Yesterday we heard that two of the fundamental truths that we need to know as followers of Christ is that 1) We have been called to hope, and 2) We are Christ’s inheritance – we are His eternal treasure! Today we consider the final fundamental truth and that is we have access to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead to live an entirely new kind of life!
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Ephesians 1:17
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him, 1:18 –since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened–so that you may know what is the Hope of His calling and His glorious inheritance in the Saints…
3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
We are Father God’s beloved children NOW. He has given us all we need in Christ Jesus for the rest of our journey here on Earth. He has empowered us by the Holy Spirit to be the people He desires for us to be, for His glory and to our soul-satisfaction.
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Even though we have been made spiritually complete in Christ, we are still “broken.” Part of our “brokenness” is the sin that indwells our flesh—in the members/limbs of our physical bodies (“this body of sin” Romans 6:6, “this body of death” Romans 7:24). Our bodies are the last part of us to be renovated. Now, they have not been redeemed so that they may fully reflect the glory of God as He desires. This problem will not be fully dealt with until the Resurrection when our physical bodies are freed from its corruption.
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Romans 7:6
But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.
Father God has set us free in Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. He had to do this so that we could become the people that He desires for us to be. In order for us to grow to maturity we need the freedom to do two things: 1) to fail and 2) to choose to follow the good desires of the Spirit. In Christ, the Father gives us freedom to do both.
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As we think about the reality of the “old self” and “the sin that dwells in our flesh” we must realize that this is the enemy that we deal with more than any other. Satan and his dark forces are working in our world, but we must not be tricked into thinking that they are the only or even the main problem. We must constantly deal with the reality of the evil that is present within us. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week this Sin that lives in us seeks to keep us from following our pattern of hearing > [ turning > trusting ] > following Jesus.
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Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In Christ, we are new creations. We do not have to give in to our sinful, rebellious desires. Instead, we can “put on” our new self—the new person—that has been created for truth, righteousness and holiness in Christ.
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