our self (Galatians
3:1-3). Only humble surrender to God’s will and His Spirit accomplishes this
goal (Matthew 5:3). God refines us like silver (Psalm
66:10; Malachi 3:13), by putting us through the fire of tribulation until
we lack nothing necessary for faith and holiness (James 1:4; 1 Peter 1:7;
Hebrews 12:29; Isaiah 4:4). He cleanses us by His shed blood (1 John
1:9; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 9:14). God disciplines us as Sons (Hebrews
12:5). Jesus overcame the world and died in our place. Now, He overcomes the
world in and through us (Revelation 2:7-3:21; 1 John 5:4-5; John 16:33). He
replaces the lusts of our flesh by the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians
5:19-23).
All of our determination and self-efforts to reach
perfection fails (Colossians 2:23). However, God conforms us to the
fellowship of His death and brings us through the stages of His glory (Colossians
1:24; Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:17). We die daily to our flesh for
His sake, and we are a new creation (Romans 6:2,11; Galatians 5:24; 2
Corinthians 5:17). His death on Calvary’s cross was God’s design to redeem
mankind for all eternity (Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrews 7:27, 10:10; 1 Peter
3:18). As we take up our cross (Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34;
Luke 9:23; 14:27), our humanity dies with Him and our life is now hidden
with Christ in God (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3). We live
by the Spirit of God within us (Romans 8:13).
Prayer:
Father God, You not only provide us with Your assistance as
we overcome our flesh, but also, you renew us daily by the divine life of
Christ within us (1 Peter 1:4). Your Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death. We live in victory over sin
because Your Spirit dwells within us (Romans 7-8). You
reproduce in us the nature of Christ through His habitation within us, and He
lives out His character in us moment by moment throughout the day. We simple
keep our eyes on Your Son as He perfects our faith (Hebrews
12:2).
Thought for the Day:
We submit to God as He puts to death the deeds
of our flesh and we reap the benefits of His resurrection.
