The New Creation...But Struggling?As I scootered to work today, I was thinking about my own struggles with temptation in life and how that squares with being a new creation. You know the question: "Am I really new if I struggle like this?"I felt like God started to give me understanding:* The fact that you desire to live a holy life is a sign that you are a new creation. Otherwise, you wouldn't care.* It takes time for Christ to be formed in you. Paul calls the Spirit's virtues fruits. And fruits take time to grow.* If you understand it's a process, you won't take your struggle as a sign of failure. You won't be tempted to see yourself as evil, bad, not good.* When you understand all of this, you will own your new identity, even before you are mature. And by owning it, you will grow faster.It's that old truth: when you think you are dirty, you act dirty. When you think you are clean, you act clean.Say it with me: "I am a new creation. That's why I love God. That's why I'm not comfortable with lust, bitterness, hate, greed, pride and all such things. Christ is being formed in me. His fruit is growing. This is my identity. This is who I am. Amen."
That interesting question was put to me on Fri night last as a pastor and I were speaking of the new creation. Our bodies are purchased with a price and washed clean by the blood of Christ etc. belong to another and are living under the sure promise of one day shedding mortality and putting on immortality and incorruption. Meanwhile, the law of sin remains in our members or body. Lust, bitterness, hate, greed, pride and all such things are played out and manifested in our bodies. Yet Paul clearly identified completely with the BORN AGAIN NEW CREATION he was in his inner man. The struggle is when wqe lose sigjht of the new creation we are. The Spirit of God comes to ur spirit and renews us in the innermost man, in our spirits. Then,"...the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead who dwells in you will also give life to and quicken your mortal bodies through this same Spirit." (Rom 8:11)"I am a new creation." You nailed it when you said that. That is what we must identify with because it REALLY is who we are now. It can bring a rest. Our bodies are not yet born again but must be subdued by the power of the Spirit within.Are our bodies born again? I'm curious as to how folks think this statement lines up with scripture. I haven't really thought of it in those terms until recently.
_________________David Winter
When we were born again, God didn't rebuild our old engine... He tossed that one and gave us a brand new one:) This brand new one is incorruptible- can't tear up or break down...So why isn't it working?Cause we can't run the new engine on the old fuel...It takes godly fuel to produce godly fruit;)When we feed on the things of this world we identify with them and nothing godly is produced...But when we feed on Christ then He is magnified in our bodies:)You are whatcha eat~
_________________Fletcher
Amen.And in that vein:What you don't feed long enough dies & what you do feed regularly grows big & strong (if you feed it good stuff & not junk food). 😉
