Paul chronicles his
struggle with sin and death in Romans 6-7. In his desperation as a wretched
human being, he calls out for deliverance (Romans 7:19). Then
He realizes that Jesus Christ our Lord already delivered us from bondage to the
law of sin and death (Romans 7:24-25, 8:2). God gives us His grace and saves us through faith in
Jesus’ work on Calvary’s cross (John 1:17; Ephesians 2:8). We
no longer need to focus on sin or the world, but on the righteousness of Christ
in us, who is our hope of living in eternal glory (Colossians
1:27). We walk in His ways by His
Spirit within us (Ezekiel
36:27).
Jesus in us already
overcame sin, death and the devil by His death and resurrection (Colossians
3:15; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Then, God’s
Spirit changes us over our lifetime by His anointing in our spirit, soul and
body, (Romans 8:11; 2
Corinthians 3:18). We are not sinless,
because we are not equal to God. We cannot trust in our self for salvation (Proverbs 28:26; John 15:5). The shelves of self-help books in the stores can
give us a clue about what we need to change, and we may even discipline some
character flaws out of our personality.
However, we cannot perfect our self (2 Corinthians 3:5). Righteousness is not attained by human self-effort. As we heed His conviction, obey His direction and live through faith in His faithfulness, we walk in His holiness one moment at a time (Romans 1:5; 16:26). Perfection already came to our spirit – we are born again by the Spirit of God - through justification. Perfection will come to our body through glorification, once we see Jesus. God perfects our soul – our mind, choices and emotions – from one stage of glory to another through a lifetime of sanctification.
Once we are Born Again, we
are one Spirit with Christ who dwells within us (1 Corinthians 6:17). He continually overcomes the sinful desires and
evil spirits that threaten and tempt our flesh (1 John 5:4; 2 Corinthians
2:14; Romans 8:37). Daily, He carries
out His work of perfection until there is no longer any entrenched sin in our
body or soul. Only a few remaining secret unconfessed and unsurrendered sins
still dwell in us, which the Spirit has not yet brought to our attention.
However, every time Satan finds something to use to tempt us to sin, it is
still an idol in our life.
We brought those idols with
us from our old life and they are still causing issues now in our new life (Genesis
31:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God calls
us to willing lay down these secret sins as His Spirit draws them to our
attention. He will complete the work He started in our soul, just as He did in
our spirit and will also do with our future immortal body (Philippians 1:6). We simply enter Christ’s rest each moment of our
day and submit to His Spirit’s mercy, grace and direction (Colossians 1:27, 2:2). Then, God’s Spirit and the divinity of Christ within
us renovate our thoughts, choices and emotions from carnal ones to those, which
are spiritually minded (Romans
12:2; Ephesians 4:23).
Prayer:
Father God, without You in
our life we are hopeless and undone (John 15:5). We thank You for giving us Your Spirit to perfect
us day by day. We thank You for Jesus’ life and character that overcomes
unrighteousness within us and presents us as a spotless Bride (2
Corinthians 4:7). Create in us a
spotless heart, and renew a righteous spirit within us (Psalm
51:10). Work in us according to Your
good pleasure and perfect us until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians
1:6, 2:13). Give us Your power and
anointing to accomplish Your will in the earth each moment of our day (Ephesians
3:16).
Thought for the Day:
Christ
in us is greater than both our carnal nature and also all of the powers of
darkness in the world. - I John 4:4
