Our
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:3). The
Holy Spirit lives through us in the perfection of Christ and according to the
will of our Father God (Colossian 2:9). We are no longer sinners chained to the
flesh, but Saints created in God's image for His glory.
Christ
is our righteousness, deliverance, redemption, sanctification and so much more
(1 Corinthians 1:31). He challenges us to hunger and thirst after righteousness
(Matthew 5:6). He gives us His power and desire to work out our own salvation
(Philippians 2:12-13).
If
our flesh is tempted to sin, we simply remember that it is dead and hidden with
Christ in God (Colossians 3:3; Romans 7:25). When we view any temptation
through the eyes of the Spirit living within us, the sin loses its appeal for
us (1 Corinthians 10:13).
As
we mature spiritually, and walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25), we realize
that we would much rather live righteously through Christ than unrighteously
through our old, dead flesh. We are a new creation freed from the power of sin
through the divinity of Christ who dwells in us.
In
the same way, if we attempt a ministry for the glory of God, and the Spirit did
not lead us to serve in that area, we will never find His anointing in it. We
will spin our wheels, tire our body, and stress our soul instead.
When
Jesus lived on the earth, He suffered trials in every area, and had just as
many temptations as we do. Yet, in each instance, He drew from the strength of
His divinity; and in the end, He conquered sin, death and hell for us all (Revelations
1:18).
Every
Born Again Believer lives in divine union with this same Christ. Even though we
still live in a body of flesh, we now live by the faith of the Son of God, who
cares for us and sacrificed Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). We are no longer
slaves to sin, but instruments of righteousness for the glory of God.
Prayer:
Father
God, our finite mind has such trouble understanding what we cannot see. Yet,
faith is all about the spiritual concepts explained in Your Word, which we
cannot see. Help us to walk in Your truth by the faith of Your Son, Jesus
Christ, who dwells within us by Your Spirit (Galatians 2:20), so that we no
longer think that we have to sin; and instead, we may bear fruit for You
(Romans 7:4).
We
limit Your use of us on this earth by our watered-down concept that we are
still sinners and will always be sinners weighted down by our sinful, fleshly
nature. Remind us that this old nature is already dead in Christ, that we are
new creations by Your Spirit, and that we are now spiritual beings and slaves
to righteousness.
Thought
for the Day:
Once
we make Christ our whole life, we are no longer sinners hindered by sin and our
flesh, because the power of the spiritual law of life through the Holy Spirit
has set us free from the power of the fleshly law which once held us in bondage
to sin and death; Satan is no longer our "father", because we no
longer obey his temptation of our flesh, but we walk in the Spirit instead.
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Colossians 3:3-5; Romans 6:14, 6:18, 6:22, 8:2; John 8:36; Galatians 5:15-25
