Everyone who asks the Lord into their heart is given the gift of the Holy Spirit or God within us. You are now made up of three parts—spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is the part of Christ that lives within you. This is the part of you made new when you received salvation. Galatians 2:20 tells us, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When Jesus was crucified, He tool all of our sins and the curse of those sins onto Himself…He stood in our place. Because the punishment for sin is death, we no longer must pay that price—it has been paid for us through the death and resurrection of Christ. The same power that Biblical characters have had—raising from the dead, parting seas, healing, preaching, etc—that the disciples had yet often we fail to utilize it. We behave as if we’ve been given a life changing gift and have failed to unwrap it.
Our new life in Christ is not something we can do on our own, nor earn by works. It is not ticking off boxes or rules that Christians/man/society have deemed important. It is a deep understanding of who Christ is and a desire to do what He has deemed valuable.
The job of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of the truth and direction of Christ; to help us grow more Christ-like. The more we read and know of scripture, the more resources the Holy Spirit has to inspire, encourage, rebuke, renew, reset our thoughts, actions, and focus. Challenges builds experiences and gives us opportunities to use the information we’ve gained through past studying.
What does it mean to put on the new life of Christ?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. (NASB)
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Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died through Christ to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve God in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter of the Law. (Amplified Bible)
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Lamentations 3:23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (NASB)
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2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new [a]creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (NASB)
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Galatians 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new [a]creation. (NASB)
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Ephesians 4:24 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old [a]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new [b]self, which [c]in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (NASB)
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Colossians 3:10 Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old [b]self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being [c]renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it— (NASB)
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When you understand what a life in Christ truly is, you will be set free and will have an understanding recognize the power and confidence you have inherited. Too many Christians fail to embrace their royal role in Christ and spend their time behaving as paupers. And yet others white-knuckle their faith by fighting to adhere to every rule rather than displaying the ultimate Christ-like love that sent a king to earth to die on a cross for us.
Pick up your sword and embrace your royal role today!
