It’s All Yours!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
6 This is the one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 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. (1 John 5:6-13)
6 This is the one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 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. (1 John 5:6-13)
Can you be partly a new creation and partly an old one? It certainly feels like it, doesn’t it? We so often make the wrong choices that we can feel as much like sinners as like saints. We don’t feel very holy, so it’s easy to come to the conclusion that, although we may be becoming a new creation, we’re not there yet.
However, the truth is far more profound than that. The Apostle Paul explains that, if you are a Christian, you are already a completely brand-new creation. The old you is dead. Your inner being has been completely transformed! If you still think of yourself as a sinner, then what are you likely to do? Sin! That’s why it is so important that we believe Paul’s statement that the old us is dead and gone, and that our relationship with sin has therefore been completely transformed. The power of sin over us is broken, and though we still slip up from time to time, we are not bound to sin. It is not inevitable. We are holy ones who sometimes sin, not sinners who are sometimes holy.
We have all tried to behave differently, but how long does that really last? Are there any New Year’s Resolutions that we haven’t broken already? One of the fundamental principles in the New Testament is that the Christian life is not primarily about how we behave, but about what we believe. The key is knowing the truth – choosing to believe the truth even when it doesn’t feel true – which then works its way out into our behaviour. Choose to believe today that you are already a brand-new creation, even if you don’t feel like one.
If you need more help to do so, then have a look at the words which the Apostle John wrote, which echo those of Paul. He teaches us that Jesus died and rose again for us (depicted by the waters of his baptism and then by his blood shed on the cross for us). When we are baptised in water as a physical expression of our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit counts our water baptism as union with Jesus in his death and resurrection. He becomes a spring of living water in our hearts, pumping out eternal life into every corner of our being. John doesn’t tell us that one day we will receive eternal life. He assures us that it is ours already! “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.”
Wow. It is all ours already! What a Gospel and what a Saviour! What great hope for us today!
However, the truth is far more profound than that. The Apostle Paul explains that, if you are a Christian, you are already a completely brand-new creation. The old you is dead. Your inner being has been completely transformed! If you still think of yourself as a sinner, then what are you likely to do? Sin! That’s why it is so important that we believe Paul’s statement that the old us is dead and gone, and that our relationship with sin has therefore been completely transformed. The power of sin over us is broken, and though we still slip up from time to time, we are not bound to sin. It is not inevitable. We are holy ones who sometimes sin, not sinners who are sometimes holy.
We have all tried to behave differently, but how long does that really last? Are there any New Year’s Resolutions that we haven’t broken already? One of the fundamental principles in the New Testament is that the Christian life is not primarily about how we behave, but about what we believe. The key is knowing the truth – choosing to believe the truth even when it doesn’t feel true – which then works its way out into our behaviour. Choose to believe today that you are already a brand-new creation, even if you don’t feel like one.
If you need more help to do so, then have a look at the words which the Apostle John wrote, which echo those of Paul. He teaches us that Jesus died and rose again for us (depicted by the waters of his baptism and then by his blood shed on the cross for us). When we are baptised in water as a physical expression of our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit counts our water baptism as union with Jesus in his death and resurrection. He becomes a spring of living water in our hearts, pumping out eternal life into every corner of our being. John doesn’t tell us that one day we will receive eternal life. He assures us that it is ours already! “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.”
Wow. It is all ours already! What a Gospel and what a Saviour! What great hope for us today!
1) What do you make of the statement just now that the Christian life is not primarily about how we behave, but about what we believe?
2) How do you feel about the statement that the key to the Christian life is choosing to believe the truth of God’s Word even when it doesn’t feel true?
3) Which areas of truth do you find hardest to believe? Let’s repeat those truth declarations out loud again together. If any of them are more difficult for you to say than others, ask the Lord to help you to believe them:
I renounce the lie that I am rejected, unloved, or shameful. In Christ I am accepted.
I am God's child (see John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (see John 15:15)
I have been justified (see Romans 5:1)
I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him (see 1 Corinthians 6:17)
I have been bought with a price: I belong to God. (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
I am a member of Christ's Body (see 1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a saint, a holy one (see Ephesians 1:1)
I have been adopted as God's child (see Ephesians 1:5)
I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 2:18)
I have been forgiven of all my sins (see Colossians 1:14)
I am complete in Christ (see Colossians 2:10)
I renounce the lie that I am guilty, unprotected, alone, or abandoned. In Christ I am secure.
I am free from condemnation (see Romans 8:1-2)
I am assured that all things work together for good (see Romans 8:28)
I am free from all condemning charges against me (see Romans 8:31-34)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (see Romans 8:35-39)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (see 2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected (see Philippians 1:6)
I am a citizen of heaven (see Philippians 3:20)
I am hidden with Christ in God (see Colossians 3:3)
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control (see 2 Timothy 1:7)
I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16)
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (see 1 John 5:18)
I renounce the lie that I am worthless, inadequate, helpless, or hopeless. In Christ I am significant.
I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world (see Matthew 5:13-14)
I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus, a channel of His life (see John 15:1-5)
I have been chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit (see John 15:16)
I am a personal, Spirit-empowered witness of Christ (see Acts 1:8)
I am a temple of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
I am a fellow worker with God (see 2 Corinthians 6:1)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (see Ephesians 2:6)
I am God's workmanship, created for good works (see Ephesians 2:10)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (see Ephesians 3:12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (see Philippians 4:13)
I am not the great "I Am", but by the grace of God I am what I am (see 1 Corinthians 15:10)
2) How do you feel about the statement that the key to the Christian life is choosing to believe the truth of God’s Word even when it doesn’t feel true?
3) Which areas of truth do you find hardest to believe? Let’s repeat those truth declarations out loud again together. If any of them are more difficult for you to say than others, ask the Lord to help you to believe them:
I renounce the lie that I am rejected, unloved, or shameful. In Christ I am accepted.
I am God's child (see John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (see John 15:15)
I have been justified (see Romans 5:1)
I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him (see 1 Corinthians 6:17)
I have been bought with a price: I belong to God. (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
I am a member of Christ's Body (see 1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a saint, a holy one (see Ephesians 1:1)
I have been adopted as God's child (see Ephesians 1:5)
I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 2:18)
I have been forgiven of all my sins (see Colossians 1:14)
I am complete in Christ (see Colossians 2:10)
I renounce the lie that I am guilty, unprotected, alone, or abandoned. In Christ I am secure.
I am free from condemnation (see Romans 8:1-2)
I am assured that all things work together for good (see Romans 8:28)
I am free from all condemning charges against me (see Romans 8:31-34)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (see Romans 8:35-39)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (see 2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected (see Philippians 1:6)
I am a citizen of heaven (see Philippians 3:20)
I am hidden with Christ in God (see Colossians 3:3)
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control (see 2 Timothy 1:7)
I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16)
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (see 1 John 5:18)
I renounce the lie that I am worthless, inadequate, helpless, or hopeless. In Christ I am significant.
I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world (see Matthew 5:13-14)
I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus, a channel of His life (see John 15:1-5)
I have been chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit (see John 15:16)
I am a personal, Spirit-empowered witness of Christ (see Acts 1:8)
I am a temple of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
I am a fellow worker with God (see 2 Corinthians 6:1)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (see Ephesians 2:6)
I am God's workmanship, created for good works (see Ephesians 2:10)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (see Ephesians 3:12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (see Philippians 4:13)
I am not the great "I Am", but by the grace of God I am what I am (see 1 Corinthians 15:10)
Father God, speaking these truths over myself is powerful. But speaking them is not enough. I really want to believe them all. I want to pray to you the same prayer that a man prayed to Jesus in Mark 9:24 – “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” As I choose to believe these truths above my own feelings, please transform my heart, Lord. Help me to experience the eternal life that is already mine, welling up like a spring within me by your Spirit. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have been brought to you with help from our friends at Freedom In Christ.
Join our online service at everyday.online
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have been brought to you with help from our friends at Freedom In Christ.
Join our online service at everyday.online