When Christ takes possession of our spirit, He gives us His rest for our soul – our mind, will and emotions. His righteousness, peace and joy give us a new life, which replaces our life of worry and deprivation (Romans 14:17). He provides all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). We live in ceaseless wonder at the sacrifice He made for us, and the heavenly home, which He provides for us, as we abide in Him forevermore (Psalm 16:11).
We no longer seek to sanctify our self by crucifying our
flesh or by our works for God (Galatians 3:1-3), but we accept the work of
Christ on the cross for us, which gives us eternal salvation simply by our
relationship with Him (John 17:3). By faith, we accept His
sacrifice on our behalf (Hebrews 7:22), and we submit to His Spirit as
He crucifies the deeds of our flesh (Romans 15:16).
The nation of Israel is a perfect example of God’s people
who try in the power of their flesh to live for God (Hebrews
8:7-9). They occasionally made great strides, but they constantly
failed to keep the law. We have no more success than they did in obeying God’s
Word on our own. We fail just as miserably.
As we rely on our triune God, He sanctifies us through our
union with Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2,30), the washing of the water of His
Word (Ephesians 5:26) and our obedience to His Word (Hebrews
12:14; 2 Timothy 2:21-22). We are the sons of God (1 John
3:2), members of Christ’s Body (Romans 12:5), and
filled with the fruit of His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We do
not work for God, but Christ lives and works in and through us (Colossians
1:27; Ephesians 2:10).
Our justification, sanctification and glorification are not
obtained through our human effort, but by the work of our triune God within us (Titus
3:5). Our Father God provides our sanctification (Hebrews
8:10-12; Philippians 2:12-13), Jesus is the instrument of our sanctification (Ephesians
5:26), and the Spirit does the work of sanctification within us (2
Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Father God, Your Word is truth and You sanctify us by it (John 17:17). We are heirs of Your promise (Ephesians 3:6). We find our rest in Your everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27). Thank You for giving us Jesus as both the fulfillment and the guarantee of Your covenant with us. You cause us to walk in Your ways and to keep your statutes (Ezekiel 36:7), and You give us Your assurance by Your promises (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Thought for the Day:
The more we abide in Christ, we deeper we realize the
security and blessings of our position and promise in Him. 