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June 2020

Overcoming the Problem of Failing to

Become What You Are in Christ Jesus

2nd Corinthians 5:17-19, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconcilation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconcilation.”

 The reason many new believers drop-out of church and serving the Lord Jesus is the frustration many experience when they become that New Creature in Christ — having old things pass away and exclaiming, “Behold, all things are become new.”

  Their most common complaint?  Why is it so hard to live the Christian life?

 The question we should all ask ourselves is, Am I what I became — a new creature in Christ?  Have any of my friends and relatives noticed that I have become a new creation in Christ Jesus?  Most believers find it very difficult to live the Christian life.  The answer is that the only person who can live the Christian life is Jesus Christ.  God made us a new creation in Christ, so that HE could live the Christian life in us.

 In talking to many believers through the years, most cannot understand that after BECOMING a Christian, they find it so difficult to be the Christian that they’ve become.  Most have never even been taught of the resources we have by the indwelling presence of our Lord Jesus in us.

1st John 3:8 tells us God’s purpose in redeeming us, “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.“  He came to destroy the effects of the Seed of Adam in us.

 The Bible speaks of two seeds, the Seed of Sinners by Adam and the See of Promise in Jesus Christ.  Having been born as a son of Adam, we are born sinners by nature.  We become a new creation when we are born again of the Seed of Promise in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:18-19, “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.  For as by one man’s disobeciience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Galatians 3:19, “Wherefore then serves the law?  It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” 

Galatians 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

1st John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

 This is what God is trying to explain to us in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 when he tells us, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.“  When we are born again, God’s seed was planted in us by his Spirit, and that new Seed can only Produce Good Fruit, and the Seed of Adam can only produce Bad Fruit.  Nothing good can come out of Adam’s Seed, NOTHING.

Romans 12:2 puts it this way, “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.”  This is how the new seed we have received is to transform us into becoming what we are in Christ Jesus.

Be ye transformed — The Greek word for Metamorphosis, is the same as our English word metamorphosed: transfigured, appear as new persons, with new habits, as God has filled us with his Spirit, whereby we can now worship him in Spirit and in Truth, as how we are told the true worshippers will worship him.

metamorphosis: The life cycle of a butterfly includes a process called metmorphosis where each butterfly goes through 4 stages from an egg to a larva, then to a pupa and finally, they turn into an adult butterfly. These 4 stages of a butter- flies life varies slightly depending on the specific type of butterfly.

 It is similar in the life of a believer.  We are as ugly as a cocoon, but God intends for us to become a beautful butterfly. This is in reference not to the first work of conversion and renovation.  In this sense these persons were transformed, metamorphosed, changed and renewed already.  But the believer continues to progress and grow as we carry on the work of renovation, the renewing of our mind day by day as we read and study God’s Word.  Every believer should be desirous of, and pray for, and make use of those means which the Spirit of God owns us for this purpose.  The new creation in us should be desirous of reading God’s Word, in meditation of his Word, in prayer, and in the ministration of the Word — which is the reverse of being conformed to the world.

 That you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God;  This does not refer to the secret will of God, which cannot be searched into, proved, or known, until time and facts work it out.  It refers to the revealed will of God, as in the hands of Christ, which contains nothing but what is good.  It refers to what we are taught in Romans 8:2, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”  It refers to the perfect law of liberty which is to be proved and approved of by all the saints, who delight in it after the inward man.  It refers to those who are daily renewed in the spirit of their minds, and proved, tried and approved of, even by all such who have their spiritual senses.

 This is the reason why people who seek psychological help are so disappointed.  If people have not been born of the Spirit and do not have the Seed of Christ in them, they are incapable of doing good.  They only have the Seed of Adam which can only produce sin.

 God tells us in Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?  by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

 Many parents and those seeking help ask this question every day, “How can anyone seeking help correct their problem and keep their way pure?” And of course God himself provides us with the answer.  By paying close attention to their manner of life and living their life in response to God’s word.

 God continues to explain to us in Psalms 119:11-12, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statues.”

 When we begin to treasure up the Word of God and keep it stored in our heart, we are promised that it will keep us from sinning against God.  The result will be continual response to God of praise and worship.  It will cause a person to want to learn more of God’s eternal Word.

 Unfortunately, because most Biblically illiterate Christians think that they can live the Christian life apart from God. They cannot.  It is as if someone were to plant a peach seed into the ground, and then be disappointed that the tree did not produce oranges.  The Seed of Adam can only produce after its own kind.  We are told in Romans 8:7-8, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” 

 Our natural mind is in fact the enemy of God.  It is incapable to submit itself to the law of God.  In the same way that the law of the nature of a Peach Seed is incapable of submitting to the Law of an Orange Seed, it is totally incapable of producing oranges.

 This is why every human being needs to have the Seed of God planted within them.

1st John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” 

Galatians 5:24-25, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone No. (918) 279-1136. The name of the original article in the June 2020 issue of Today’s Front Page was “Overcoming the Problem of Failing to Become What You Are in Christ Jesus” www.JohnBarela.com