The Bible is full of symbolism. For instance, water baptism is a symbol of our death, burial and resurrection in Christ. We raise to walk in a new life with Him.
We do not
die physically in baptism, but our flesh dies spiritually, and is now able to disregard
the lure of sin in this world. Sin no longer tempts us as it used to, and we
are free from its bondage.
We relate to
Christ's new life in us to a greater degree than we connect to this world. We
died together with Him; and it is Him, not us, that now lives in and through us
(Galatians 2:20).
We are one
with Christ; and through His divine nature within us, we die to the desire to sin.
God adopts us into His family. We share in His benefits in His Kingdom of God
as co-heirs with Jesus.
In Christ,
we gradually become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our focus in
life, our habits and the people we hang around with all change. Our life is
spiritual now, rather than carnal and fleshly.
Our vital
union with Jesus, puts us in right standing before God, our Father (John
15:1-11; Romans 6:3-11; Ephesians 5:30). He births our spirit, and we live a
life which is pleasing to God. We are one with Christ and members of His Body.
Our old,
carnal flesh - our intellect, emotions and will - is crucified with Christ and
we died to sin (John 15:4; Romans 6:6, 8:11; Colossians 3:3, 9; 1 Corinthians
6:19; Ephesians 4:22). We are filled with the fruit of God's Spirit, which is
the divine nature of Christ in us (Galatians 5:22-23).
Prayer:
Father God,
remind us that the fruit of Your Spirit grows in us only as we abide in Christ
and follow Your will for our life (John 15:4). Our living union with the
Trinity allows us to fellowship with You every moment of our day and results in
our eternal security (John 10:27-30).
Create in us
a clean heart, and use us as a living testimony for Your glory (Psalm 51:10).
Thank You for loving us unconditionally and changing us from the inside out. We
look forward to You continuing to change our relationship with You by Your
Spirit, until our human nature is altered to one that reflects Your goodness to
a lost and dying world.
Thought for
the Day:
As a
Christian, we are transformed by God's Spirit from one stage of glory to
another until we reflect to the world the exact image of Christ in us. - 2 Corinthians
3:18; Hebrews 1:3
