December 31, 2019 NEWNESS OF LIFE
Romans 6:4 “just as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
2 Corinthian 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The Greek word for ‘newness’ means a total renewal, not simply refurbished, updated, or improved. Until we discover our true identity in Him-that we are new creations with new hearts, new spirits, and new minds-we will not experience this newness of life on a daily basis. It may be difficult for us to grasp the reality that we are not who we use to be; we find ourselves somehow trying to blend who we use to be with who we are in Christ-and that leads to defeat and frustration, and it wears on us. We understand that Jesus was physically raised from the dead, but perhaps we do not see that before our salvation, we were spiritually dead; but when we accepted Christ as Savior, we were raised from spiritual death to life in Christ-we were made alive spiritually for the first time. Some make the mistake of trying to separate our spiritual being from our physical being, or compartmentalize the two. The truth is that our new life in Christ impacts our physical life, and not only impacts, but should be the ‘driving force’ in our lives. This newness of life touches every aspect of our life; all we now do can be done with a sense of newness. It may sound extreme-but we can even wash the dishes or carry out the garbage with a sense of newness! The foundational awareness of our life, our dominate perspective, should be that we have been raised from spiritual death, have been made new, are sons and daughters of God, have been set free from the power of sin, that God has poured His love into our hearts, and have been made overcomers in this life. Now, everything we do can be done ‘as unto the Lord.’ Walking in newness does not mean a life free of problems and trials, but it does mean that rather than being discouraged or defeated by them, we overcome them, and we experience His strength in such times. No doubt, we at times may momentarily lose this sense of newness-but the good news is that we have the power to speak to ourselves about who we are in Christ and direct our soul, our spirit, to be renewed. Our words have power. As Peter Parris has said, “We need to speak to ourselves more than we listen to ourselves.” Again, we are in error if we segment our spiritual life and our physical, or natural life; even though we are both spiritual and physical, all that we do should flow out of the new spirit that God has given us. What a blessing it is to be able at any age and under any circumstance to live with a sense of newness that comes with knowing God as Father and being filled with His Spirit. God is all about newness and freshness; nothing about God is mundane. Sure, we live in the routines of life and we all face challenges, BUT GOD has made provision for us to walk in newness of life-‘old things have passed away and all things have become new!’
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”
Blessings,
Buddy
December 31, 2019 NEWNESS OF LIFE
Romans 6:4 “just as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
2 Corinthian 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The Greek word for ‘newness’ means a total renewal, not simply refurbished, updated, or improved. Until we discover our true identity in Him-that we are new creations with new hearts, new spirits, and new minds-we will not experience this newness of life on a daily basis. It may be difficult for us to grasp the reality that we are not who we use to be; we find ourselves somehow trying to blend who we use to be with who we are in Christ-and that leads to defeat and frustration, and it wears on us. We understand that Jesus was physically raised from the dead, but perhaps we do not see that before our salvation, we were spiritually dead; but when we accepted Christ as Savior, we were raised from spiritual death to life in Christ-we were made alive spiritually for the first time. Some make the mistake of trying to separate our spiritual being from our physical being, or compartmentalize the two. The truth is that our new life in Christ impacts our physical life, and not only impacts, but should be the ‘driving force’ in our lives. This newness of life touches every aspect of our life; all we now do can be done with a sense of newness. It may sound extreme-but we can even wash the dishes or carry out the garbage with a sense of newness! The foundational awareness of our life, our dominate perspective, should be that we have been raised from spiritual death, have been made new, are sons and daughters of God, have been set free from the power of sin, that God has poured His love into our hearts, and have been made overcomers in this life. Now, everything we do can be done ‘as unto the Lord.’ Walking in newness does not mean a life free of problems and trials, but it does mean that rather than being discouraged or defeated by them, we overcome them, and we experience His strength in such times. No doubt, we at times may momentarily lose this sense of newness-but the good news is that we have the power to speak to ourselves about who we are in Christ and direct our soul, our spirit, to be renewed. Our words have power. As Peter Parris has said, “We need to speak to ourselves more than we listen to ourselves.” Again, we are in error if we segment our spiritual life and our physical, or natural life; even though we are both spiritual and physical, all that we do should flow out of the new spirit that God has given us. What a blessing it is to be able at any age and under any circumstance to live with a sense of newness that comes with knowing God as Father and being filled with His Spirit. God is all about newness and freshness; nothing about God is mundane. Sure, we live in the routines of life and we all face challenges, BUT GOD has made provision for us to walk in newness of life-‘old things have passed away and all things have become new!’
Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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