The “New WO-Man” in-Christ: I've GOT the POWER-!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the POWER of God to salvation for everyone who believes …,” (Rom. 1:16)

God’s power has been demonstrated in various ways from the creation of the universe when he first spoke the world and everything in it into existence. We see his power in nature - in the mighty oceans, the tornadoes, the hurricanes, and earthquakes. We see His power and glory manifested when he created Man. We must remember that: “In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them Male and Female, and blessed them and called them Man in the day they were created,” (Gen. 5:1-2). His power continues to be seen in the birth of every precious new baby born on earth to this day. All the miracles in the Bible and after are a demonstration of the Almighty hand of God.?

The three fundamental miracles of the Gospel are the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-7). The most significant miracle for all humans that demonstrates God’s awesome power is the resurrection of each man and woman being raised with Christ and transformed into the NEW MAN (WO-MAN). This is the POWER of God that leads to salvation and eternal life that we can experience “Right Now” - for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). The word “power” in our Bibles comes from a Greek word (δ?ναμι?) which means “strength, ability, and/ or dynamite.” This Power is what changes lives and causes revolutions.

Recently I watched a television show called “The Power,” and it made me think of the following scripture: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this All-surpassing POWER is from God and not from us,” (2 Cor. 4:6-7). In the “The Power” TV series (2023), all teenage girls in the world inherit and learn to develop the POWER to electrocute people at will. This power can not be compared to God’s LOVE (given to believers through the Holy Spirit) - the most powerful force in the Universe. The only real similarity between the POWER of the Holy Spirit and this fake TV show, is that this POWER can be given to others through the - Laying on of Hands: “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 8:17).

Jesus taught us that the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, can use all things in our life to teach us how to conform our image into Christ (Jn. 14:26). In this light, I would like to share with you a way in which I have been renewing My Mind “in-the-Spirit” to experience the POWER of the New Man.

“Be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind and Put-On the New Man” ~ Eph. 4:23

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR HIGHER SELF TO YOU - !

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,” (Rom. 10:17)?

All humans think and act according to who they believe that they are or there Self-identity. Our beliefs determine our mindsets and self-images. So our ‘personality traits’ are not fixed or set in cement. Most of our traits are learned from our childhood upbringing, our personal experiences, and significant adults in our lives. So, since our thinking and beliefs determine our Identities, by changing our beliefs - we can change our mindsets and alter our personality traits (how we behave). This is not easy to do, but with the POWER of the Holy Spirit, much effort and commitment over a long period of time one can see results.?

As born-again Christians, the Apostle Paul informs us that our Old Self (The Old Man) died with Christ on the cross (Gal. 2:20). Paul then tells us that we can only Put-On the New Man (our New Self) by first believing that our Old Man is Dead, and then?renewing the Spirit of our Mind (Eph. 4:23-24). Faith to do this, comes by “Hearing” the Word of God, that informs us of who we are in Christ (our New Christ Identity in the New Man): “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” (2 Cor. 5:17). Note: This is not just an exercise in positive “fantasy” thinking. God’s Word informs us that our New Self was created perfect - holy and righteous (Eph. 4:24), when we were born-again, and that this New Self that God created for us lives in Christ in the heavenly realms at this time (Eph. 2:6-7).

This position in heaven that the New Man has been raised up into in-Christ, is why the New Testament uses the word “SAINT” (over 67 times) - to describe ALL believers in Jesus. A Saint is a perfectly Holy and Righteous person in heaven set apart for God. In their “heavenly” position before God, ALL believers are “Sanctified Saints” by virtue of being re-created as NEW MEN (WOMEN) in-Christ. All “saved” New Testament believers or members of the Body of Christ - were sanctified (made Holy and Righteous) at conversion when they died with Christ (Rom. 6:11), and were resurrected with Christ as the New Man. Unger’s Bible Dictionary states that Christians can experience their position in-Christ in their New Man by faith: “Reckoning” (i.e., believing themselves to be what they are in their position before God), they become such in their everyday experience. The more one’s experience conforms to one’s position, the more practical holiness is manifested in the child of God (Saint), - Merrill F. Unger.

So, the following “I am Beliefs” have been prepared for you to put your faith into action - by assisting you with making a biblical meditation recording to help you to Put-On your NEW MAN-!

Directions: Make a video recording of your voice reading the following “I AM” statements, of who God created you to Be - after you were Born-Again as New Creatures in-Christ. You could even use the following video as background music:

https://www.youtube..com/watch?v=tm4VzJ0O5ek

Before you actually record your voice - do the following:

1.)?First study this list of “I Am” statements and scriptures from the Bible, until you consciously Believe that this is who God has already created you to BE.?

2.)?Then, close your eyes and start to visualize with your Imagination - who you presently are In-Christ. Once you get a picture or Image of your Higher Self - start meditating on what it feels like to BE your New Self - that God created you to be.

3.)?After meditating for a while on what it feels like to be this New Man or New Woman (visualize yourself thinking, feeling, and acting like your higher self) - then use your imagination to shift into experiencing this New Person right NOW - this New “YOU.”

4.)?Now, while holding these thoughts and feelings of actually BEING your New Self - record your voice of YOUR “I AM” beliefs with these same emotions.?

Note: This recording can be used as a daily meditation session to renew the Spirit of your Mind to confirm your New Identity in Christ! It is recommended that you practice this Biblical Meditation early in the morning (when your eyes first open) and/ or late at night (before you actually go into deep sleep) - when your mind is more open to being renewed.

My “I AM” Beliefs

I am grateful that God loves me so much - that Christ died for my sins (Jn. 3:16).

I am forgiven of all my past, present, and future sins, and justified in Christ - (1 Cor. 6:11).

I am born-again by the Holy Spirit of God (1 Pet. 1:23).

I am joyful that my Old Self died with Christ on the cross (Rom. 6:6-7).

I am joyful that my New Self was resurrected with Christ (Col. 3:1).

I am a New Creation in-Christ: the Old has gone, the New has come (2 Cor. 5:17).

I am a Son of God reborn from above - in Christ (Gal. 3:26).

I am the New Man - created in true Righteousness and Holiness,” (Eph. 4:24)

I am the New Man in Christ - the Righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

I died, and now my life is hidden with Christ in God (COL. 3:3).

I am living with Christ in the Heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6).

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I NOW live in the body, I live by Faith in the Son of God, who LOVES me (Gal. 2:20).

I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).

I am ALIVE with Christ (Eph. 2:5).

I am filled with the knowledge of God’s Will in all WISDOM and understanding (Col. 1:9).

I am filled with God’s POWER that works mightily in me (Col. 1:29).

I am predestined and chosen by God to be his child (Eph. 1:5).

I am BLESSED with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Eph. 1:3).

I am JUSTIFIED by faith in Christ and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

I am INSEPARABLE from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:9).

I am FREE and forgiven from ALL of my sins (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5).

I am LOVED unconditionally by God (Rev. 1:5).

I am filled with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (Ga. 5:22-23).

I am filled with God’s LOVE that surpasses all knowledge (Eph. 3:19).

I am filled with God’s JOY (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s PEACE (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s PATIENCE (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s KINDNESS (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s GOODNESS (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s FAITHFULNESS (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s GENTLENESS (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s SELF-CONTROL (Gal. 5:22).

I am filled with God’s CONFIDENCE (Heb. 13:5).

I am filled with God’s WISDOM (Ja. 1:5).

I am filled with God’s POWER (1 Pet. 1:5).

I am SAVED by faith through God’s gift of Grace (Eph. 2:8)

I have VICTORY in-Christ over all my problems (Rev. 21:7).

I am God’s MASTERPIECE - created in-Christ for good works (Eph. 2:10).

I am a king and a priest in God’s royal priesthood (Rev. 1:6).

I am a Citizen of Heaven with God’s Saints in his household (Eph. 2:19).

I am built upon the foundation of the apostles, prophets, and Christ (Eph. 2:20).

I am able to WALK BOLDLY into God’s presence (Eph. 3:12).

I am STRENGTHENED with God’s Power through His Spirit in the Inner Self (Eph. 3:16).

I am ROOTED AND ESTABLISHED IN God’s Love, because Christ lives in me (Eph. 3:17).

I am RECEIVING abundantly above all that I can ask for and imagine (Eph. 3:20).

I am LIVING a life worthy of the calling I have received (Eph. 4:1).

I am MATURE according to the full measure of Christ (Eph. 4:13).

I am KIND, tenderhearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:32).

I am STRONG in the Lord (Eph. 6:10-17).

I am CONFIDENT that God has made my higher Self perfect in Christ (Phil. 1:6).

I am a CITIZEN of Heaven (Phil. 3:20).

I am REJOICING in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4).

I am feeling God’s PEACE that transcends all understanding (Phil. 4:7).

I am feeling God’s PEACE that guards my heart and my Mind in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).

I am receiving things from God that are too wonderful even to imagine (1 Cor. 2:9).

I have EVERYTHING that I want in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 4:8).

I am RICH and I am a king in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 4:8).

I am washed, SANCTIFIED, and justified in Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).

I am of ONE SPIRIT with God (1 Cor. 6:17).

I am CREATED in the Image and Glory of God (1 Cor. 11:7).

I am a SWEET AROMA, manifesting the presence of God wherever I go (2 Cor. 2:14).

I am COMPETENT for aLL things because my COMPETENCE comes from God (2 Cor. 3:5).

I am Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20).

I am the Strongest in Christ, when I’m the weakest in my body (2 Cor. 10:1).

I am REDEEMED from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13).

I am lavished with Christ’s WISDOM and insight to know His will (Eph. 1:8-9).

I am CHOSEN according to God’s purpose ((Eph. 1:11).

I am GUARDED by God’s peace (Phil. 4:7).

I am having ALL my NEEDS met according the riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:9).

I am now LIVING in the Kingdom of God (Col. 1:13).

I am HOLY in God’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col. 1:22).

I am FILLED with God’s Power that works mightily in me (Col. 1:29).

I am COMPLETE in Christ, filled with God, and possessor of everything (Col. 2:10).

I am BLAMELESS (Col. 2:12-15).

I am CHOSEN (1 Thes. 1:4).

I am GIVEN to a Spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind (2 Tim. 1:7).

I am COMPLETE, and equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17).

I am ABLE to come Boldly before the throne of Grace to find Mercy and Grace (Heb. 4:16).

I am JUSTIFIED by the blood of Jesus (Rom. 5:9).

I am RECONCILED to God and have received His great Blessing (Rom. 5:10).

I am now REIGNING as a king because of Jesus Christ within me (Rom. 5:17).

I am a RECEIVER of God’s Grace (Rom. 5:20).

I am ALIVE to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).

I an a receiver of ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:23).

I am FREE from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

I am FREED from the vicious cycle of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).

I am FOLLOWING after the Holy Spirit which leads to Life and Peace (Rom. 8:14).

I am a child of God - led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14).

I am a JOINT-HEIR with Christ, sharing ALL His treasures (Rom. 8:17).

I am CONFIDENT that ALL things work together for Good (Rom. 8:28).

I am CONFORMED to the Image of Christ ((Rom. 8:29).

I have been GIVEN ALL THINGS (Rom. 8:32).

I am PROTECTED (Rom. 8:31).

I am INSEPARABLE from God’s Love (Rom. 8:35).

I am more than a Conqueror through Christ (Rom. 8:37).

I am ESTABLISHED to the End (1 Cor. 1:8).

I am made ACCEPTABLE to God, pure and Holy (1 Cor. 1:30).

I am God’s CHILD, born again of the INCORRUPTIBLE Seed (1 Pet. 1:23).

I am the Salt of the Earth (Mat. 5:13).

I am the LIGHT of the World (Mat. 8:14).

I am set FREE (Jn. 8:31-33).

I am Christ’s disciple because I have LOVE for others (Jn. 13:34-35).

I am PROTECTED by the Power of His Name (Jn. 17:11).

I am FILLED with Joy (Jn. 17:3).

I am God’s gift to Christ (Jn. 17:24).

Note: The following article is for further clarification and justification to renew your Mind: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,” (Rom. 12:2).

RENEWING THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND

?“Be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind” (Eph. 4:23)

The New Man is the “Christ-like” self-identity that we can consciously choose to shift into - to experience eternal life on earth right now. Your Mind cannot make this decision, as it is still being influenced by the programming in your Old Computer - what Paul calls your FLESH (your unconscious mind’s programming). So, Paul instructs us to “be renewed in the Spirit of our Mind,”?prior to Putting-On the New Man. Why is this important? Well, if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to renew our mind after conversion, then we will have a life-long struggle with SIN living in our Flesh (our unconscious programming). Paul informs us in the following scriptures about his personal struggle with SIN, before he allowed the Holy Spirit to Renew his Mind:?“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I WILL to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my FLESH) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members,” (Rom. 7:15-23).

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT-!?(NOT)

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is weak,”?(Matt. 26:41)

The Apostle Paul here explains to us in detail the struggle that he has with the SIN living in his Flesh (the programming in his unconscious mind). He repeats himself three (3) times stating that - HE is not the one who is sinning, but it is SIN living in his Flesh: “It is no longer I who do it, but it is Sin living in me that does it.” This first reminded me of a very funny (1970’s) comedian - Flip Wilson that use to say, “The devil made me do it.” There has also been books published and even Hollywood horror movies that say it in the title, such as “The Conjuring: The devil made me do it.” Is Paul just making an excuse for his sin (I didn’t do it, the sin in me did it)? Is he using the demon defense (similar to the “Conjuring” movie) - that he was possessed by a demon, and therefore not in control of his behavior - thereby taking the insanity defense? No and absolutely not. Paul is merely acknowledging to himself what God has in fact made him to be, and what Christ has declared us to be - Dead to sin and Alive to God. A dead man cannot sin. A dead man cannot do anything in this world. God executed Paul (The Old Man) on the cross with Jesus - so the Old Paul can no longer sin in this world. God recreated Paul completely Holy and Righteous as the New Man in heaven - so the New Paul can no longer sin either. So, then who may I ask is doing the sinning??

Paul tells us that it is SIN that dwells “in his flesh.” Remember, we are - Spirit (computer programmer), Mind (computer), and Body (robot). The real you - is Spirit (computer programmer). Your natural Spirit (the Old Man) was killed by God, when you surrendered your life to Christ and were crucified with him. However, the Old Man left a whole tape library of selfish programs for your body to follow “in your flesh” (unconscious Mind). For example, during the first seven (7) years of your life, when your brain was not even developed enough to make conscious decisions for yourself - your unconscious Mind was recording everything that you experienced with your five senses (good and bad) “in your flesh.” The real problem was that your Natural Spirit (computer programmer) as a child was not even physically capable of rejecting any negative, psychologically damaging, or traumatic influences that you experienced. It downloaded everything unconsciously as a “whole brain” in your flesh (Mind’s computer). Conscious decision making starts after our brains develop and divide into a left side (logic/reasoning) and a right side (creative/intuitive). This occurs in order for us to start thinking about what we download, based on the truth (light) that we have at the time.?

So, if we have a New Holy Nature (Spirit), why is there still Sin living in my Flesh? This is because your Mind was programmed by your Old Man. Your Old sinful Spirit programmed your Mind to lie, cheat, and be selfish. God killed your Old Man in Christ so that he cannot do anymore damage, but we must daily Put-off the Old Man, and be renewed in the spirit of our Mind. Now, Paul here is talking about believers that have been born-again, not serial killers (unbelievers).

BELIEVERS (Have the Holy Spirit) ~ UNBELIEVERS (Don’t have it)-!

If our Spirits have not been born-again or transformed into the New Man to be influenced by the Holy Spirit, then our Old Man (sinful nature) will continue to program our Minds with the false beliefs preached by the god of this world: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” (2 Cor. 4:4). This is why, right after Paul tells us to “Put-On” the New Man, he tells us to stop lying and to control our anger properly: “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold,’ (Eph. 4:26-27). He goes on saying, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” (Eph. 4:30). Paul distinguishes those that have the Holy Spirit (believers) and those that don’t have the Spirit of God (unbelievers) in the verses below. Those that live and practice a criminal lifestyle and call themselves christians, obviously do not have the Holy Spirit. Paul could have just condemned these people in the Corinthian Church that are acting unrighteously to hell. But, he does NOT. Instead, he reminds them of who they are in-Christ.?

The more we renew our Minds in the Spirit with who we truly are in-Christ, the more power we will have from the Holy Spirit to act according to who God created us to be - The New Man (sinlessly Holy and Righteous). Paul compassionately addresses his brothers and sisters in Christ: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals (Porneia or Temple Prostitution) nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God,” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Paul reminds them that their Old Man used to have evil desires and do these things, but now that they have been washed, sanctified, and justified as the New Man - they are dead to this lifestyle, because their Old Man has been executed by God - and dead men cannot sin.?

In the book of Romans, Pauls says, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you,” (Rom. 8:9-11). So, knowing that the Spirit of Christ lives in us as believers, and that the sin we are experiencing is just the old sinful program being played out “in our flesh” from our unconscious mind - what can and should we do to keep our salvation? First, let’s take a look at what God has already done.?

GOD’S WORK FOR YOUR SALVATION ~ Has already been COMPLETED-!

“For those God foreknew he also PREDESTINED to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also CALLED; those he called, he also JUSTIFIED; those he justified, he also GLORIFIED,” (Rom. 8:29-30)

Born-again Christians who believe (by the Holy Spirit’s revelation) that God recreated their New Man (higher Self) as completely holy, righteous, and sinless in heaven - will continue to ask what must they do on earth to keep their salvation? Especially, when they can see that the Sin living in their flesh is causing them to Sin - they will ask what must I do to stay saved? Paul surprisingly asks the same question: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Rom. 6:1-2). So, what can born-again Christians do to stay saved - knowing that sin lives in their flesh??Well according to the above scriptures and many others, there is nothing that we can humanly do - besides to believe in what God has already done. First, God predestined us to be New sinless Creatures in Christ:?“He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” (Eph. 1:5 & 11). The Greek word for predestined is “proorizo,” which means: ordain, determine beforehand, or decide ahead of time. So, predestination is God determining your salvation - before you accept your Calling or invitation to first believe in Christ. Many Bible verses refer to believers in Christ as being predestined or chosen (Matt. 24:22, 31; Mk. 13:20, 27; Rom. 8:33, 9:11, 11:5-7, 28; Eph. 1:11; Col. 3:12; 1 Thes. 1:4; 1 Tim. 5:21; 2 Tim. 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1-2, 2:9; 2 Pet. 1:10). God in His omniscient (all knowing) sovereignty predestined or predetermined which individuals would accept His invitation or Calling and He CHOSE them to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, and to BE, justified, and glorified in the New Man.?

It’s important to understand that it is God who supernaturally and miraculously changed who we are. He totally transforms us into the New Man that is forever sinless, holy, and righteous. God created our Higher Self before time existed: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be Holy and Blameless in his sight,” (Eph. 1:4). The Bible calls this “Justification in Christ.” Paul writes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are JUSTIFIED by his grace as a gift, through the redemption in Christ Jesus,” (Rom. 3:23-24). Justified means to be declared by a judge as Not Guilty. When God looks at us - he sees Jesus - just as if we have never sinned. This is because God recreated us as the New Man hidden in Christ (Col. 3:3). After knowing and experiencing who God recreated us to BE (The New Man in heaven), it is God’s will that we become more like Christ “in the flesh” on this earth. Religious leaders call what christians do on earth to be more Christ-like - sanctification. But, if you notice, the word Sanctification is missing from God’s work for our Salvation in the above verses (Rom. 8:29-30). For the past 40 years, I was always taught by religious people that sanctification was the work that I had to do to stay saved. I had to try to become more holy, to be more righteous, or to be more set apart for God’s use - to stay saved. Religious leaders call this “progressive holiness or?sanctification.” But, is this what the Bible teaches about sanctification? NO!

SANCTIFICATION ~ To be made Holy and Set Apart from this World for God-!

“It is God’s will that you should be Sanctified,” (1 Thes. 4:3)

Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. SANCTIFY them by the truth; your word is truth,” (Jn. 17:15-17). Here, Jesus is praying for his disciples to understand that through the Word of Truth (the imperishable Seed planted in their heart: 1 Pet. 1:23), they have already been created Holy and Righteous New Creatures in Christ set apart for God. They are not of this world, because they have been “Set Apart” by becoming born-again New Men, and Citizens of Heaven that are seated in the heavenly realms (not on earth). God has set them apart from this world, by resurrecting them with Christ?and seating them in heaven. To “sanctify” means to make a person holy. To “sanctify something” is to set it apart for God’s special use. In biblical theology, sanctification is a state of separation unto God. All believers enter into this state when they are born of God and recreated as the New Man -Holy and Righteous. The word Sanctification is a translation of the Greek word “hagiasmos,” meaning Separation or Holiness. All Christians in the New Testament are called “Saints” (hagioi in the Greek), or “Sanctified Holy Ones,” because God has recreated them to be completely Holy and Righteous in the New Man. So, it is God who wills and completes the Sanctification in us instantly through Justification on earth in the body of Christ and through Glorification after death.?

When we first believed in Jesus, God granted us JUSTIFICATION, a once-for-all, positional Holiness in the New Man who is in Christ. So here, you can see that Justification is Sanctification (being made completely Holy). God sanctified us or made us Holy by Justifying us in Christ. Paul says, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us Wisdom from God—and RIGHTEOUNESS and SANCTIFICATION (Holiness)?and redemption,” (1 Cor. 1:30). This sanctification is a once-for-ever separation and positional Holiness of believers unto God. It is a special work of God, and part of our salvation that ONLY God performs that connects us with Christ: “By that will we have been SANCTIFIED through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE for all,” (Heb. 10:10). The writer to the Hebrews is contrasting the work of the Old Testament Jewish priests who had to stand and offer sacrifices repeatedly - compared to Christ who sacrificed ONCE for all (making them Perfect), and then sat down next to his Father in heaven: “For by one sacrifice he has made PERFECT?

FOREVER those who are being made Holy,” (Heb. 10:14). When God makes you “forever perfect” - you are Perfect in Holiness for ALL eternity. Day by day, those who are - Predestined, Called, Justified, and Glorified - “are being made Holy” (Perfect forever). Paul prays, “May the God of peace himself SANCTIFY you COMPLETELY, and may your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be kept BLAMELESS at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Thes. 5:23). So, we can see that positional Sanctification (Justification) is God’s work alone. There is nothing that Christians can do to try to become holier than the New Man that God created them to be. Paul therefore tells us to Put-On the New Man.

There are also Bible verses that teach us that Sanctification is related to Glorification, which is the final stage in God’s work of salvation. Remember, God - Predestined us, Called us, and Justified us. And, “those he Justified, he also GLORIFIED,” (Rom. 8:30). Paul told us, that to be absent from the body (dead) - is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Paul said, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4). John tells us, “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,” (1 Jn. 3:2). Death is the time when we permanently receive our Glorified, NEW MAN, incorruptible bodies similar to the body Christ had when he rose from the dead. In our present life, God gives us positional Holiness or Sanctification through Justification by creating the New Man - completely Holy and Righteous in Christ. This happened because God predestined us and called us. And because we responded to God’s invitation by believing in?Jesus - God justified us. In the future after we physically die, God will glorify us. We will be given a permanent, HOLY (sanctified) completely healthy physical heavenly body, that will never age, get sick, or die. At that time, God will give us the Glorified Body of our New Man for all eternity. It appears that this glorified state (Glorification) will be our ultimate separation from the sin in our flesh (mind and body), and a complete separation from this world. We will also experience a total Sanctification or Holiness, as we will be living in our Glorified bodies for all eternity. So, it is God alone who sanctifies us through Justification and Glorification: “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose,” (Phil. 2:13). But, do we have to wait until we die to experience God’s divine or holy nature? No!

WE CAN EXPERIENCE GOD’S DIVINE NATURE ~ Right Now-!

By these he has given us very great and precious PROMISES, so that through them you may share in the?DIVINE NATURE, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire,” (2 Pet. 1:4)

The apostle Peter informs us that we can experience God’s glorious Divine Nature right now by believing in God’s promises: “His Divine Power has given us everything required for life and Godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own GLORY and goodness,” (2 Pet. 1:3). Peter is teaching us that it is through believing in the promises of God that we are made “partakers of the Divine Nature.” By being partakers of the Divine Nature of the New Man, we can escape the world’s decay and rise above the Sin in our fleshly desires (our minds computer programming) to become sons and daughters of God. Peter is telling us the same things that many other Holy scriptures tell us, that believers who Put-On the New Man: “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing Glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit,” (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49.

According to the Bible, every human being is born with Adam’s sinful nature. We are all born with a natural desire to please ourself (Rom. 5:12; 7:14). Our natural self (sinful nature) cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Our Natural Self (Old Man) keeps us from fellowship with God. It keeps us a slave to sin, that eventually leads us to spiritual death (Rom. 6:16, 23; 7:14; 2 Pet. 2:19). Just as a tiger cannot change its stripes, we cannot change our sinful nature (The Old Man): “Can an?Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil,” (Jer. 13:23). This is why God in His infinite wisdom had to execute our Old Man in the body of Christ on the cross and recreate for us - our New Man that is Holy, Righteous, and Sinless. By putting-on the New Man, we can experience our Divine Nature. But, how?

Christians that are born of God (Jn. 1:13; 1 Pet. 1:23), are made "partakers of Christ" (Heb. 3:14), and "partakers of the Holy Ghost" (Heb. 6:4). Christ prayed for us that we might be "Made Perfect in One with himself who is ONE with God the Father, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Ghost the Comforter” (Jn. 17:20-23; Jn. 14:16, 17, 23). So as “sons of God,” when we were individually recreated as the New Man, we have all received a Divine Nature that we can experience by BELIEVING in God’s very great and precious promises concerning our Salvation. Before we take a look at these promises of God, lets’ consider the New Covenant that contains these promises.

THE NEW MAN ~ Of the NEW COVENANT-!

?“For no matter how many Promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ,” (2 Cor. 1:20)

As humans, we may have a hard time believing in Gods’ promises, because most people that we know never fulfill their promises to us, so why should we trust God to? Well, because all of God’s promises or prophecies of what the Messiah would be like - were fulfilled in Christ Jesus. This is why we can trust God to keep all of his other promises to us.?1. Jesus was completely faithful in his ministry as God promised: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,” (1 Pet. 3:18).?2. Jesus faithfully died for us: “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone,” (Heb. 2:9).?3. Jesus now faithfully intercedes for us: “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us,” (Rom. 8:34). Because God has kept his promises (it has always been “Yes in Christ”) we can now: “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need,” (Heb. 4:16).

Now, Bible scholars inform us that there are over 7000 promises that God has made to his people in the Bible. God has made promises to his people under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. A covenant is an agreement based upon promises. The Old Covenant required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law. The Law of Moses required that Israel perform daily sacrifices in order to atone for sin, because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Moses who wrote the Old Covenant (directed by God) said that Israel failed in keeping the Old Covenant: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them,” (Deut. 29: 25-28). But Moses, also anticipated the New Covenant and said, “The SECRET things belong to the LORD our God, but the things REVEALED belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law,” (Deut. 29:29).?

The Apostle Paul talked about the Secret Mystery that, “was not made known to men in other generations as it has been Revealed by the Holy Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets,” (Eph. 3:4-5), because it was hidden until Christ came. Paul taught that Baptism is a type of Christian CIRCUMCISM in which the Old Man “sinful nature” is cut off or made powerless by Jesus: “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole Self ruled by the flesh was PUT OFF when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead,” (Col. 2:11-12). God revealed to Moses the secret of His spiritual circumcision (cutting-off the Old Man) through Baptism - so that the New Man could be raised to life with a Divine Nature to be a “son of God.”

MOSES, JEREMIAH, AND EZEKIEL ~ All predicted the New Man in the New Covenant-!

“The Lord your God will CIRCUMCISE your Hearts and the hearts of your descendants,?so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deut. 30:6)

Now at that time under the Old Covenant, MOSES predicted the New Covenant and said exactly what the Apostle Paul said about the Old Man being circumcised (cut-off or executed), and God creating a New Man raised with Christ (Col. 2:11-12). The New Covenant involves a total transformation of the Heart and Spirit within the New Man, so that God’s people can meet his standard for absolute perfection in Holiness and Righteousness in Christ. The Old Testament prophet JEREMIAH who also lived under the Old Covenant, likewise predicted that God would create the New Man for the New Covenant: “This is the Covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my Law in their Minds and write it on their Hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord,” (Jer. 31:33-34).

Here we can see how Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Mat. 5:17) to establish the New Covenant between God and His people by creating the New Man. The Old Covenant was written in stone, but the New Covenant is written on the Heart or Mind of the NEW MAN.?The apostle Paul states that: “the New Man is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” (Col. 3:10).?So the New Man’s mind and heart has already been renewed by the Knowledge of Jesus who created him. Jeremiah is telling us that God has already renewed the Mind of the New Man with the Mind of Christ. Paul says: “Let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 2:5). We can NOW?enter the New Covenant and “put-on” the New Man by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29). Jesus, at the Last Supper, takes the cup and says, “This cup that is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood” (Lk. 22:20). By believing in Christ and taking communion (eating the bread and drinking the wine), we remember Christ’s death and the death of our Old Man with him on the cross. This is what created our New Man to seal our New agreement or Covenant with God. Only the New Man that God created Holy and Righteous can satisfy the Old and New Covenants.?

The New Man of the New Covenant is also mentioned by the Old Testament prophet EZEKIEL:“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your Heart of stone and give you a Heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws,” (Ez. 36:25-27). Again, the New Covenant was previously promised by God as Ezekiel gives us even more details. The New Man will be created in true Holiness with a New Heart, a New Spirit, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul tells us: “Put on the NEW MAN which was created according to God, in true Righteousness and Holiness,” (Eph. 4:24). The Old Covenant (Mosaic Law) could provide none of these things. Keeping the law (or following manmade religious traditions) can never make us holy and righteous: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin,” (Rom. 3:20). Ezekiel also informs us that God will send a perfect shepherd, the Messiah (Jesus) who will take care of every need his people have and set up a Kingdom of perfect peace and justice: “I will place over them One Shepherd …” (Ez. 34:23). So if we believe in this New Covenant, what does God promise us?

THE OLD AND NEW PROMISES ~ Old and New Testaments-!

“You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed,” (Josh. 23:14)

As previously mentioned, there are over 7000 promises that God has made to his people, documented in the Bible (ezbible..org/how-many-promises-in-the-bible). A promise is a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified. Prophecies in the Bible were often promises made by God to his people the Israelites: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” (Gen. 12:3). These promises we read in the Bible today all belong to God, as the scriptures were written by men who were inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Bible’s promises can be divided into 2 major categories, those of the Old and New Testaments. The word “Testament” actually means Covenant or Promise.?

So, the Old Covenant (Testament) is found in the book of Exodus: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my COVENANT, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, You will be for me a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy nation,” (Ex. 19:5-6). In the Old Promises (Old Covenant) Jews were meant to keep around 600 laws in order for them to be blessed as God’s people. But, obedience to these laws would not make them PERFECT, “Holy or Righteous” even if they were to obey all of them all the time: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin,” (Rom. 3:20). The author of the book of Hebrews confirms this: “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, Make PERFECT those who draw near to worship,” (Heb. 10:1).?

THE PROMISE OF SALVATION AND THE NEW MAN

“Burnt offerings and SIN offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them,” (Heb. 10:8)

God promised the Jews that if they continued to make animal sacrifices every year for their sins, that one day God would send the Messiah (Jesus) to make the PERFECT sacrifice (his life) for the sins of all mankind. This New Covenant was the Way to salvation for all who believe in death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to become the New Man. Jesus said, “I have come to do your Will, O God,” (Heb. 10:7) … “And by that Will, WE have been made HOLY through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,” (Heb. 10:10) … “because by one sacrifice he has made PERFECT forever those who are being made Holy,” (Heb. 10:14). When God makes you “forever perfect” in the New Man you are Perfect in Holiness. Day by day, those individuals who are - Predestined, Called, Justified, and Glorified - “are being made Holy” (Perfect forever). God’s NEW COVENANT for us to please him - does not require us to keep any religious laws, church rules or traditions, or even that we must continue to make sacrifices to Him for our sin. That’s right - no one has to continue to confess their sins to God to be saved, to please God or to enter or to remain in His New Covenant. Remember Jesus said, “burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them,” (Heb. 10:8).?

It is ONLY by coming to Jesus in faith and then following him in loving obedience - that we can please God. God created us so that we could enjoy Him forever. The joy that we experience with God is what glorifies Him. God is not glorified in us when we joylessly serve him reluctantly or under fear or compulsion. God is NOT glorified in us when we grudgingly give to him our time or money, or serve him out of duty, obligation or personal sacrifice: “To obey (God’s Voice) is better than Sacrifice (perform religious duties)”-(1 Sam. 15:22). Salvation is not based on whether a Christian has confessed and repented of every sin in their life, before they die. Christians do not have to keep asking for forgiveness or repenting every time they sin in order to have their sins forgiven. All of our sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven the moment we receive Christ as Savior (1 Jn. 1:9).

GOD DESIRES LIVING SACRIFICES ~ Not dead Ones-!

“He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption,” (Heb. 9:12)

Jesus was the last dead “Blood” sacrifice - the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Levitical Priesthood “animal meat” sacrificial system could never take away sins, but it did provide a temporary way to deal with sin until Jesus came to deal with SIN permanently. Jesus entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own BLOOD, to obtain eternal redemption. So, believers in Christ don’t need to make any sacrifices to God for sin. However agreeing with the Apostle Paul, that even though God created my New Spirit to be sinless (completely Holy and Righteous), I must continue to live in this life in my own flesh (body and mind) that have been programmed to sin, by the Old Man: “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it,” (Rom. 7:20). So admitting to God when my flesh causes me to sin, helps me to be renewed “in-the-Spirit” of my Mind (Eph. 4:23). This allows us to be living sacrifices to God. Paul said it best: “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God,” (Rom. 12:1-2). God is most glorified in us when he sees that we are the happiest spending time with Him, because He is our greatest JOY. Paul encourages us to: “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the JOY set before him he endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” (Heb. 12:2).

For all of the above reasons, it is important that we as believers in Jesus understand the Old and the New Promises of God. Jesus said to his religious leaders, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life,” (Jn. 5:39-40). Here, we see that these religious people (Jews and Pharisees) who knew and studied the teachings of the Bible daily, failed to see the promise in the Old Covenant that God would send the Messiah (Jesus) - to be there Perfect Sacrifice, to make them Holy forever by creating the New Man. Like many religious people today, they knew all the religious rules, but missed the Savior and the message of the gift of the New Man. They became so involved in their religion that they missed Christ and refused to allow him to change their lives when he CALLED them - to make them PERFECT FOREVER in the New Man.?

So once again, we can see that God’s standard from the beginning for anyone to be accepted by Him is SINLESS PERFECTION - complete Holiness and Righteousness. Following your Churches rules will never make you HOLY. This is why when we are born from above - God recreates us into our New Man completely Holy, Righteous, and Blameless - FOREVER. Jesus said this, and the Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this: “This is the (NEW) COVENANT I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” (Heb. 10:15-16). Once again, Jesus is telling us that God has created the New Man with his laws written on the New Man’s heart: “The New Man is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” (Col. 3:10). So, who did the New Covenant begin with?

THE FIRST BORN “NEW GOD MAN” (Jesus) ~ Started the New Covenant-!

He (JESUS) is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the Dead, that in everything he might be preeminent,” (Col. 1:18)

Most christians are taught that Jesus is the head of his body - the Church. But, what does the title, “Firstborn from the Dead,” mean? Paul also testifies, “that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles,” (Acts 26:23) and “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the First-fruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (1 Cor. 15:20). “The Apostle John also says that: “Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the Dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,” (Rev. 1:5).?

This title means that although Jesus was not the first to rise from the dead (Jesus raised Lazarus and others), Jesus was the first to NEVER DIE again and ascend to Heaven. He was the forerunner for our resurrection to eternal life in the New Man in heaven, when we first believed in Jesus and were Justified by GOD. Jesus is the first to rise from the dead and thus to be the first of the New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17). A completely New Species began with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who became the first New “GOD” Man. God’s goal from the beginning of time was to recreate us into New Men - Like?CHRIST: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be Conformed to the Image of his Son, that HE (Jesus) might be the Firstborn among many Brothers and Sisters,” (Rom. 8:29). It’s obvious that these brothers and sisters are the sons and daughters of God - who have all been individually recreated as New Men in the Body of Christ - Jesus’ Church.

THE ETERNAL “SONSHIP” OF CHRIST ~ Believers have been Adopted as sons of God-!

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather,?the Spirit you received brought about your Adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father,” (Rom. 8:15)

Paul here is stating that believers in Jesus become “sons” (and daughters) of God when they are resurrected with Christ and recreated into the New Man: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God,” (1 Jn. 3:2); “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,” (Rom. 8:14). This makes believers brothers and sisters of Jesus, as he was the “Firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”?So when we are recreated into the New Man - we enter Sonship: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory,” (Rom. 8:16-17).?

As we learn to Put-On the New Man more and more, we discover that our true selves are the persons that God created us to be - God’s sons and daughters: “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive Adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir,” (Gal. 4:4-7). In Roman law, adopted children (even if they had been slaves) - had the same rights and privileges as biological children. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God has adopted us as His sons, and made us heirs along with Jesus: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be Holy and Blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for Adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will …” (Eph. 1:4-5). Jesus was also the first to formally begin or inaugurate the NEW COVENANT by means of his crucifixion and resurrection.

THE NEW MAN’S ~ New Covenant Promises-!

“This cup that is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood,” (Lk. 22:20)

The Old Covenant or Promise was made obsolete and disappeared, when Jesus said, “It is finished.” (Jn. 19:30). The New Covenant is the promise that God will forgive ALL humanities - past, present, and future SIN, and recreate a New Man (WO-man) for all those who believe in Jesus. Below are just seven (7) of the New Man promises in the scriptures, but there are many more:

1. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to recreate our New Man as a New Creation who lives in Heaven: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” (2 Cor. 5:17); “And God raised us up with Christ and Seated Us with him in the Heavenly Realms in Christ Jesus,” (Eph. 2:6);?

2. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to recreate our New Man as a masterpiece or a work of art: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (Eph. 2:10).

3. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to resurrect us with Christ and protect us by hiding our life in Christ: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God,” (Col. 3:1-3).

4. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to spiritually circumcise (cut-off) or execute our Old Man’s Spirit - in Christ on the cross: “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh,” (Ez. 36:26); “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole SELF ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,” (Col. 2:11).

5. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to give our New Man a New Heart and a New Spirit: “I will give you a New Heart and put a New Spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you,” (Ez. 36:26-27); “I will put my law in their Minds and write it on their Hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people,” (Jer. 31:33); “This is the (NEW) Covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” (Heb. 10:15-16); “The Lord your God will Circumcise your Hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deut. 30:6);

6. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to make our New Man completely Holy, Blameless, and Righteous: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols,” (Ez. 36:25); “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be Holy and Blameless in his sight,” (Eph. 1:4); “Put on the NEW MAN which was created according to God, in true Righteousness and Holiness.” (Eph. 4:24).?

7. When we believe in Jesus, God promises to put his Holy Spirit in our New Man and bless us: “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws,” (Ez. 36:27); “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13-14); “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God,” (1 Pet. 1:23); “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the Heavenly Realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ,” (Eph. 1:3).

So based upon these promises, we can believe that we have been crucified with Christ, and that God has killed our Old Man. We can believe that God recreated and resurrected us into a completely holy, righteous, sinless and blameless New Man (our Higher Self). We can also believe that we are now seated in the heavenly realms, hidden in Christ. So, what else does God promise the New Man who is in Christ Jesus?

GOD’S PROMISES ~ For the New Man-!

“I will not violate my COVENANT or alter what my lips have uttered,” (Ps. 89:34)

There are many, many powerful promises of God in Scripture. In each promise, God unequivocally commits to fulfilling his divine promises. Because God is faithful and cannot change his mind (Num. 23:19), the New Man can have full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized. This is worth repeating. The Apostle Peter said that our Lord “has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Pet 1:4). We should rejoice, as these promises are not just great promises….they are “very great” and “exceedingly precious” promises. Following are just seven (7) of these divine promises of God for the New Man in Christ Jesus:

1. God promises the New Man power from on high: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” (Acts 1:8). “I am filled with God’s power that works mightily in me,” (Col. 1:29).

2. God promises the New Man strength to do, whatever he is called to do:?“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (Phil. 4:13).

3. God promises the New Man wisdom, knowledge, and understanding:?“I am filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and understanding,” (Col. 1:9).

4. God promises the New Man the gifts of the Holy Spirit:?“I am filled with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, and Self-control,” (Gal. 5:22-23).?

5. God promises to answer the New Man’s prayer:?“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us,” (1 Jn. 5:14).

6. God promised to supply all of the New Man’s needs:?“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 4:19).

7. God promises to bless the New Man:?“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be Holy and Blameless before Him,” (Eph. 1:3-5).

So, is there anything left for us to do besides believe in Jesus to be saved? No! Jesus said, “It is finished,” (Jn. 19:30).

OUR ONLY JOB IS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS ~ To be Saved and also to Stay Saved-!

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be Saved” (Acts 16:31)

Would you believe me, if I told you that there is nothing for you to do for God to give you eternal life when you die - except to believe in Jesus? There is not one scripture in the entire Bible that Jesus or anyone else said that we must DO something for our salvation. We don’t have to go to Church or fellowship with other Christians to be saved. We don’t have to read or study the Bible to be saved. We don’t have to pray or fast to be saved. We don’t have to sing worship songs to be saved. We don’t have to serve in the Church to be saved. We don’t have to tithe or give money to the Church to be saved. We don’t have to give money, feed, or clothe the poor to be saved. We don’t even have to try hard to be a “good person” to be saved. If fact, if we did all of these things along with the thousands of other things that Christian religions try to convince us that we must DO - to be saved (Not go to Hell) and we were the Best at doing these things - it would still not be good enough for God to accept us into heaven. This is because, God’s standard is absolute PERFECTION and none of these things alone or combined make us HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, OR PERFECT in God’s eyes.?

I will take this a step further. Once, we know without a doubt that we are saved, there is also NOTHING that we have to DO to STAY saved - “NOTHING” - except believe in Jesus. God through Jesus has already done all of the work for our Justification (sanctification) and Glorification (sanctification). All we must do is BELIEVE by faith in the salvation that God offers us in the present moment, and continue to BELIEVE that we are the people that God created us to be (The New Man): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the GIFT of God (The New Man)— not by works, so that no one can boast,” (Eph. 2:8-9). Our ONLY job is to BELIEVE in Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” (Jn. 3:16).

THOSE WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ~ Are SONS of God-! (Rom. 8:14)

“Those who live according to the Flesh have their minds set on what the Flesh desires;?but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires,” (Rom. 8:5-6)

Paul divides people into two groups - those who let themselves be controlled by their flesh (sinful natures) and those who follow after the Holy Spirit. All who have not believed in Jesus, have no choice but to follow their Old Man who programmed their fleshly sinful nature (their Minds computer) “which was being corrupted by its deceitful desires,” (Eph. 4:22). However, by believing in Jesus, that you were crucified and buried with Jesus - God executed your Old Man. Your Old Man can no longer put new programs in your mind (because he is dead). But, you can still choose to follow the old programming in your mind. In fact, your behavior will automatically default to follow the old programming, unless you consciously decide to renew your Mind with the power of the Holy Spirit. So now you as a believer, have the choice to set your Mind on the Flesh (continue following your mind’s automatic programs) or to set your Mind on the Spirit to try to be transformed by the renewing of your Mind. It’s important to note that there are no Bible classes or college courses that you can sign up for to -“Be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind,” (Eph. 4:23). In fact, there is nothing that you can humanly do to transform your Mind without being in the Spirit. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified (1 Thes. 4:3), but you cannot renew your own Mind without the help of the Holy Spirit.

God doesn’t want you to try harder, but to come to Him with the faith of a child. If you don’t ask God for His grace, rely on His power, and walk by the Spirit - you will inevitably fail. Only God can make this happen out of His love for you, by His grace alone (Rom. 3:24; 2 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 2:13; Titus 2:11). We must understand that in order to be led by the Holy Spirit, we must be willing to -“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 2:5). This requires us to walk by faith. Paul said, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (New) man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known,” (1 Cor. 13:11-12). All of us as children were unconsciously exposed to life experiences (good and bad) that we had no control over. This programming taught us how to live and develop relationships, and we became dependent upon it to survive in our world. Decades of research in Child Developmental, Psychology, Pediatrics, and Neuroscience have informed us to conclude that a child's personality and intelligence are “locked in or hard-wired” around the age of seven (7). The first seven years are especially critical for human social and cognitive development, but the human brain can continue to develop throughout one's life and even after they have been spiritually reborn.?

Being born-again into the New Man is so mysterious that human words cannot describe it. Jesus?said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of Water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be Born Again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit,” (Jn. 3:5-8). This supernatural miracle is the Mystery of God that was “kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people,” (Col. 1:26). It is not something that humans can do for themselves, as it transcends human reality. It is the renewal of a human’s spiritual nature, as God unites His Spirit with the human’s spirit. This requires the faith of a child, as children can “Make Believe” (use their imagination) visualize, have faith in what they can not see. Paul tells us that we must Walk by Faith (our 3rd Eye) - Not by Sight (our physical eyes): “For we live by faith, not by sight,” (2 Cor. 5:7). This is why Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it,” (Mk. 10:13-15).?

JESUS SAID ~ We can Experience Eternal Life Right Now-!

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have Life, and that they may have it more Abundantly,” (Jn. 10:10)

The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve in his likeness as mortal beings, with the possibility of becoming immortal. But he warned them that if they consumed the forbidden fruit that they would “surely die.” We then read that because they disobeyed him, God banished them from the Garden so that they could not continue eating from the Tree of Life to live forever (Gen. 2:17-3:24). Since that time, humans have embarked on one of the oldest quests in human history - to find the secret of immortality. Many great emperors, kings, and warlords throughout history have tried and failed. Dating back to the 27th century B.C., one of the oldest and greatest tales of human civilization - The Epic of Gilgamesh, also tells of a great warrior’s journey to find immortality. We know that Jesus promises us eternal life when we believe in Him, but can we experience eternal life right now? Does our eternal “Mind of Christ” affect our present natural body right now? Can it empower us to maintain good mental health? Is it possible to slow down, stop, or even reverse the symptoms of old age and sickness by changing our mind-set?

Modern scientists have studied this quest for mental health and youth. In 1981, Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer demonstrated that time is a relative notion in her “Counterclockwise Study.” A group of men over age 70 were taken to an isolated area where a scene from 1959 was exactly replicated. The furniture dated to that year, they were shown films from 1959 and even the newspapers and magazines they were given came from that period. The men in the experimental group were told not merely to reminisce about this earlier era, but to inhabit it — to “make a psychological attempt to be the person they were 22 years ago.” Langer told the men, “if you are successful at this, you will feel as you did in 1959.” Within a week the group’s actual symptoms of aging had reversed. The joints in their fingers were more flexible and their eyesight improved. Langer concluded that because the participants were given the same mental information as in 1959, their bodies began to adapt to the physical situation at that time. These men put their minds in an earlier time, and their bodies went along for the ride. One of the possible explanations is that these men in their 70s made contact with their own Self-Image (Mindset) or spiritual energetic blueprint from 1959, (when they were 22 years younger) and their bodies followed suit. Incredibly, their perceived beliefs about time influenced the metabolic processes inside of their bodies (nytimes..com/2014/10/26/what-if-age-is-nothing-but-a-mind-set). Note, this was not even a “christian” scientific study.

What if mental health is nothing but a mind-set? Ellen Langer’s experiments have shown that Mindsets have reversed some symptoms of old age. Langer’s New Hampshire counterclockwise study has been “replicated” three times — in Britain, the Netherlands and South Korea (nytimes..com/2014/10/26/magazine/what-if-age-is-nothing-but-a-mind-set). So, what makes it possible for us to contact our energetic blueprint or Spiritual Mindset to experience Eternal Life? Paul’s solution to this is to “be Renewed in the Spirit of our Mind,” (Eph. 4:23). The key words to focus on here, are “IN THE SPIRIT.” In other words, the only way that we can truly renew our Minds is when we are being led by the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, and walking in the Holy Spirit. Paul instructs us again to renew our Minds: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the Renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will,” (Rom. 12:2). Only when the Holy Spirit renews, redirects, and reeducates our Minds are we truly transformed to Walk in the Spirit of the New Man to presently experience Eternal Life.

“ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have Eternal Life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him,”?

(1 Jn. 5:1-15)