Completely New

Becoming a New Creation in Christ is not the work of psychology, philosophy, theology or of any human ability. It is a work of God Himself. "Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Peter 1:23) "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:18) "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13) I labor this because most believers have been preached at for so many years that they are poor, miserable creatures that are unworthy and unfit to please God, because after all you are nothing more than a sinners saved by grace. It has created sin consciousness, a sense of unworthiness that has taken root to where God’s Word has little to no effect to transform the believer.

However, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) These things can only be believed when we look at God’s Word without prejudice and through a heart of faith. For example, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:3) We believe this simply because God’s Word says it is so. We do not question it with any prejudice, but fully accept it, though we were not present during creation.

Think about this way, if you are born again, do you wake up every morning and question whether or not you are saved? No! Why not? Because one day, you responded to the Holy Spirit and God's Word that says, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10) You have accepted this truth without prejudice, therefore you are saved. There is absolutely no difference when it comes to who we are in Christ, who Christ is in us and how the Father truly sees us. We simply accept these truths without prejudice because God’s Word says these things are so. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21)

Our approach towards God’s Word should always be the Father speaking to us. It should never be like the message from an ordinary book. It should be as real to us as though the Lord is standing in the room speaking to us personally. The Word is filled with the very life of God. The writer of Hebrews records, "For the Logos of God is a living thing, active and more cutting than any sword with double edge, penetrating to the very division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, scrutinizing the very thoughts and conceptions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 Moffatt)

Because God’s Word is a living thing, it feeds our recreated spirit and imparts faith to our recreated spirit also. To have faith in the Father and to have faith in Christ is to have faith in His Word. The Word has the authority of God in it then, now and forever. It has the Righteousness of God in it, it has the power to save the unsaved, heal the sick and feed our hungry spirit. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) So, I want to admonish us as Paul did, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." (Colossians 3:16) Therefore, the more we apply faith to God's Word and act upon it, the more it will become real to us and the more freedom we will experience in Christ. "...man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:3)   So, let us feed on God's Word daily...