NEVER TO RISE AGAIN!

[DK Grooms]

2 Cor 5:17

        Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Eph 4:24

        And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

Scripture seems so clear in these passages and yet multitudes of Christians are unable to grasp the simple message it seeks to deliver to them from their heavenly Father.

 

God is wonderful, loving, and gracious to his children; those born-again in Christ.  He knows what is best for us, and better yet, what we need to be victorious in our existence upon this earth.  Only a loving God would care so much about your every need.

 

The new man he wants us to put on was created after himself in righteousness and true holiness.  It is simply too marvelous for words, yet it is ours to put on.  By doing so, we fulfill his great desire for us to be over comers in all things natural and supernatural.  It is for each of his children and it’s for the here and now - today.

 

That new man I’m talking about is your ‘new spirit’.  Remember scripture; it replaced your old sinful nature when you accepted Christ – “behold all things became new”- not recycled.  When your sinful nature died, the new man rose up and took its place as a new creation, which until that instant did not exist. 

 

Many believe your old nature had to take a backseat to this new spirit at salvation [your conversion], and that the two are constantly at war with one another.  Folks will claim that it’s a constant battle – “to do good or not to do good”. That’s another lie from the father of all lies, Satan himself.  But that’s not what scripture says.  The new spirit man completely replaced your old sinful nature.  When God created your new man, he didn’t need to repair the fallen one that was filled with sin.  No!  What you were in your sinful state had to die.  In death, it was forever buried – never to rise again.

 

That new man identified in scripture, created in righteousness and true holiness, is the real you.  It was created in absolute perfection, lacking nothing.  God now resides, or inhabits that new creation, because you invited him in.  Heb 13:5 KJV …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

Now that we are new creatures in Christ, we must transition ourselves away from who we think we were in the flesh, to a greater reality of who we really are in our new spirit.  Our identity is no longer to be that of just a sinner saved by grace, but rather as over comers and conquerors, as Christ is an over comer and conqueror himself.  Remember what scripture says.  Christ is now seated in victory, in heaven, with everything beneath his feet (read Ephesians 1:19-23 KJV).

 

When most Christians identify themselves to others, they’ll often give you their name and then tell you what things they do as humans, such as the job they hold or skill they possess.  A scant few identify themselves with who they now are in Christ.

 

Remember, a change took place in your spirit at the time of salvation.  Revelation of that fact should cause us to think differently about our humanness; who we are now and what we’ve become because of Christ.

 

Here’s a fantastic scripture to know and understand.

 

Philippians 1:6

        That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

 

Do you know what “the communication of your faith” means?  That word communication in the Greek is [koy-nhon-ee-ah].   It means distribution, or the sharing in partnership; transferring to one another.

 

Whenever I stand in the pulpit or minister to folks over radio or television, I’m actually communicating with them.  What am I communicating?  I’m certainly communicating the good news of the gospel, but more importantly, I’m taking the things that are in my spirit [every good thing which is in me in Christ Jesus] and sharing them, or transferring those truths with each and every listener.  I am sharing with you what God has shared with me in my spirit man.  At that moment, the communication of my faith becomes effectual.  Your faith becomes effectual when you do the same.

 

It begins to work by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.  It is a profession of the finished work of Christ in your life.  These truths prevail over every evil work of the enemy.  It’s the light that drives darkness out.

 

If you don’t know there are good things inside your spirit, it can be attributed to many things, a few of which I’ve mentioned here.

 

1)      You’ve not been taught that there are great things in your spirit, as a result of the finished work of Christ.

2)      You try to relate and define good things through the things that you do, or those made by human effort.

3)      Through your many prayers.

4)      Through reading the bible.

5)      Through your financial giving, as demanded by Old Testament law.

6)      Through your church attendance, bible studies, Christian retreats, seminars, concerts, or evangelistic efforts.

 

If any of these are places you go expecting to find good things, then you’re no doubt feeling totally frustrated with your faith.  Inadequacy is the hallmark of all who seek to find goodness in anything but Christ.  Your actions, emotions, and thinking are false indicators of what is good about you and what is really in your new spirit man.  Your faith will never become effectual in any of these things.

 

If, on the other hand, you embrace the concept of being a totally new creature in Christ, by putting on, or donning the new man – seeing yourself as God and his word [scripture] sees you, then your soul and human identity will change.

 

It is important for you to know these things.

1)      In your new spirit there is nothing but good things.

2)      In your new spirit there is zero, or no corruption.

3)      In your spirit there is absolutely no sin.

4)      In your spirit there is no contamination from outside forces.

 

When was the last time you were taught these thing in your place of fellowship [church]?

 

Many Christians will openly and quickly confess that there is nothing good about them, which is in direct opposition of what scripture tells us. 

 

Because we don’t ‘feel’ it’s true, doesn’t mean it is.  We don’t see ourselves in the proper light of the gospel, so we use our humanity to determine what is good and what is not.  Revelation has not yet manifested itself inside of us, because the churches aren’t preaching the too good to be true good news of the gospel. 

 

The new man inside of us is trying desperately to reveal it, but we don’t have an adequate reference point to understand what has truly happened within our new nature.  Instead, we fall back to the old standbys to identify any goodness we might possess. 

 

When we think of ourselves outside of scriptural truths, we find only frustration, because it conflicts with the reality of the spirit of Christ within us.  Feelings and emotions are a poor substitute for the real thing.  If truth makes us free, then feelings and emotions brings only bondage.  The word of God is the perfect representation of spiritual truth.  It takes human effort, feelings, and emotion out of the equation entirely.

 

So, let’s get this straight…

1)      Truth does not come from your feelings.

2)      Truth does not from your emotions.

3)      Truth does not come from the things you can see.

4)      Truth only comes from the Son of God as clearly spelled out in scripture [the word of God].

 

If the word of God only speaks truth, then everything else is a LIE.  And we know where lies come from.

 

Eph 4:24

        And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

You can read this scripture until the cows come home; or you can pray about it until your knees are bloodied; or quote it like a famous orator, but without these words becoming one with you, it means absolutely nothing.

 

Here’s another example.

 

John 17:21

        That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 

How many of God’s children are saved, but they do not walk in the oneness that this scripture talks about.  They don’t, because they don’t see themselves in the same light that Christ and God the Father sees them.  To these people the scripture, though a promise directly from the mouth of Christ himself, is actually dead to them.  They don’t believe it’s possible to experience this oneness, perhaps because of religious teachings [dogma], so they’ll likely never possess it for themselves.

 

The truth is that all born again Christians were regenerated with a new spirit through the atonement of the Jesus Christ, when they accepted his sacrifice by faith.  Oneness with Christ and the Father took place at that very moment.  There was no hesitation and no effort required on our part, except to believe it true.

____________________

 

Let me briefly touch on this for a moment tonight.  I’ll be going into more depth in the next couple of weeks.

 

Eph 1:13-14

        In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

        Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

 

The scripture says that after we believed, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  That word [believed] in the Greek is ‘pist-yoo-o’ and it means to believe; to commit; to trust in completely.

 

Look at the scripture again - In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:

 

When you heard the word of truth, in which you also trusted, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

 

The Greek word for ‘ye were sealed’ is ‘sphrag-id-zo’ and it means to preserve for security.  In other words it has the same implication as when you can fruits or vegetables and sealing the jar to keep out impurities.  Canning, or sealing the jar preserves the item from outside sources of contamination.  That jar of fruits or vegetables becomes immune to the outside elements which would otherwise seek to rot or ruin the contents of the jar.

 

This is the same application.  The Spirit of God seals your new spirit from outside contamination.

 

By believing and trusting in the finished work of Christ for your salvation, you were permanently sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.  Because you are now sealed, nothing shall ever be able to touch, mar, or influence that spirit.  It is as perfect as Adam and Eve’s spirits were before the fall.

 

Question:

Do you honestly think that the Spirit of God would sweep the temple clean, inhabit the newly created spirit, and then let it become corrupted by outside forces?  Not a chance.

 

You were born again; made new because of Christ.

 

2 Cor 5:17

        Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Eph 4:24

        And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

 

Your new spirit was created after God in righteousness and true holiness.  In your spirit you became like Christ, being made one spirit, in absolute perfection – lacking nothing.

 

I Jn 4:17

        Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

 

 

1 Cor 6:17

        But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

 

Gal 4:6

        And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

 

Rom 8:9

        But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 

Eph 1:13-14

        In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

        Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

 

All of these scriptures are saying the same thing.  When you made the commitment to Christ, trusting in the truth of it, you received the spirit of Christ.

If you are born again your spirit is as perfect as it is ever going to get.  You now possess the righteousness of Christ and are SEALED by the Holy Spirit of promise.

 

Questions:  So what happens when we stumble, fail, or fall?

 

When failures take place in your humanness, your spirit remains completely untouched though the body suffers the results of your sin. 

 

Remember this - If sin could touch or impact your spirit, then your spirit wouldn’t be sealed, which would be opposite of what the word of God promises. What is therefore sealed by God, remains sealed by God! 

 

Sin obviously affects your humanity and will bring untold destruction and devastation in your life if not dealt with, but the sin and its destructive forces do not affect your spirit man.

 

What does that mean for me?

 

It means that if you fail [sin] but sincerely repent of that sin before God, he will forgive you, casting that sin away from both him and you, as far as the east is from the west – to remember it no more, yet your spirit remains unchanged. 

 

What does sin do in the life of a believer?

 

1)      Sin can and will touch your physical body adversely.

2)      Sin can and will touch your mind [intellect] adversely.

3)      Sin can and will touch your emotions adversely.

4)      Sin can and will touch your soul and wreak havoc with it adversely.

 

Simply stated, sin will bring destruction and devastation in your life, even to death.  Ask anyone who is addicted to anything and see if it hasn’t adversely affected their lives, or the loved ones around them.

 

Those who do not know who they are in Christ and who do not recognize the good things done in their spirit because of Christ, will sin with greater frequency.

 

Far too many Christians are incorrectly taught just the opposite of the following truths…

 

1)      Your spirit doesn’t need to be rededicated at an altar.

2)      Your spirit doesn’t need to be dusted off or cleaned up.

3)      Your spirit doesn’t need to be renewed again.

4)      Your spirit doesn’t need to be born again; again.

5)      Your spirit doesn’t need to be put under the blood one more time.

 

Your spirit was created after God in righteousness and true holiness.  When your commitment to accept Christ was made, you were then sealed. 

 

Rejoice brothers and sisters at this great and wonderful news.

 

 

Here is a simple way you can know the difference.  Do you enjoy your sin and sinning, or does your heart long for the things of God and his Christ?

 

Now in closing… to the born again child of God I say, “The Lord is pleased with you”.  Yes he is!  Why?  Because, you are his workmanship.

 

Eph 2:10

        For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

 

We should be beacons of truth so that others will desire the Christ we love.  Seek him now while there is still time!

 

 

Putting on the New Man - Have you done it yet?