When Christ takes possession of our spirit, He
gives us His rest for our soul – our mind, will and emotions. 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).
His righteousness, peace and joy give us a new
life, which replaces our life of worry, abuse and deprivation (Romans
14:17). He provides all of our needs according to
His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19).
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). We accept the work of Christ on the cross
for us, which gives us eternal salvation simply by our authentic relationship
with Him (John 17:3).
We no longer seek to sanctify our self by
crucifying our flesh or by our works for God (Galatians
3:1-3). We do not work for God, but Christ lives and
works in and through us (Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 2:10).
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), the Bride of Christ, and we are filled through all of
our being with the fruit of His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
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).
God provides our sanctification (Hebrews 8:10-12; Philippians 2:12-13),
Jesus is the instrument of our sanctification (Ephesians
5:26), and the Holy Spirit does the work of sanctification
within us (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Prayer:
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. We know that we have eternal life because of the witness of
Your Holy Spirit within us. We depend on You and Your lifeline of grace, peace
and joy.
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). Teach us to walk in Your Spirit so that
we do not fulfill the lusts of our flesh, and so that we shall live in the
center of Your will each moment of every day (Ephesians 2:10, Galatians
5:15-25).
Thought for the Day:
The more we abide in Christ, obey His Word and
walk in His Spirit, the deeper we realize the security and blessings of our
position and promise in Him.
