Tag: new man in Christ

The Supernatural Union of the Father and the Son

John 14:20
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Let us give full consideration to this passage which teaches us about our rightful place in the supernatural union with the Father and the Son. We share in this miraculous union through our saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Through this union, we partake in the same nature, the same perfections and the same glory as the Father and the Son.

Let us also give full consideration to how this supernatural miracle should affect our lives. As new men and women in Christ, the world should be able to see us in union with our Savior. We should become identified by our obedience to God’s commandments and the fruit that we bear from His callings. Our lives should become expressions of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that have been given to us through our union with Christ – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In everything we do, we should share the perfect love and forgiveness that we received from the Father through the Son.

At the same time, let us give full consideration to the supernatural reality that all that we see that is good that is being manifested in our lives is being worked out through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us humbly recognize with absolute certainty that there is no possibility that our lives are the result of our own inherent holiness.

Let us celebrate the union that we enjoy with the Father and the Son through the redemptive work of Our Savior. Let us embrace the work of the Holy Spirit as He directs us on our path of sanctification. Let us share the joy of our spirit filled lives with the world around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to be Our Savior. We rejoice in our new lives that we take on when we receive and accept the redemptive work of the Cross. We pray, Father, that we may be emancipated completely from the darkness in our old lives. May we walk in the fullness of the union of the Father and the Son as we surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the One who sits at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ.

God Has A Lot Invested in Us

Psalm 139:7
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

There is no place that we can go to get away from God. He chases us no matter where we go because He loves us so much. He pursues us with an undeniable and unlimited fervor because He has so much invested in us. He created us. He gave up His Son on our behalf, so that He could derive value from us not only here on earth but in heaven for all eternity.

When we are at our lowest point and it seems that Satan is winning, God just smiles confidently. He is there with us. He gives us the strength for another breath and another step. He sets an unquenchable fire in us for Him. He knows that the victory is His and ours through Jesus Christ.

Yet He weeps at the same time because He sees us falling short of our potential of who we are in Christ. He weeps because He sees us allowing our flesh to pull us and tug us in the wrong direction. All along though, He can smile because He knows His steadfast grasp on our lives will soon enough lead to our surrender to Him. He is ready to build something enormous in us, something within the depths of our souls that will cause us to rise up and say, “I am not going there anymore for I am a new man in Christ.”

Thus through His constant presence and never ending love for us, we will reach a place where we seek Him and Him alone. The world will become but a distant memory as we settle into our place of eternal comfort in the hands of Our Heavenly Father who has always been there for us.

Let us be inspired by the Holy Spirit to walk in the fullness of our new lives in Christ. Let us seek the comforting presence of Our Savior at all times in everything we do. Let us show the world how He changed us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your relentless pursuit of our affection. We thank You for loving us first so that we could love You. We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, who made it possible for us to live in the comfort of Your presence for all eternity. We pray, Father, that You set the fire in our souls that sends us running to You in full and immediate surrender. May every breath we take be used to turn our faces toward You and away from the world. May the world around us know us by Your presence in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Our Omni-Present Lord, Jesus Christ.

Being Shown What Is Pleasing to the Lord

Hebrews 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Upon receiving Jesus Christ as Our Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to show us what sanctification means. The job of the Holy Spirit is to show us what is pleasing in the sight of Our Savior. As a result of this process, everything that we do that is displeasing to the Lord also comes to light. Thus begins the struggle of the old man versus the new man.

Jesus became man so that He could die for our sins. When He comes to dwell within us, there is no room for the sins of the old man. We must allow our old selves to die as we assume our new life in Christ. The two cannot abide together. To try and hold on to our old lives once Jesus has arrived is to enter into a struggle that is filled with endless pain. The new life of joy is found only in the death of our old lives.

As we work toward a life that is well pleasing in the sight of Jesus, we must recognize that the work of grace is necessary. Without the good work of grace, we are not capable of overcoming the nature of the old man within us. But be certain, the work of grace is not the work of man. It is the work of God alone. It is an internal work done in the heart of men by Him. It is a gradual and progressive work. It will not be perfected until we stand before Him. But indeed, when we stand before Him all the displeasing things in us will be gone forever and all the pleasing things in His sight will shine brightly for all eternity.

Let us begin each day by asking the Lord for fresh grace. Let us ask the Lord to equip us with everything good that we may do His will for our lives. Let us seek the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us on our paths of sanctification. Let us rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours through Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word that defines the things that please you. We praise You for revealing to us all the things in our lives that displease you. We bless the name of Jesus for giving us victory over the sins that try to defeat us. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our struggles to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us in the areas that the world tries to redefine as acceptable when You have already defined it as sin. May all that we do be acceptable in Your eyes. May it all be for Your glory. We ask all these things in the name of the Captain of Our Salvation, Jesus Christ.

When the Holy Spirit Opens Our Eyes

Acts 9:17
So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And in an instant, Paul not only received his physical sight, he also received the filling of the Holy Spirit. Thus, he received wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge of God and a holy reverence for God. All of these gifts came on him at once. His vision of who He was in Christ, along with all of its associated power, served to allow him to replace the evil man that he had become with the new, righteous man that he was to become.

From this passage, we learn that for those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we become new men and women in Christ, just as the sinner and prosecutor of the early church, Saul, became the new man Paul. As new men and women in Christ, the Holy Spirit is given to us to reveal the lies of this world. The power of the Holy Spirit within us allows us to become new creatures who proclaim the Good News and serve as conduits of God’s love.

But do not miss the second message of this passage. There would have been no conversion for Paul without the obedience of Ananias to got out and deliver the message of God, even though He questioned the righteousness of the one that he was called to minister to. We must be careful not to withhold the message of hope from anyone because we feel they are not worthy.

Let us make ourselves seekers of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us learn to overcome the world through the power of Our Wonderful Counselor. Let us make ourselves deliverers of the truth to others who God places around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the anointing that we receive as disciples of Jesus Christ. We pray that You will open our eyes to the things of the world that are creating ignorance and pride in our lives so that we may turn away from them. We ask that You release the gifts of the Holy Spirit into our lives so that we may see the vision that You have for our lives and be empowered to go out as messengers of hope in the world that surrounds us. We pray that our hearts are prepared to view every person as worthy to receive the Good News that we possess. We ask all these things in the name of the One who rescues those whose spirits are crushed, Jesus Christ.

The New and Perfect State

Revelation 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Most of us were taught to set goals and to develop step-by-step plans to reach our goals, so that the end of our lives will be joyful and satisfying. For many of us, attaining the goals that we set for ourselves has become the driving force that directs the course of our lives. Thus are the ways of man.

In God’s supernatural world, things are totally different. Goals are not set for this world, because God did not create this world to be about our accomplishments. God created this world to prepare us for the eternal life that we will spend in heaven for all eternity. Everything we go through here on earth is part of the process that God puts us through or allows us to go through in order to prepare us for life in new Jerusalem.

We go up to new Jerusalem, not to fulfill our own purposes, but to fulfill the purposes that Almighty God has for us. We are being prepared to go to a place where all things are new. There will be no trouble or tumult. The new Jerusalem is the church of God in its new and perfect state. It is a holy church without blemish and we will be there fully prepared for our place at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Let us prepare ourselves for our new lives in the kingdom of God. Let us surrender to the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. Let us repent of the things that the Holy Spirit reveals to us. Let us be obedient to the things that the Holy Spirit urges us to do. Let us rejoice in our new lives in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us at the wedding feast of the Lamb. We praise You and worship You for providing a way for us to be made acceptable to take our place at this great banquet. Father, open our eyes that we may see Your perspective of what our lives are meant to be. We pray that you show us how to set aside all that this world offers in exchange for the eternal life that we will spend with You for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the True Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ.

Submission to the Lordship of Christ

Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Jesus tells us to give Him our burdens and He will give us rest. God promises to give us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him. The peace and joy of our Christian life will be determined by the constant application of our belief and faith in God’s Holy Word.

If we choose to involve God selectively in our lives, we can expect that the fulfillment of His promises will only be partial. It is in the full submission to Jesus Christ’s lordship in our lives that we experience the fullness of God’s grace. It is by putting God first in all things that we experience the joy that the world cannot provide.

To delight in God is as much a privilege as a duty. He has not promised to gratify the appetites of our flesh, but the desires of our new spirit in Christ. What are the desires of a new man in Christ? They are to know, love and serve the Lord, to cast our burdens upon Him and to leave everything else to Him. As we commit our ways to the Lord, He will bring to pass all that He has in His will for us.

Let us learn to trust in the Lord for everything in our lives, whether it be big or small. Let us rest, delight and rejoice in His ways.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace in our lives. We praise You with every breath because each breath is a gift from You. We seek to turn over every decision in our lives to You. We seek to leave every trial and concern at Your throne. We pray that the Holy Spirit will instruct us in the ways of complete surrender to Our Savior, Jesus. May the world around us be drawn to You by witnessing the joy in our lives as we place all of our trust in You. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Our Provider, Jesus Christ

All the Power Belongs to Jesus

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

John the Baptist had the perfect understanding of His relationship with Jesus Christ. He knew that he was a sinful man who was created, prepared and sent to show the way for the One from Above who was coming to save the world. He understood that he had no power and that all the power belonged to Jesus. Most importantly, John was completely satisfied with his place and the work assigned to him.

From the life of John the Baptist we get a great model for bringing others to salvation. It is our job to bring others to Christ. It is not our job to save them. The saving work of the Cross will be done by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We also learn from the words of John the Baptist the model for our spiritual maturation. We must increase our life in Christ as we allow our life in the flesh to decrease. We must allow our new man to rise and our old man to die. We do not lay down what we are called to do in the flesh, but instead come in complete harmony with the work of the beloved One who dwells within us.

Let us free ourselves from the idea that our job is to save others. Let us introduce others to Jesus and let them see the impact of His presence in our lives so that they are drawn to Him. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those around us so that they will be open to receiving their Savior King, Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Holy Word which lays out the models for our lives through the lives of Your servants spoken of in the Bible. Help us, Lord, to understand the depth of the teachings that come from each of Your precious servants. Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may surrender our lives completely to Your Son, Jesus. Help us, Lord, to live our lives in such a way that others are drawn to Your Son. As we give up our lives in the flesh for our lives in Christ, bring others to us to be introduced to Jesus. May our living testimonies affect the world. We pray that we see many around us surrender their lives to the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. We ask all of these things in the name of Our Divine Deliver, Jesus Christ.

Inspired by His Humility

Philippians 2:8
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The fact that Jesus left His divine state to become a man illustrates an act of humility that surpasses anything that any human could imagine. Accepting the lowliness of man, it would have been reasonable by any human standard that He would a least appear as a king. Not so for this divine man, He took not a royal station but accepted a position in a lowly manger. His state within humankind never advanced to any level above the lowest elements of society. He worked His entire ministry in the streets and hillsides among the common people.

Aside from His transfiguration before Peter, James and John, His splendor was never to be seen by man until He ascended to His seat beside His Father in Heaven. In the meantime, He endured a life of poverty and suffering which ended in an exposition of public hatred, ridicule and scorn. Then, having no place for personal pride, He accepted death so that we may have life.

Let us lie at the foot of His Cross each day and learn from Our Savior King. Let us take note of His complete obedience to the Father under all circumstances. Let us allow our personal pride to dissolve in the face of knowing why He made these choices – to save us from our sinful and prideful nature. Let us be inspired by His faithfulness and His promises. Let us humble ourselves to the point of putting the old man in our lives to death so that our new man in Christ may live.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we humbly bow before Your throne, asking Your forgiveness for our sins. We thank You for providing the way for us to overcome our sinful nature. May we cling to the Cross of Our Savior. May we learn to set aside our pride and serve those around us in the manner that You call us. May we ignore the scorn of the world as we are obedient to Your calling on our lives. We ask all these things in the name of The Captain of Our Salvation, Jesus Christ.