New Creation

While I was at the Railway Station this evening, I saw a young lady pass by with tears in her eyes. Right behind her was a young man, so angry, he could not help but behave unreasonably in public. He took the girl by the her hand, turned her around and slapped her. Everybody had their attention on them and the site was getting ugly. I felt like doing something about it but the girl made a quick escape through the crowd to another part of the station. 

This Question came to my mind after dinner as I sat by my computer thinking about all that had happened in the evening: Violence against women, will it ever end? That is when the Holy Spirit began to lead me into this post. He began bringing scriptures to my mind one after another about the New Creation. The Bible teaches us that anger, rage, hatred and the like are all works of the flesh. These works are an integral part of every Man from the day he is born. (Proverbs 22:15) The truth is that there is only one way to end the works of flesh, and that one way is faith in the Cross. (Galatians 5:24)

The Good News of Salvation includes a mighty work of God where He takes our sin Nature, our sin and the just punishment for that sin upon himself. In exchange he gives us His Nature and his Spirit to live unto Holiness. (2 Corinthians 5:17) (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus said: Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. (John 3:3) Even Paul's Epistles centre around one thing i.e. the New creation. (Galatians 6:15) 

"You must put your faith in Christ and be born from above. (John 3:6-7) And you must read the Epistles thereafter and learn to live out your brand new Life."

The New Life-Explained!

When you come to Christ you are united with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17) You are like him. (1 John 4:17) You are made so one with Jesus that you are in Him and He is in you. You have His Nature, His Character, His Authority, His power and all of Him inside of you. The Christian Life is about you living out what God has accomplished inside of you. That is what Paul meant when he said: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Walk according to your New Nature. Set your mind on things above and not on earthly things for your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3). Whenever God tells us to do something in the New Covenant, it is also followed by the will to do it. The 'will' part of equation is the New Nature that God puts within us when we are born again. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. (Colossians 3:5:11)

Whenever the Bible talks about putting on the New Man and putting off the Old man, it is really talking about the renewal of the mind. (Romans 12:1-2) The only way to live out what God has accomplished on the inside of you is to renew your mind to the Truth. That is why Paul said: Reckon yourselves dead indeed to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:11) To walk in the Spirit, simply means to set your mind on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5) You need to first awaken your soul the truth that you are one with God. Putting off has to do with you dying to your old thoughts and separating yourself from them. Jealousy, fornication, anger, wrath, murder, drunkenness and the like are no longer who you are and that why you are asked to distance your self from the very thought of sin. I do not mean to say that you will not be tempted or have a thought of sin but when you do, you must know that it is no longer your Nature to do those things and therefore distance yourself from it. As Paul aptly said: Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14)

The New Man

Ephesians 4:17-24

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.