Forewarning, this one’s a little long and there may be some repetition, but the thoughts flow together, so I want to keep it all in one post. Hope you enjoy! I realize some may draw different conclusions from the following passages. I am so thankful for that and I would love to hear your own perspective in order to sharpen my understanding of this truly beautiful concept. Please share your thoughts and I hope that you are encouraged and challenged to see things in a new light as well.
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My Old Operating System
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I operate and live under a new system. Not a different one. A brand new one. For the longest time, I have seen myself as changed when I came to know Christ. Changed for the better, no doubt. But what I have come to realize is that it is so much more.
Romans 6 is an absolutely beautiful passage. I encourage you to read and sit in it for a while as God reveals Himself to you and the meaning of the passage. With that in mind, I’ll let you read the remaining portion of the blog in your own timing. The following are some of the truths that I have found of what it means to be a truly new creation.
“We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Death no longer has dominion over Him.” (Romans 6:6-7, 9)
I knew that I when I believed, I was a new creation. But what I didn’t grasp in its entirety was the finality in my old self dying away. My body dies. I die to sin. Romans 6:6 says that, “our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to NOTHING”. My old body is dead. It has been killed. It is lifeless.
Why did this have to happen? So that sin no longer has control over me. Sin no longer has any rule or reign over me, if I choose to live in the Spirit. I’m afraid that the majority of my life I would read over those words and quickly move on. But I have been taking some time to sit on these promises in the Bible. The idea that sin no longer has any reign or dominion in my life. This is SO massive and incredible. I wish we could all grasp and live in this reality just a bit more.
So, if my body is dead and sin no longer has power, this also means that I can no longer live or operate by means of sin. Why? It will not sustain me. It will no longer keep me afloat. I will no longer be able to live. So then what?
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My True Life Source / A New Way Of Living
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“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)
“Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:11)
Such an amazing concept. My body, that was once lifeless due to the killing of sin in my body, has been resuscitated and brought back to life. And if I have been brought back to life, logically, I must be completely dependent on something that gave and continues to give me life. I am on life support. And that life support is the Holy Spirit. In my new way of operating, I quite literally need Him. The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, is the One that gives life to my mortal body. This is soo powerful! The reason I can continue to live right now is because the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead also gives my body life. I am completely dependent on the Spirit for my very life. And this is every moment I take a breath.
If I do not live by the Spirit, I am unplugging myself from my own source of life. From my own life support. Thus, living by the flesh is no longer an option for me. Why, because I am literally killing myself. I operate under a new system. When I walk according to the flesh, I am trying to live under an operating system that no longer works. John 6:63 says “The flesh is no help at all.” It is so clear in the Bible. The flesh is worthless. Useless. It is not worth our time or investment. And, honestly I think it’s toxic. Ultimately, it is no longer an option to live in. I guess it could be, but it kills me if I walk in it. It does not provide any life for me. Why would I walk in it?
John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life.” I must fully and completely live by the Spirit. Not because I choose to or because it is what Paul calls us to do in Galatians 6, but because I have been re-created. I have been re-wired with new desires and a new heart. I am a new creation. I MUST live by the Spirit. I MUST “walk in newness of life!” (Romans 6:4). There is no other option.
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My NEW Identity
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“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” (Romans 6:3-4)
For those who know the Father and Jesus Christ, we have been raised in a new life. We are a NEW creation (John 17:22). This is so massive and powerful! I think for so long, I’ve seen being born again as a nice way of showing I have been changed. But it is so much more. I am a completely NEW creation, a NEW being. I have quite literally been born again. I have a NEW mind, a NEW wiring, a NEW purpose.
We talk a lot about our pasts and how we’ve been changed. I believe our testimonies are powerful. They show the work of Christ in our life. But I love how one of my squad leaders posed an interesting thought (and this is highly paraphrased). He posed the thought that he doesn’t have a past. Why? Because he is a NEW creation. He is a NEW person. We all have a story, but what if we saw ourselves more in this light? A radically and completely NEW person. Not different. Not changed. Not made better, optimized, or refurbished. Brand NEW. As if I didn’t even have a previous life.
One definition of new says, “never existing before.” This is my life in Christ. I’ve tried to think about this word new, and what it means in light of us being a NEW creation. I don’t think I fully understand this concept with my finite mind, but I love sitting in it. I long to continue dwelling on this and my hope is that I see myself more as Christ sees me.
