and become meaningless.  This awareness is like going through the process of metamorphosis.  You have become born-again, you have been spiritually resurrected from being spiritually dead, from living by corrupted worldly standards and relying on your own understanding to being able to understand and know life from God’s perspective. 

It is the Holy Spirit who has awakened you to spiritual realities and brought you through the experience of resurrected life, it is He who now lives in you, for He is your life, and you now live by His guidance in all things, no longer reliant on your corrupted flesh, for your past way of life is now behind you.  You buried it when you “died” and let the Holy Spirit resurrect you to new life in Christ (symbolized by water baptism, Rom 6:3-7).  So be careful not to be deceived into thinking the flesh can be improved with good works.  It is dead and no longer has power over you, for you now live because of the “good work” of Christ’s atonement. 

Think of how phenomenal this is!  It’s like a dream come true.  The more you read the Bible, the more you will be guided by the Holy Spirit as He brings truth to light in the process of renewing your mind from darkness to light, from lies to truth that will set you free once and for all. 

Adolph Saphir writes in detail of the characteristics of a Spiritual person:

“Only he is spiritual who is in Christ; a member of the mystical body, of which the glorified Head is in Heaven; a branch in the true Vine; who, by the power of the Holy Ghost, has been transplanted out of Adam, out of the realm of Sin and Nature, into the second Adam, the kingdom of righteousness and grace.  To become spiritual, requires a new birth from above; to be spiritual, is to possess the Spirit of Christ as an indwelling Spirit, uniting us with Christ the Lord who is the Head of the Church.  Here is a great mystery.

At the right hand of God, enthroned in glory, possessing all power in Heaven and on earth, adored by angels, we behold Jesus, the Son of Man, in whom dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  Below, on earth, are the members of His body, His people, who by faith and the indwelling of the Spirit are one with Him.  They are the children of Adam, yet they are no longer in Adam, but in Christ, new creatures; sin still dwells in them, yet sin has no longer dominion over them, for Christ dwells in their hearts by faith; they think, and speak and act as other men do, yet it is Christ who lives in them, who by His Spirit guides and animates them, and brings forth the fruits of righteousness and holiness.  They have bodies of infirmity and death, and yet their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who shall quicken them at the coming of Jesus, and change them into bodies of glory and immortality.  They are living on earth, but their citizenship is in Heaven.  They are branches of a tree, whose root is at the right hand of God.  They are in a world doomed to death by the corruption of lust, but they are partakers of the divine nature.  They are men, and yet they are more than men; for they are Christ-men, and Christ is the incarnate Son of God.  They are accounted the offscouring of the earth; they have been mocked, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, killed; but they shall come again, and with Christ Jesus be the rulers and kings of the earth.  Such are the spiritual,* Spirit-born, and Spirit-inhabited men, the sinners who, saved by grace, love Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

* In the early part of the second century a Christian thus described the “Spiritual” men (Letter to Diognetus): ‘the Christians are not separated from other men by earthly abode, by language, or by customs.  They dwell not in cities of their own, they use not peculiar language, nor affect a singular mode of life…. Yet they show a peculiarity of conduct wonderful and striking to all (paradoxical).  They inhabit their own country, and yet are strangers.  They take part in everything as citizens, and suffer all things as pilgrims.  Every strange country is their home, and every home is to them a strange country.  They live in, but not according to, the flesh.  They dwell on earth, and walk in Heaven.  They obey the laws, and are lifted above the laws by their lives.  They love all, and are persecuted by all.  They are unknown, and yet men condemn them; they are poor, and yet make many rich; they are despised, yet crowned with honor.  They do good, and are treated as malefactors.  They rejoice in suffering death, for thereby they attain life.…” ¹

Armerding and Gasque give us a reality check with this remark:

“…becoming a Christian does not automatically solve moral problems.  It makes him more conscious of them and of how serious they really are.  It demonstrates how radical a transformation is required to overcome them and how nothing but the grace of God can make any real difference ultimately in our lives.” ²

Clinton Arnold explains what happens at conversion: 

“Far more than just a decision for Christ, becoming a Christian is a divinely powerful redemptive work of God.  There is so much more that happens at conversion.  One who becomes a Christian genuinely becomes a brand-new person and a member of a new kingdom with an all-powerful and all-loving Lord.  The believer is divinely rescued from slavery in a kingdom controlled by evil supernatural forces.” ³

One thing I find so relieving about being a Christian is knowing our new identity in Christ.  You know you are wanted, loved, and accepted by Christ, giving you an immense sense of security, and the more you learn of His character, you realize that He is everything you want to be.

Clinton Arnold remarks about our new identity in Christ: 

“Their new status becomes the basis for renewing their manner of life on earth.  In one sense Christians truly are not perfect, but they are in a progress.  In another sense, in the presence of our justifying God, Christians are perfect.” ⁴

Lewis Sperry Chafer describes the status of the believer’s personality:

“The Spirit, when saving from the reigning power of sin, does not set aside the personality of the one He saves.  He merely takes possession of the faculties and powers of the individual.  It is the power of God acting through the human faculties of the will, emotions, desires, and disposition.  The experience of the believer who is being empowered is only that of a consciousness of his own power of choice, his own feelings, desires, and disposition as related to self.  The strength which he possesses, however, is ín the Lord, and in the power of His might.” ⁵

Bob DeWaay puts emphasis on our motivation for living a transformed life in Christ:

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). This means that all that we have and are must be transformed through the death and resurrection of the cross. We do not merely drop off the “bad” things or give up a few bad habits when we come to Christ, but must die to an entire way of life and take up a new one. This affects even the “good” things we do. It changes why we live and for whom we live.” ⁶

John Stott writes about being set apart from the secular world:  

“The people of God are ‘holy’ people, that is, distinct or separate people, set apart from the rest of humankind to belong to God.  Therefore they are called to be what they are, to manifest in their character and conduct the holiness of their status of position.  They are called to be holy,’ that is, called to be different from the secular world, and not to be conformed to its outlook or standards.  ‘You must not do as they do,’ God had said to Israel in the wilderness, refereeing both to the Egyptians and to the Canaanites (Lev. 18:1; 5). Similarly, ‘do not be like them,’ Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount, referring both to the Gentiles and to the Pharisees.” ⁷

What sets us apart from the world?  We are no longer dependent on our own knowledge and wisdom (the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Gen. 2:17), but on the Lord.  We must be trained to put off the ways of the flesh and discern the voice of the Lord in all things. It is helpful to learn from His character described in the Bible, for His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-13).  All of His ways will point to Him to receive all glory, honor, power and praise and will not gratify our flesh in any way.

So it is clear that we have been given new life in Christ, and we are to live in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.  When we become saved, we are to “go and sin no more” (John 5:14; 8:11). We will have enthusiastic incentive to do this from having read the gospels and learned about who Jesus is and why He had to save us.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Titus 3:3-7  “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

1 Peter 1:22-23 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,”

We are to walk by faith and not by sight:

Read the whole chapter of Hebrews 11 for many examples of faith.

2 Corinthians 5:5-9 “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

1 Peter 1:6-9 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

We are to walk in the Spirit to overcome the lust of the flesh:

Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Romans 6:11-14 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” 

Ephesians 4:17-19  “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; ¹⁹ who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

We are to put on the mind of Christ:

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶ For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Philippians 2:1-5 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”

We are to renew our mind by meditating on His written Word, not continue in our normal way of thinking influenced by the wisdom of the world.  Satan is a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) and will continue to cause us to stumble with lies and will entice us with the lust of the flesh, so we should increase our strength by filling our minds with the knowledge of the truth of God:

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Ephesians 4:20-24  “But you have not so learned Christ, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

John MacArthur writes an important interpretation on the word “knowledge” used in 2 Peter 1:3:

“Knowledge is a key word in 2 Peter (vv. 2, 5, 6, 8; 2:20; 3:18).  Throughout scripture, it implies an intimate knowledge (Amos 3:2), and is even used for sexual intercourse (Gen. 4:1). The Knowledge of Christ emphasized here is not a superficial knowledge, or a mere surface awareness of the facts about Christ, but a genuine, personal sharing of life with Christ, based on repentance from sin and personal faith in Him (c.f. Matt. 7:21).” ⁸

2 Peter 1:2-8 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here are some Bible verses that emphasize the importance of praying for God’s imparted knowledge, discernment and wisdom, in order to know the difference between the ways of our fallen human nature and the desired ways of God who is Holy:

Ephesians 1:15-21  “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

Philippians 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Colossians 1:9-12  “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

The following Bible verses explain our responsibility of putting our faith into practice.

God is love, and He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, so let us be mindful of His loving nature:

1 Cor. 13:4-8 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails.”

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we will bear spiritual fruit:

Gal. 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

We are to discipline our Christian conduct:

Col. 3:12-17 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Ephesian 4:1-3 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseechyou therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

1 Peter 2:9-12 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, ¹² having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

1 Peter 2:21-25 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

²² “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

²³ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

In John 17, in His own words, the Lord prays His will for those who believe in Him.  Here is part of that prayer to understand what we are to expect in our new way of living:

John 17:9-19 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ¹² While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

Notes:

1.  Christ Crucified by Adolph Saphir, 1889, Pgs. 95-96, www.archive.org/details/christcrucified00saphgoog

2.  A Guide to Biblical Prophecy by Armerding and Gasque, Pg. 233

3.  Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 110

4.  Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 110

5.  Systematic Theology by Lewis Sperry Chafer Vol. 6, Pg.294

6.  Biblical Counseling, Part 3, Applying Biblical Solutions to Biblically Defined Problems by Bob DeWaay  www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue10.htm

7.  Understanding the Bible by John Stott, Pg.119

8.  The MacArthur Bible Commentary, John MacArthur, Pg. 1929