A New Nature - Obedience and Faith

 

Jesus learned obedience through the things, which He suffered, just as we do (Hebrews 5:8). He dealt with the common curse of His pesky human flesh all the way to cross, just as we do (Hebrews 4:15).

He laid down His human life on Calvary’s cross and came forth from the grave in His immortal glory, just as we will, once He returns for His Bride (1 Corinthians 15:54).

We receive our redemption through His blood, and we gain the indwelling of His Holy Spirit through His resurrection and ascension. We are dead and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

When we come to intimately know the living Lord, we start to experience eternal life right here on this earth (John 17:3). He gives us the love, which God gives to Him (John 17:26). We live in this world, just as God sent Jesus into the world, to accomplish God’s will for our lives (John 17:18, 20).

At the same time, Jesus gives us a new nature and makes us holy (John 17:17-19; Colossians 3:10). His Spirit teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live disciplined, holy and Godly lives - not by our own self-efforts, but through Christ Jesus within us (Titus 2:12).

When Christ is foremost in our thoughts and we pray about His order for our day, even cleaning the house, tending the children, working in the secular world, ministering at church, preparing meals and spending time with our family is the result of a spirit-filled life.

Prayer:

Father God, You continually give us exceedingly great and precious promises of salvation, for the purpose of us partaking in Your divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). You sanctify our heart of flesh and give us Your Spirit to perfect us.

As we keep our focus on Your glory within us, we are transformed into the likeness of Christ with ever increasing holiness, which comes from the sanctifying work of Your Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). Thank You for including us in Your family and for providing for all of our needs.

Thought for the Day:

We have the potential of becoming spiritual beings in a carnal world, because of the divine power and authority of Christ in us. - 1 Corinthians 15:48

Growing into Christ

 

In our growth into Christ, we acknowledge that we are indeed crucified with Christ, we are dead and our new resurrection life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3-4).

We are raised from spiritual death with Christ, and we set our mind on the eternal aspects of life. We feast on His Word until it dwells in us richly. The cares of this life fade away and we abide in His unlimited rest, peace and joy.

We live by the faith of the Son of God through every new adventure He devises for us (Galatians 2:20). Even in secular employment and activities, we do all in the name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:31).

As we seek first His Kingdom, He provides us with everything we need to fulfill His purpose with our life (Matthew 6:33). Christ in us is greater than Satan and all of his demons (1 John 4:4).

God's Spirit gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and helps us to take our carnal thoughts captive and make them obedient to Him (2 Corinthians 10:5).

We understand the things of God by His Spirit, having His discernment in every area of life (1 Corinthians 2:5-15). We do not have to strive and strain to die daily to our flesh.

We simply fully embrace the truth that Christ lives in us and wants to live through us. We are raised with Christ in newness of life and we will appear with Christ in glory at the end of this age (Romans 6:4,8,10).

These facts have practical relevance to our walk in Christ each day on this earth. They give us hope, faith and the power to walk in the Spirit, to pray without ceasing and to love God with our whole heart.  

Prayer:

Father God, through Christ in us, we minister to one another and to the world around us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-16; Ephesians 2:5-6).  Enable us to set our affection on eternal matters and not to worry about or stress over the issues in this life. You gave us citizenship in Heaven with You now (Philippians 3:20).

Remind us that we have no meaningful life apart from Christ in us. Help us to adopt His purpose to seek and to save the lost; His perspective of doing Your will; and His practice of prayer, humility and obedience (Luke 5:16, 19:10; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 5:8).

Thought for the Day:

Since we are fully human, we often feel like we are fighting life, the world and Satan all alone; but if we remember that Christ in us is fully divine with all the power of the triune God, then we can step aside and allow Jesus to deal with any situation that is troubling us.

 

No Longer a Sinner - Changed into His Glory

We are not only in Christ positionally, but we are in Christ practically and experientially as well. We are set free now from the bondage to the flesh that Paul describes in Romans 7.

We do not have to wait to go to heaven in order to walk in the freedom from sin that Paul found through the power of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ; because at salvation, this law sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). We enjoy this freedom now, not just in eternity. The veil is removed from our eyes at salvation, and we see and reflect the glory of the Lord as we walk in the Spirit.

God's Spirit makes us more like Jesus every day as we mature spiritually, pray without ceasing and walk continually in obedience to the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We are predestined to be conformed the His image (Romans 8:29). We no longer allow Satan to squeeze us into the mold of this world, but are transformed by renewing our mind by the washing of the water of the Word (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 5:26).

If we sin, we break God's heart; and we would never want to break the heart of the One who loved us enough to die for us. Therefore, we make no provision for our flesh and the flesh loses its desire to sin (Romans 13:14).

As we used to live in the image of the world and the flesh, we now live like Christ, in the image of the spiritual man (1 Corinthians 15:49). The old flesh died, and we are now a new creature in Christ (Colossians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24).

We are renewed in the knowledge of Christ who dwells within us (Colossians 3:10). Jesus gave us the glory, which our Father gave to Him; so that we may live in union with the Father and the Son (John 17:22). We are filled with Him through our entire being (Ephesians 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, You created us in the image of Jesus and gave us His divine nature by Your Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). We are no longer sinners, but Saints who are free to walk in the fruit of Your Spirit and to choose life rather than sin and death. Do not allow us to fall under the lie of Satan that we will never be free from sin on this side of heaven.

Remind us that Christ in all of His divinity abides within us and we have His nature now as our own. A nature that is free from the power and the practice of sin as we walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of that old, dead carnal nature (Galatians 2:20, 5:15-25).

Thought for the Day:

We are already crucified and risen with Christ, and it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us; and the life which we now live in this mortal body is accomplished through the faith of Christ in us. - Galatians 2:20