Sinners are in mortal combat with God. They fight in opposition to everything God is and what He stands for. Once we come to Christ in repentance, asking for forgiveness, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness. We enter a union with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Their triune life permeates our spirit and soul, and heals our body. We unite our life with the Spirit and He carries out His plans in, through and instead of us.
We do not simply create a contract with God, but we enter
an intimate relationship, which includes a unified life. God purifies us in
increments, going deeper with each penetration of His holy fire, until we
radiate Christ’s nature from within us. He replaces our carnal nature with the
fruit of His Spirit, which is actually the very nature of God (Galatians
5:22-23). The less we function out of our humanity and the more we
wait on God, the more He expresses His character in us and through us.
As we embrace His divine nature, we are filled to
overflowing with His nature, and His very life flows out of us (Ephesians
3:16-19 Amplified Bible). We embrace His presence in us with our thoughts,
choices and emotions. Our unity with Christ invades every cell in our body and
we live as the temple of His Holy Spirit. We are constantly aware of this holy
relationship and our ever-increasing intimacy with Christ. There is no longer
an inner contest between the flesh and spirit.
We freely choose the leading of God’s Spirit in each moment of the day (Romans 8:14). Our human way of thinking and feeling passes away, and we are now an entirely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We walk in communion, fellowship and accord with Christ within us (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We belong to God’s household as co-heirs, priests and saints. Resting in Christ is not another religious activity to perform. It simple involves complete surrender of our human life to the kingship of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-29).
We bow before our God and Maker (Psalm
95:6). As God recreates the nature of Christ in our soul, we manifest God in
ever-increasing levels of maturity and glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Forgiveness eliminates our confessed sin – past, present and future. The more
we experience Christ as our life, the further away we run from the world,
straight into our Savior’s waiting arms (Colossians 3:4).
Gradually, God replaces our human limitations with His eternal power and
divinity.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, our union with You is based on faith in Your
faithfulness. Therefore, unbelief separates us from You for eternity (John
3:18). When our trust fuses with Your faith, the Son of God who loves us and
gave Yourself for us, we have perfect unity with You (Ephesians
5:2; Galatians 1:4). By faith, Your divinity freely flows through our
body, soul and spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Our intimate bond with You is
broken only by our propensity to sin. However, if we walk in accord with the
direction, wisdom and love of Your Spirit, we will never fulfill the lusts of
our flesh (Galatians 5:16, 25). We eventually walk by Your
Spirit as a matter of course for our day.
Thought for the Day:
The degree to which we exhibit the fruit of the
Spirit in our life corresponds with the depth of our love for and obedience to
Christ within us. 