2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday, I began obeying God’s directive to me to discuss what it means to be a new creation in Christ and the guidelines He gives us for how to honor this manifestation of God’s grace. It came as a surprise to me just how much is revealed to us about it by our loving Abba. His love for us in making these revelations is unmistakable. When we are born again, we become “a new creation in Christ.” RO 8: 1 shows us a basic way God’s grace is extended to us. “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.” We have been deemed “innocent” in the heavenly court room in which Jesus acts as our Advocate with the Father. That means that we are no longer living in a law economy; we are now living in a grace one. RO 8: 16-17 sheds further light on the relationship we have from being new creations in Christ. “God’s Spirit joins Himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children. Since we are His children, we will possess the blessings He has kept for Him; for if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share His glory.” That blows me away! What a privilege-one that shows me that our Lord really deserves to have our obedience and reverence!You will remember that in a previous devotion I cited the Pauline assertion that the law can’t produce salvation. Only faith can do that. So, the question comes up: What is the function of the law? That is answered in RO 7: 7, “…But it was the Law that me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, ‘Do not desire what belongs to someone,‘ I would not have grown such a desire.” God wants us to understand what is right and what is not. To do that, He provides the Law. When the wrong things are mentioned, our outer fleshy selves make us desire them. However, when we became new creations in Christ, we acquired the ability to choose what is right, guided by the Holy Spirit indwelt within us. But, let’s back up to verses 4 and 6 of the same chapter, so we can see the new relationship to the Law that being a new creation in Christ gives us. (4) “…As far as the Law is concerned, you have also died because you are part of the Body of Christ; and now you belong to Him Who was raised from death in order that we might be useful in the service of God.” (6) “Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve in the old way of a written law, but in the new way of the Spirit.” It took awhile for me to get the message that each one of us is very important to the Father. You see, it is through us that He can get His work done. For that to happen, we have to be willing to take Him at His word and to obey Him. We also have to be willing to listen for His direction and to act on it when it comes. He makes us able to do this by making us new creations in Christ!In case there is ever any question about this new life in Christ that we acquired by being new creations in Him, it is clarified in GA 2: 19-20. “So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead-killed by the Law itself-in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on His cross, so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ Who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me.” This is the greatest paradigm shift that can happen for a person! How blessed we are that through our faith, it has happened to us! However, that is no signal that our struggles are over. That is why our loving Abba has given us so many directions on how we are to live a life in Christ, so that His grace isn’t wasted on us.Let’s look at the perspective on this life which our Lord imparts to Paul as he writes his letter to the Ephesians. EPH 4: 22-24, “So get rid of your old self which made you live as you used to -the old self that was being destroyed by is deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.” Now that we have the ability to choose not to sin, we are to exercise it. God knows that isn’t always easy for us, but He also knows that we must learn to avoid temptation and get rid of even the most subtle sins that remain in our lives in order to be ready to go home to eternal fellowship with Him when the time comes. (25-27) gives us some specific guidelines to help us. “No more lying, then! Everyone must tell the truth to his fellow believers, because we are all members together in the Body of Christ. If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Do not give the devil a chance.” When we realize that our Lord is entrusting us to guard the treasure of Gospel truths intact to share with others, it becomes clear why our honesty is so important to Him. Lying robs the Gospel of its power, alters it from the way the Spirit uses it to bring people closer to the Lord. We are told over and over again in the Scriptures that we are to believe and act with love, the love modeled for us by the Lord Himself. It is this love which can help convince people of the blessings of being new creations in Christ. We will look at more spiritual treasures from this chapter in tomorrow’s message. In the meantime, join me in this prayer:PRAYER: O Lord, You give us the Law, so that we might know what is right with You and what isn’t. You bring us to faith in Christ, so that we are new creations in Him capable of accepting Your grace and of honoring it by the way we choose to live. Now, You give us specific directions on how to live our lives, so that we are blessed and You can do your work through us. Those are the actions of a Lord who dearly loves His children. We acknowledge Your love and dedicate ourselves to honoring the grace You have bestowed on us. Hallelujah! Honor and glory be to You! In Christ’s name, amen.Today and every day, we live in the warm glow of our Lord’s love. Share with me the hope He gives us in the resurrection. Be encouraged in your faith that Christ died on the cross, so that we could be saved. With our faith in Him, He has made us new creations. We can, through a life lived in Him, accept the grace we have been given and honor it with our obedient service to Him. God loves you, and so do Peter and I.Grace Be With You Always,Lynn <-- Back to Archives