Sin No Longer Tempts Us

 

Human beings are born with a body, a soul and a spirit. At birth, our spirit is dead in the sin of the first Adam (Colossians 2:13; Romans 5:12). It remains that way throughout our life until we come to Christ, the second Adam, for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:45). This keeps us from experiencing the second death in hell (Revelation 21:8), because our spirit is Born Again through the blood of Jesus (1 John 3:9).

God’s Holy Spirit within us conforms us into the image of Christ through sanctification (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). This is a process in which we can cooperate and participate in order to have our mind renewed more quickly (Romans 12:2). If we fight the work of God in our life through our carnal nature, then we suffer longer from the effects of our pride and rebellion.

The good news is that God works in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - on several levels. Jesus delivered us from a life of carnality and death (Romans 7:24-25). He gives us both the desire and the power to surrender fully to God’s will and way (Philippians 2:12-13). His truth sets us free indeed (John 8:32-36). What we find impossible, Christ in us makes possible (Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13).

Once the Spirit of God does His regenerating work in us (Romans 7:17), we can face the sin that tempts us, without the need to give in to it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Over time, our desires are renewed, and sinful pursuits no longer have any value for us. The Holy Spirit renews our mind and sets us free from the need to live in sin (Romans 8:13). We walk in victory over both sin and death through Christ in us (1 Corinthians 15:57).

If you are still living a lifestyle of sin, and making excuses for it, then your spirit is still dead in sin (1 John 3:9). You have not been truly Born Again, even if you go to church and work for God. You simply need to choose to turn away from sin and to totally surrender your entire life to God (1 John 1:9). Yield your body, mind, will and emotions to God rather than to sin (Romans 6:13). 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for not leaving us as orphans on this earth (John 14:18). Your Holy Spirit within us leads us into all truth (John 14:26, 16:13); so that we will despise sin as much as You do, and we will not follow deceiving spirits and lies taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1). We are no longer blinded by the deceitfulness of sin, but we walk in newness of life (Hebrews 3:13; Romans 6:4). You cause us to die to sin and to live, move and have our existence only in Christ (Romans 6:8; Acts 17:28).

Thought for the Day:

Due to the anointing of the Holy One within us, we walk in the truth and no longer fulfill the lusts of our flesh. – 1 John 2:20; Galatians 5:16-25

Divine Providence

Have you ever entertained the concept that God actually placed you in the home in which He wanted you to live? God preordained us to live in a certain sphere and stratum of society. Whether your parents were wealthy, drunkards, benevolent, poor, hard working, sluggards, belittling, educated, illiterate, angry, carefree, abusive, gave you up for adoption or anything in between, God chose them for you in order to mold you into the person He needs you to be (Ephesians 2:8-10).

As a result, we can live with bitterness and feelings of inequality, or a snobbish better-than-though attitude, or we can submit to God’s wisdom, forgive our parents for their shortcomings and allow God to use us as He sees fit. This concept is proven when we view the life of Jesus. Born in a stable, driven from his kin by a crazed ruler, trained as a carpenter, unmarried and childless, falsely accused, tortured and crucified, Jesus submitted to His destiny and fulfilled God’s will all within the vicinity of His birthplace.


As we age into adulthood, God steers us in the direction in which we should go. If we rebel and go our own way, we suffer from our estrangement from His plan. We may use religion, sports, food, debauchery or work to fill the empty void in our life, but nothing truly satisfies us. However, if we walk in God’s divine plan, we reap the blessings of an obedient and surrendered life. Jesus obeyed all the way to Calvary’s cross, and reaped Kingship in the glories of heaven.
 
God’s design supplies us with divine riches also, both within and without and now and in eternity. Every plan God has for us is for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). Even the darkest, most dangerous prison is a palace when we dwell in the divine presence of our immortal God. He may strip us of every earthly comfort and close acquaintance for the purpose of removing our reliance on human prospects; but He does so in order to draw us closer to His immortal presence.


Prayer:

Father God, we see Joseph as a perfect example of someone sold into slavery by his brothers, which You used to reposition Joseph to ultimately save his family from famine. Even in prison, Paul wrote many sacred works, which sustain our soul today. Regardless of our circumstances, if we follow the leading of Your Spirit, You will provide for and sustain us both in times of abundance and in times of lack (Philippians 4:11-13). We embrace Your wise and holy ways and cling to Your kind and caring heart for our strength through all of life’s circumstances. Lead us in Your will and put us in the right place at the right time to fulfill Your desires for our life.

Thought for the Day:

God crucifies the first Adam within us until He sees the rebirth of the second Adam, the man Christ Jesus. – 1 Corinthians 15:45

 

The First and Second Adam

Eternal life is not some future event that we will experience some day. Eternal life occurs within us, as we come to intimately know Jesus, and our God who sent Him (John 17:3). God is the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9). He created us in His own likeness (Genesis 1:27; Hebrews 12:9). He claims us as His children (Ephesians 1:4-5). He sanctifies us throughout our lifetime, until we are holy and without sin in His sight. His rich grace abounds in our life, and He gives us His wisdom to deal with every issue we face (2 Corinthians 9:8).

We are born of the first Adam from the dust of the earth, but also born again of the second Adam, Jesus, by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 15:45). God created us as physical human beings, but He also gave us a spirit. He made Jesus the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). God gives us exceedingly great and precious promises of salvation, so that we might be partakers of Christ’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Jesus is equal to God, and He lives in us, sharing His divine nature with us (John 5:18).

God wants to fill us through all of our being with all the fullness of God Himself, so that we may obtain the richest portion of His presence in our life (Ephesians 3:16-19; 4:13). We have the same potential, which Jesus did of becoming spiritual beings, because Christ in us is Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). As we contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are transformed into His likeness with an ever-increasing resemblance (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2). God loves us and shows Himself to us (John 14:21). He called us through the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14).

By God’s glorious grace we slowly walk in the divine nature of Christ in us, and we walk away from the corruption in the world (1 Peter 2:2-4). God wants us to fully understand the amazing magnitude of His power available to all authentic Believers. It is the same dynamite power that resurrected Christ from the grave and returned Him to His glory in Heaven (Ephesians 1:19-20). He fills us with this life and supplies us with everything we need to function in unity with or triune God and to accomplish His will in the earth (Ephesians 1:23).

As our focus on our self decreases, Christ increases within us (John 3:30). We are the offspring of God and His divine nature infuses every part of our body, soul and spirit (Acts 17:28-19). God fashions us as new creatures in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). We are individual members of Christ’s Body and Jesus is our head (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:15). We live as the temple of the Holy Spirit and one with the Spirit of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:17). The world knows that God sent Jesus on their behalf, because our life is a testimony to them (John 17:21-23).  

We are crucified with Christ, and therefore, we live in this world for the glory of Christ (Philippians 1:21). Yet, it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, through us and instead of us (Galatians 2:20). God completely sanctifies us, conforming us to the image and likeness of Christ, His Son (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Jesus gives us the glory, which the Father gave to Him, so that we can be one with Him and with one another (John 17:22). We slowly mature until we share in the divine nature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). In eternity, Christ will even transform our body to mirror His glorious, immortal one (Philippians 3:21). 

Prayer:

Father God, You want us to quit struggling, stressing and striving to be more spiritual (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). You want us to cease from our efforts, so we will enter into Your rest (Hebrews 4:10). You have our life and character in Your hands to mold into the image of Christ. We are no longer a separate entity from Jesus. We are one with You by faith in Your Son (John 17:21-23). Your Spirit transforms our nature through sanctification to share in Your divine nature (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 6:17).

Thought for the Day:

Christ became one of us, so that we could become one with Him.