“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).
If any man be in Christ, that is, when a man comes into a basic union with the risen Lord, he is a new creation. Old things, the old life are passed away at that moment of salvation: all things that are, at the moment of salvation, become new. What are the old things that are passed away and what are the all things that are become new?
So, if you be in Christ, then you be a new creature or creation. This is not talking about anything physical becoming new but a new creation in the spirit. When you are renewed or made brand new, you are new in the spirit not new in body. If you were bald before being reborn, you will be bald after being reborn. The same applies to being overweight, if you were overweight before, you will be overweight afterwards. God has changed your spirit and only deals with the spirit part of your threefold nature. He does not deal with your soul or your body.
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
In the epistle, Paul makes mention of our whole spirit and soul and body. Paul has described man as a tri-partite being, made up of three individual parts. Basically, you are a spirit being, which has a soul, that lives in a body or a house. As you look at the creation of man, you can see these three parts coming together to make man, but that is a discussion for another day. “God is a spirit” (John 4:24) and so are you. Once you were spiritually dead (alienated and separated from God and sin conscience), but when you are reborn you are reconciled to God. It is like having a radio where you are unable to tune into the WGOD frequency. But when you are born again, your radio will then have the ability to tune into the WGOD frequency. You have the same old radio with a new ability much like having the same old body but a new inner self.
When you are born again, your spirit is instantly renewed but your body is the same old sinful creature and it will continue to do whatever you allow it to do. You have to deal with your body. Your mind and body wants to live in sin but you can make them both to follow the spirit inside of you, which is your spirit.
“Do not let sin control the way you live do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT).
Therefore, do not allow your body to dictate to you what it will do. Do not let sin rule in your body any longer; do not obey the old sinful desires that once controlled you. Your body has an evil nature, wanting to do the same self-fulfilling, sinful things it has always done and it will continue to do whatever you allow it to do. Do not allow your body to dictate to you what it will do. You must die to self, crucifying your sinful nature that is on the inside of you. You must put to death each and every one of those desires that are contrary to the word and the will of God (Mark 7:21-23).
“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12).
God has not given us the punishment that we deserve for our sins. Neither has he rewarded us for our wrongdoings or our iniquities. Just as the heaven is high above the earth, so is the greatness of his mercy towards those who reverence and worship him. And as far as the east is from the west, so has he removed our sins far away from us. But nothing here states that he has removed our ability to or our capacity for sin. You see, God has wiped our slate clean, forgiving us for all of the self-fulfilling, sinful evil natured things that we had done in our lifetimes, but he did not remove the residue of the nature that has held us captive for so long. Remember, God only deals with your spirit and does not deal with your soul or body. You have to deal with those two.
We pray that today’s inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read this. If you are blessed by this message, please share it so that others may be blessed as well. Amen.
Enjoy your blessings - KW
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