A New Nature

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.

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). The 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).

Slowly, the Spirit changes us from glory to glory until people see Jesus when they look at us (2 Corinthians 3:18). In Christ all the fullness of the triune God dwells and Jesus dwells in us, at the same time that we are in Him (Colossians 2:9; Romans 6:8). We are united to the triune God through Christ. Our spirit is infused with power through His Spirit, and Christ lives in and through us (Ephesians 3:16-17). Since Christ is in us, even though our body is dying, His Spirit gives us His life (Romans 8:10). We have supernatural strength regardless of how we feel in body and soul.

When Jesus moves into our spirit, we walk by the direction of His Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25). Following the leading of God’s Spirit moment by moment throughout the day results in physical productivity, a healthy mental and emotional life, spiritual power and material blessings that we cannot even imagine! We submit our negative thoughts to the Lordship of Jesus Christ for healing. We even lay down our positive thoughts; and, instead, take up His thoughts as our own (Philippians 2:5). We submit our will to His will. Out of God’s glorious riches, He provides all of our needs (Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33).

Rather than to spend our financial blessings on frivolous amusements and earthly treasures that are here today, but gone tomorrow, we actually prefer to donate to our local church and to missionaries doing the work of the Lord. This makes the fruit of our labor last into eternity; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 6:17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-14, 4:32, 5:22-33; Galatians 5:22-23; Acts 15:28). 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 love us so much and You reveal Yourself to us in a multitude of ways all throughout the day (John 14:21).  We often get too busy to even notice Your blessings. We spend our time so absorbed in our own plans and the issues in front of us, that we fail to see Your provision and direction for us in the midst of it all. However, 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).

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



Thank you, Peter Dehart, for the use of your photo.

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.