A New Creation, Not Yet Perfect

“The believer is a new man, a new creation, but he is a new man not yet made perfect,” observes John Murray.

The born again believer still has to deal with indwelling sin. He still sins even though he is growing in Christ likeness and is the subject of the progressive sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

The believer is being transfigured into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18).

The emphasis the apostle Paul makes in Romans 6:14, 17, 18-20 is there has been a radical change in the believer’s relationship to sin. It is true that the believer still sins, but he is no longer a slave to sin. Sin no longer reigns as in the condition of the old man, the unregenerate person. Romans 7:14-25 teaches us that sin still remains in the believer’s mind, affections, and will. Slavery to sin is broken. But as Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:20-24, and Colossians 3:9-10 brings out the struggle in the heart of the very believer.

Herman Bavink said, “The spiritual struggle which the believers must conduct is between the flesh and the spirit, between the old and the new man, between the sin which continues to dwell in the believers and the spiritual principle of life which has been planted in their hearts.”

If the old nature has been “crucified” and “laid aside,” how can one say the believer still has an old nature?

Christ’s death took the form of a Roman crucifixion. The apostle Paul says the believer is "crucified with Christ" and is "dead" as a result of this action just as Christ after His crucifixion. Just as Christ was definitely dead so is the believer in his vital union with Christ is dead to sin. "For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God" (Romans 6:10 NET).

But the finality of death is not the only thing Paul stresses about our relationship with Christ. Drawing on the symbolism of baptism by immersion in water Paul says, "Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4 NET). It is not a physical death and burial in regard to the believer, but forensic and positional. Paul has in mind our new position in a vital union with Christ. This is an act of God. We have a new relationship with Him. We have been placed in a new unchanging position. This is the way we exist in God's sight. We are no figment in His imagination. This is the greatest of spiritual realities.

Believers are to "consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus" because this is the great reality of our spiritual lives (6:10).

This status or position before God has vital significance and power in our daily life. We draw power and resources from this unchanging position.

Paul is describing the whole man and the change in our relationship. We have a new position. The contrast Paul is bringing out in these passages is not a change in our nature, but a change in relationship. Our old man is the old unregenerate self. The new person is the new regenerate self.

Because of this spiritual regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we are new creatures in Christ. As a result we have a new relationship with Christ and a new position before God the Father.

It is the believer’s responsibility to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in obeying the Word of God and overcoming temptation.

The true believer knows he needs Christ everyday. He knows he must guard and keep his heart everyday until he sees Christ is glory. When he sins he flees to Christ, His advocate. God had begun a new work in the believer, but that work is not yet perfect.

The Christian lives in both Romans chapters seven and eight. The Christian life is an increasing dynamic repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Everyday we increasingly depend upon the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ to cover all our sins. We love Him more and more everyday.

Our sense of repentance deepens as we discover more sins that need to be put to death. Like the apostle Paul, we cry out daily in our mourning, “I am carnal.” But daily we also rejoice in the great truth, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We die to sin daily, and we live to righteousness daily. By the inner working of the Holy Spirit, we “put to death the deeds of the body that we might live.” This is daily responsibility. Daily the inner man or “self” is being renewed day by day.

Romans 7:14-8:4 is the inner battle against remaining sin and imperfect obedience to God’s Word. It is the work of the Holy Spirit leading the believer into deeper repentance, increased holiness, and a greater dependence upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.

There will be a day when repentance will be no more, but that day has not arrived. Until that day arrives, we need to deepen our repentance and increase our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Selah!

The Attitude of Christ

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The Christian faith of the first century of Christianity was centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The preeminence of Christ was the focus of the early preaching in the church. Christianity is Christ, and as in many other passages, Philippians 2:5-11 makes this emphatically clear.

Even before His incarnation, Jesus was in the form of God and was equal to God. Jesus Christ eternally possesses all of God’s attributes. He is God. “He existed in the form of God” (v. 6), is not referring to a bodily appearance, but is a strong way of proclaiming the deity of Jesus Christ. His deity never alters or changes.

Jesus, in His high priestly prayer the night before His crucifixion, referred to His “glory which I even had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). He was referring to the glory He enjoys on par with His heavenly Father. The apostle John wrote of this same pre-incarnate glory in John 1:1-4, 14.

The event that staggers the mind almost beyond comprehension is the fact that the Second Person of the Trinity laid aside the manifestation of His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a common household slave. He became flesh. He is the God-man. He was fully God and fully man. He is God in the flesh. The Word became flesh, and pitched His tent in our very midst, testifies the apostle John (1:14,18). The one who enjoyed glory that was inherently His through out eternity past “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (v. 7).

Jesus Christ exists eternally as the Second Person of the Godhead, and as such He is equal with God the Father. Everything the LORD God Almighty is, so is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before He became flesh, Jesus Christ shared to the full the divine nature and was clothed with the splendor that always surrounded God’s person. He was identical with God both inwardly and outwardly. When Jesus became flesh, what remained was God’s glory in the inward sense because even in His flesh Jesus was God and retained that full divine nature.

The Second Person of the Godhead Jesus Christ was not selfish. He did not cling to the outward glory of His deity, “But emptied Himself,” not of His divinity, but the outward visible manifestation of it. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He made nothing of Himself. He was obedient to His heavenly Father as a bond-slave. He only limited Himself of His outward visible glory because He was still God.

In addition to being God, Jesus took on “the form of a bond servant.”

The essential attributes of God were unchangeable and unchanging. The essential nature of Jesus Christ is the same as the essential nature of God. The nature of Jesus is the nature of God. The “form” signifies that which in God never alters and never changes.

Jesus laid aside His divine privileges and became the servant of Jehovah. The Son of God became the Servant of God. “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (v. 8).

Jesus Christ gave up the glory and honor of heaven to become one of us so He could die as our substitute and provide a means whereby God could offer us eternal life. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

No one with a spiritually discerning mind can read those words without a deep sense of thanksgiving gratitude for a humble and obedient Savior. "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). He was humble and obedient even unto death.

Do you have this humble attitude of Jesus? When we have that attitude toward ourselves, we will, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). That is the mind of Christ in the Christian. It is a humble attitude of denying self, bearing the cross of Christ daily, and doing the will of God at all costs.

Selah!

Do You Have Life’s Greatest Satisfaction?

One of the most delightful books I have read was Surprised by Joy in which the brilliant Cambridge scholar C. S. Lewis tells how the “Hound of Heaven” tracked him down and brought him to his knees to surrender to Jesus Christ.

“I was going up Headington Hill on top of a bus. Without words and (I think) almost without images, a fact about myself was somehow presented to me. I became aware that I was holding something at bay, or shifting shutting something out. Or, if you like, that I was wearing some stiff clothing, like corsets, or even a suit of armor, as if I were a lobster. I felt myself being there and then given a free choice. I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armor or keep it on. Neither choice was presented as a duty; no threat or promise was attached to either, though I knew that to open the door or to take off the corset meant the incalculable. The choice appeared to be momentous but I was also strangely unemotional. I was moved by no desire or fears. In a sense I was not moved by anything. I chose to open, to unbuckle, to loosen the rein. I say, ‘I chose, yet it did not really seem possible to do the opposite.’’

A short time later in his room at Magdalene College in Cambridge, England, he made a final personal commitment to Jesus Christ. “In the Trinity Term of 1929, I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England” (Surprised by Joy, pp. 224, 228-29).

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Jesus used a strong word for “satisfied” meaning “completely satisfied,” like when feeding cattle are satisfied after grazing in a beautiful lush meadow.

Do you have that satisfaction that comes from an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

It is the result of a spiritual hunger and thirst that only God can satisfy when we submit to Him.

Do you carry a heavy burden that weighs you down? Have you grown weary fighting with God? He is ready to give you His perfect rest if you will come to Him and yoke up with Him. When you submit to Jesus Christ you find rest for your soul as Lewis did.

Are you weighed down by a heavy load of anxiety? Christ invites you to humble yourself “under the mighty hand of God . . . casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

There is no greater spiritual satisfaction, inner peace and joy than that which is found in an intimate, personal love relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Have you entered into that personal relationship with Him? Admit to Him your need and ask Him to be your Savior. “Lord, I confess to you my need for you to be my Savior. I am a rebel at heart and want you to forgive me of my wandering sinful ways and unbelief. I ask you to forgive me and cleanse me of all my sins. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead, and I want Him to be my Savior and Lord today.”

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17). Will you come today and drink freely of the water of life and be satisfied?

Selah!

Speak Lord, for Your Servant Listens

It is difficult to listen to God speak to us. Drawing near to God is not only speaking to Him, but it is hearing God speak.

It is difficult to be silent before Him. We are a lot like the disciple Peter who in his anxiety before The Almighty was quick to speak and slow to be quiet and to sit silently in His presence (Matthew 17:4-5). We are quick to jump in and start babbling when we need to be quiet and “hear Him.” It is far more difficult to be silent before God than to speak to God. Most of us have forgotten how to sit in silence and listen for God.

We need to cultivate the silence of the soul. For most people it is frightening to be still and silent. Perhaps this is why our generation is quick to say God does not speak as in days of old.

“My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation” (Ps. 62:1). The Psalmist used a word meaning, “silence, still, repose, and still waiting.” The word connotes the silence of death. It is good for us to wait on God in silent repose.

Perhaps in our great emphasis on praising God, we have almost forgotten how to listen for His small quiet voice. We need to cultivate the silence of the soul so that He may break in upon us anytime, anywhere He so chooses. It’s just as important that we recognize His voice when He does speak.

The fire had departed in Eli’s day, "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent" (1 Samuel 3:1, NASB 1995). “The Lord called Samuel; and he said, ‘Here I am’” (v. 4). The boy Samuel ran to Eli thinking it was his master calling. “So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’” Then Eli knew that the Lord was calling the boy (1 Samuel 3:8, NASB 1995). With insight and wisdom, “Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy” (v. 8). Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place (1 Samuel 3:9, NASB 1995). "Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening’” (v. 10).

When God speaks we must obey. And when we do not immediately obey, He waits in silence until our will is ready. “Closer is He than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.”

When God speaks it may not be a pleasant message. It was not good news when Samuel heard a message of judgment on the house of Eli (vs. 11-14).

God may say to you as He did to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle" (1 Samuel 3:11).

The important and crucial thing is that we obey God when He does speak. "Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail" (1 Samuel 3:19).

God still speaks. How do you respond? On the mountainside God told Peter to shut up and listen to Jesus. That is what we need to do. There is a time to speak, and there is a time to be still and listen to His quiet voice. We don’t have anything worthwhile to say until He speaks to us in private.

God primarily speaks through His written Word the Bible. The Holy Spirit who is the divine author of the Scriptures, takes His word and speaks to our inner most being concerning “sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

He also speaks to us through circumstances, mature Christians, preaching and teaching of His Word.

How tragic that we have the ability to turn a deaf ear to God. We can drown out the whisper of God's voice.

Have you sat in quietness of spirit and listened to the pricking of your conscience by the Word of God? Has He quickened your spirit with the reality of some sin, or the peace of reconciliation with Him?

He comes in quietness as we meditate on His Word and the groping of the mind with some new profound truth?

There are times when He chooses to come through the preaching of the Word, or a quiet devotional passage, an intense spiritual hunger, or a mature Christian friend who give Godly counsel.

The important thing is to sit in His presence and listen, then to arise and do His bidding.

When God speaks to your inner being, quietly listen, agree with His voice, confess any known sin to Him, claim the cleansing blood of Jesus alone for your sin, and obey Him. “Him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” Speak Lord, for your servant listens.

Selah!

The Witnessing Spirit

Bill Bright said, “Successful witnessing is simply sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Sprit and leaving the results to God.”

Jesus promised all His disciples the presence of the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses . . .” (Acts 1:8). And “when the day of Pentecost has come” they were all witnesses. Before the day was over “there was added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). That is what happens when a preacher is preaching from the overflow.

There is a sweet fragrance about the name of Jesus and those who emit the distinctive qualities that name signifies. He “manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved . . .” (2 Cor. 2:14-15).

That is what should happen in the daily lives of the followers of Jesus Christ. The impact of the lives of persecuted believers who fled Jerusalem and went to Antioch was “the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21). We do not know who the first evangelist was who preached in Antioch, the greatest city in the world next to Rome and Alexander.

However, we do know when the church at Jerusalem heard about what God was doing in Antioch they sent Barnabas who “began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers (lit. multitudes) were brought to the Lord” (vv. 23-24).

Everywhere the believers went they talked about Jesus Christ. They carried about them the sweet fragrance of Christ—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

The name of Jesus Christ was continually being glorified, and the result was “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (v. 26).

Our job is not finished until we have gone to every tribe and village preaching the good news in Christ. God the Holy Spirit has equipped us to be those witnesses just as He did the early church in Acts. Their life, their passion was Christ and so likewise must be ours.

C. T. Studd said with passion, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice that I can make for Him is too great.”

Have you found the “Pearl of Great Price”? Then give it away to the poor, hungry, thirsty who long to know our Lord and Savior.

The missionary heart is part of the fruit of the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of missions. He is the one who calls and sends forth men and women who will be faithful witnesses of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. He finds people with a missionary heart and says, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul.” Separate me Will and Ann. They fasted and prayed and asked the Spirit to give them guidance and so He did. The will of God is always His very best.

Do you tremble before God because of the millions who have never heard the name of Jesus? Is there the clarion call of God to preach the gospel and make it plain to those who have never understood that Jesus paid it all on Calvary? Is Jesus the master passion of your life? Are you ablaze with Him? Do you have the fire of God in your soul?

Guard the holy fire. “You shall be My witnesses.” You are His chosen vessel and He has a chosen place for you to labor. The Spirit of missions will make it very clear where He wants you to serve and what He wants you to do in the kingdom of God.

God had only one Son and He sent Him as His missionary to a lost world (John 20:21). He says to you and me, “So send I you.”

Selah!