“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” 2Corinthians 5:17
This is the cardinal point. He is a NEW CREATION; i.e. one who never existed before. He is created with the nature of God in his spirit.
Gal 6:15 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature”.
He has the divine nature of God in his spirit. He is as holy and righteous as GOD in his spirit.
2Pe 1:14, 2cor.5:18.
THE MAN
Man is a spirit; he lives in a body and has a soul (1Thess 5:23)
The human spirit: Is the one that got saved when he confessed the Lordship of Jesus Christ over his life. He is the one the bible refers to as the ‘hidden man’ of the heart, inner man or inward man; (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Cor 4:16). He is the one that received Zoë (the life and nature of God).
The soul: is the seat of his will, mind and emotions. The soul did not become born again, but should be renewed; Rom 12:1-2, Eph 4:23 - “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”
The body: the body houses the spirit and soul. Man as a spirit cannot live in this physical earth without the body. The body must be in subjection to the spirit; (1 Cor 9:27).
BORN OF GOD
The new creation in Christ is born of God; (Rom 8:16-17, Rom 10:9 -10) John 1:12 - “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.
BORN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD
Before we got born again, we were not in the kingdom of God’s son, we were alienated from it; Col 1:13- “who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”:
GOD’S REASON FOR SALVATION
1. God wants to bless you and make you great.
He made us partakers of his divine nature; Gen 12:2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”:
2. God wants us to preach the gospel to the world; (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 10:15-20, Acts1:8). He wants us to show his light to those who are in darkness and make them disciples of His kingdom.
SALVATION BY GRACE:
Eph 2:9 -“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”. (Rom 5:17)
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
a. The Word- (Rom 10:9-10, 1 John5:9-10). Sometimes, the devil likes to deceive God’s children by making them feel that we are not saved. Our assurance of salvation is not through our feelings, but the Word.
b. The witness of the Holy Spirit- Rom 8:16- “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”
DOMINION IN LIFE
a. Over the world – 1 Jn 5:4- “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”. (1 John 4:4)
b. Over life’s circumstances – Rom 5:17- “ For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ”.
c. Over sin. Rom 6:14- “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace”. Sin can no longer lord it over the sons of God.
HANDLING MISTAKES -1 John 2:1-3
1Jn 1:9- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
Remission is for the unregenerate –Acts 2:38, Matt 26:28, Eph 1:17
Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross of Calvary, died for the whole world, both the regenerate (Christians) and the unregenerate (non-Christians), who are not yet born again. Mat 26:18 And he said, “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples”.
Forgiveness is for the Christian. 1 John 2:1
1 John 1:9-“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
REALITIES ABOUT THE NEW CREATION
What is reality?
Reality is truth, in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:”
Truth is not what you can see with your eyes, feel, or hear. It’s not anything we can perceive with our five senses. The truth is what God has said in His word. (John 17:17, 2 Cor 4:18, John1:17).
1. You now live in Zion- Heb 12:22 “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels”,
Heb 11:10 “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”. (Isaiah35:10, 33:20, Col1:12-13)
2. You seat in place of power- Eph 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (Eph1:20-21)
3. You are complete in him- Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”: (Col1:27, 1 John 3:2)
4. You are God’s righteousness- Rom 5:17; righteousness is the nature of God.
5. You have eternal life: in Greek translation of the word “eternal life” is called“Zoe”, John3:16, John10:10, John20:31.
Our Inheritance in Christ
Eph 1:11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”
1. All things are yours: 1Co 3:21 “Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;” (Heb1:1-2, Rom8:17, Ps115:16).
2. Divine health: Isaiah 53:4-5, 1Peter2:24, Rom8:10-11
3. Prosperity and abundance: 3 John3:16, 2 Cor8:9
REFERENCE MATERIALS/STUDY GUIDE
· Your rights in Christ
· Christ consciousness (video cd) by pastor Chris
· Fruits of redemption (video cd) by pastor Chris
· Non of these diseases(book) by pastor Chris
· Recreating your world(book)by pastor Chris
· Who is a Christian (video cd) by pastor Chris
· Why in the world did Jesus come? (video cd) by pastor Chris
· The overcoming life (video cd) by Pastor Chris.