SOUNDING OUT:
We Are New Creations

  When we confessed Jesus as lord and believed in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead we were born again. We received the gift of holy spirit, and became three-fold beings of body, soul, and spirit. It is the spirit of God in us that makes it available for us to be Led by God’s Power.

  Because we have received holy spirit as a gift of God’s grace we may use it at our discretion. There are nine ways in which we manifest the spirit: speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, prophesying, receiving word of knowledge and word of wisdom, discerning spirits, believing, working miracles and healing. These nine are all operated from the one gift of holy spirit we received when we were born again. They were designed to be used together, to bring profit to us individually and to the body of believers collectively. (I Corinthians 12:7-10)

  In Walking by the Spirit we saw the conflict that arises between the old man of the flesh and the new man of the spirit. If the apostle Paul is any kind of example, every believer goes through this conflict as he matures spiritually in his walk. Walking by the spirit, being Led by God’s Power, should become easier or more habitual with growth and maturity in our Christian walk.

  God’s children have two natures, which come from two different births. In the first birth our nature comes from Adam, and in the new birth from Christ, the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45). The sin nature was innate in every person because all are descendants of Adam. The divine nature is within each believer because he is born-again of God.

  Religion tries to mold and shape and reform the old nature to transform it into the new one. That is absolutely not available. There is nothing we can do to reform or develop our old man. It was crucified with Christ, and we were given a new man to replace it. God gave us holy spirit to do in us and for us, what we could not do in and for ourselves. There is nothing we can do to reform the old-man nature. We cannot educate it, polish it up, or whip it into shape. God simply replaced it. He gave us a new nature. Just as living the wrong way and succumbing to sin was inherent to the old nature. Doing the right thing and living righteously is inherent to the new nature.

  The gift of God in Christ in us is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The gift of holy spirit is what makes fellowship with God available. We have a connection so we can commune with Him and develop our relationship with our loving heavenly Father. God wants us to be conformed to the image of His son, and He gave us His gift so that it can happen. We should become more Christ-like day by day.

  Many of the self-help gurus of our day talk about a personal power that you learn to tap into and use to accomplish your agenda for your life. Revelation is not for us to get our will done; it is to get God’s will done. It is not a personal empowerment for one to use to get what he wants out of life. It is so God can get His will, His plan accomplished in our lives. God wants to personally guide us into His will with the revelation manifestations, and then empower us to accomplish it with the impartation manifestations. We get more guidance than we are aware of. We are led by the Spirit when we choose to respond to His guidance.

  The new man is the new nature created within us, which we are to put on in our minds. The new man is what God created in Christ in righteousness and true holiness. This new man is no longer Jew or Gentile; it is a new creation.