Live Out the New Man in You
ICS Daily Devotions
John 3:3 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The born-again experience happens when we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. It doesn’t happen at water baptism, which is an outward expression of our inward conviction. Only God can transform us miraculously into new creations.
In the above Scripture, Jesus was not referring to being born again physically, as nobody can be born again through the mother’s womb, but a spiritual birth instead. We are a tripartite being: spirit, soul, and body. The born-again experience takes place in our hearts—not the physical heart, but the hidden man, or the spirit man.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
We are new creations in the spirit. Our spirit man is the eternal being—the real us who lives for eternity. It is the breath of air that God breathed into man, who was made from dust and became a living being. Therefore, we need to identify ourselves with the spirit being and feed the spirit man with the Word of God regularly. Meditating on the Word strengthens the spirit man. Hearing the Word and praying in the Spirit will make us much stronger on the inside.
While our bodies will still look the same, our minds, which are in the realm of the soul, need to be renewed with the word of God so that we can live lives that align with the word (Romans 12:2). The greatest hindrance to living out the new creation realities is in the realm of the soul. An unrenewed mind will be unable to overcome the work of the flesh because we are too used to our “old man” or old lifestyle, including how we speak and behave. The flesh is the sum of appetites that desire to live independently of God and refuse to submit to God. Having been our master for such a long time, it will fight the new Lordship of Jesus Christ in our hearts.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NKJV) that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Eternal life is in heaven, but abundant life begins after receiving Christ. The Apostle Paul encourages every believer to live out the new life in Christ. This new creation in Christ is found in the spirit of man, created according to God because God is Spirit.
Sermon Series: Faith in the New Creation Realities
