ARE YOU REALLY A NEW CREATION?
2 videos / audios now at www.NowFaith.TV
A subscriber who read last week's teaching asked if I believe we receive a new mind, will and emotions at salvation. Actually, I do. I believe that when we invite Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior, He actually comes into us to abide in us and brings all that He is: His mind, His will and His passions. Apostle Paul was clear that we do have the mind of Christ. If we didn't receive it at salvation, then when?
For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16 NKJV
Jesus prayed that our spirit would be one with His Spirit as He is one with the Father. (St. John 17) In our new spirit, we are a partaker of a new divine nature that has a spiritual mind, spiritual passions and a spiritual will to choose. Our new spiritual mind or divine nature desires to be "one" with the mind of Christ.
... by which have been given to us
exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:4 NKJV
Being born again means that my old spirit died with Christ and a new one has been born. My new spirit has a spiritual mind, spiritual emotions and spiritual will that will choose to be one with Jesus Christ. My body and soul (natural mind, will and emotions) still need lots of work!! In my spirit, I am a new creature, partaker of a divine nature and I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
I believe I already have what the Bible says I have in the Holy Spirit - and all that He is - living inside me - in my new spirit:
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His supernatural power inside
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His gifts and unction
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His keen discernment
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His mind and Words of Knowledge
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His wisdom and Words of wisdom
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His direction and purpose
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His resources for His plans
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His call and strength to do it
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His boldness and protection
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His divine connections
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His compassion and opportunity
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His passion to lift up Christ
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His faith and His open doors
Faith is believing I really am who Father God says I am. It is not just a promise of a new identity after the rapture or my death. What God says about me is the true reality. I am all He says I am NOW, whether others see it or not. If I will accept His Truth about me and release all He is through me, my identity as a new creature will manifest in this visible realm.
The only thing that can block God's faithfulness to keep His promises regarding my new identity is my own doubt and unbelief. He has given me a new spirit but if I choose to believe I still have the old spirit, I will not enjoy the full benefits of being a new creature. I have not received all that He has promised.
I believe we were all indwelt by the Holy Spirit the day we were born again with a new spirit. Most of us "leaked" and gradually lost the joy of the Holy Spirit. If you believe you are not filled with the Holy Spirit NOW, it is important to experience a "second work of grace," to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that without the power of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Living under the power of the flesh and sin, our works are like dead wood, hay and stubble.
Water baptism is a symbol of our old man dying with Christ, being buried with Him and our new man being raised with Him in newness of life. Just as Jesus Christ died once for all, our old man also dies once for all with Him. Religion teaches that our battle is between our old nature and our new nature.
Read the Greek to see what the Bible says: Flesh is our issue, not our old man (which is dead.) It's time to teach the Bible!!
- Romans 7:18 For I know that
nothing
good
dwells in me, that is, in my
flesh; for the
willing is
present in me, but the
doing of the
good is not.
oida (5758) gar oti ouk oikei (5719) en emoi, tout' estin (5748) en th sarki mou, agaqon; to gar qelein (5721) parakeitai (5736) moi, to de katergazesqai (5738) to kalon ou;
Romans 7 says our battle is between the flesh and the spirit. I choose to believe the Greek vs. mistranslations in the Living Bible and the NIV which say our battle is between our old nature and our new nature. It's time to believe what the Bible says instead of "religion."
Now if we died with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that
Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no
longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He
died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to
God.
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:8-11
NKJV
Whose report are going to believe? The Bible or religion?
Romans 6 says the old man died. Did it?
Romans 6 says Jesus died once for all and "likewise" our old man died once for
all. Is it dead?
Romans 7 clarifies that our battle is with our flesh now that the old
man is dead. Is it?
BUT also, I am not saying Christ added a new nature onto our old nature. That is religion talking again. New creation means created from nothing (not added on a like a new room is added on to a house.) We have a new divine nature as a new creation; all things (in our new spirit) are made new.
Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
2 Cor 5:17 NKJV
The old
unregenerate spirit has truly passed away and we are free to
live out of our new spirit or to yield to our flesh. In our spirit
we are born anew but in our soul we need to be transformed daily.
Romans 6 says our members are servants to whomever we yield them to
obey. We can choose to live out of our new spirits or to live out
of our souls and bodies. We can walk after the Spirit or the
flesh. Romans 8
The Bible says Jesus Christ finished His work, with His death, burial, resurrection, ascension. He doesn't need our "works" to put our old nature to death daily because Romans 6 says Jesus put it to death. He has offered us salvation and the Holy Spirit. It is also true that we all have to choose whether or not to receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we receive Him, our salvation is sealed by the Holy Spirit, but not all of us knew how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
At the moment of salvation, we were one with Him, a temple for Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead, to dwell in. We were justified by His blood and sanctified by receiving His death on the Cross. We were endued with power on high, filled with His Spirit and baptized into one body! If only all new believers were taught how to continue to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells them.
Since Christ finished His work and has given His all to us, we don't need to acquire more; we need to possess our possessions. As we reckon His Truth as true of us, we spend less time asking for more fruit, strength, gifting; we spend more time thanking Him for all that we have "in Him."
For me to live is Christ [inside me.] Phil 1:21
If we teach our new converts that they receive the Holy Spirit and all that He is at salvation, we would not need to teach the second blessing. The joy of their new identity in Christ, could continue for a life time without them ever relapsing into a life led by their flesh.
Now we live a life of "knowing" - not just hoping. We don't "hope" for all Christ has promised - we believe we have it already "in Him." We don't perform so we can become a new creature, Jesus has made us new creatures. We don't train our old nature to love God; it is dead and was buried at our baptism. We don't obtain the "mind of Christ;" He is the mind of Christ Who is in us. His will is inside us and it delights in being God's willing servant! In the Greek, Romans 6 and 7 make it clear that we are new in Him and our issue now is with our flesh.
So we see that at our new birth we truly were new creations with a new spirit entirely replacing the old one, which was dead in trespasses and sins. Our new spirit has a new mind, will and desires. It was created by Jesus to want to be one with Him. As we learn to live as a new spiritual creation with a new spirit, we finally have peace with ourselves and God. Now we simply command our souls and bodies to yield to our spirit who is one with the Holy Spirit!!
But he who is joined to
the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Cor 6:17 NKJV
The Bible says we were totally forgiven and are rendered holy and blameless in His sight. (Eph. 1:4) How? We really are a new creation!
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