ICS Daily Devotions
Living From the Inside Out
A transformed life is what we are supposed to have when we are born again. It is a process when we grow from spiritual infancy to maturity. A transformed life reflects our relationship with God, and is lived from the inside out [spirit – soul – body].
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The spirit is the inner man, the core of our being and our identity.
The soul consists of the mind, will, and emotions, and these form our personalities.
The body is the physical part which we should take good care of.
Paul in his writings, divided man into the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man.
The natural man is the one who has not yet been born-again or become a new creation in Christ.
The carnal man is a new creature who has been born-again but has never developed or grown.
The spiritual man is the one who has developed in divine matters. The spirit has gained ascendancy over the intellectual processes, over the body and the physical senses.
The natural man cannot understand the “things of the Spirit of God”. Many educated people remain skeptical towards the Scripture because they cannot comprehend its supernatural character with their own minds. Since God’s spiritual character and actions transcend the natural, the natural man cannot reason out the virgin birth, the Holy Spirit, or the supernatural miracles.
While the natural man has not been regenerated, the carnal man has acknowledged Jesus Christ as the personal Lord and Saviour. While Jesus has completed the work of redemption, it is still up to us to decide if we want to live a victorious Christian life. This decision marks the difference between the carnal and the spiritual man.
The spiritual man is one who knows what belongs to him in Christ Jesus and takes advantage of it. He has saturated himself in the love of God. The Scripture has gained ascendancy over his mind and over his body. God’s Word has also brought him in line with the will of God, which is to follow the Word of God. It is important that we let our spiritual man rule over the soul and body, and constantly feed on the Scriptures, so that we may live out a victorious transformed live from the inside out.
So, which one are we today?
Sermon Series: CG Campaign: A Transformed Life
