RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL. SERVING IN NEWNESS OF SPIRIT - PASTOR CHRIS OYAKHILOME PHD. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1ST 2016.
For
when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work
in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from
the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that WE SHOULD SERVE IN NEWNESS
OF SPIRIT, and not in the oldness of the letter (Romans 7:5-6).
Our opening scripture is part
of Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, where he admonished them to
serve God in newness of spirit, and not according to the old ways of the flesh.
To serve God in newness of spirit means to serve Him in your present state as
one who’s been recreated in righteousness and true holiness, and not according
to the Law or the senses.
This brings us to an
understanding of what he (Paul)said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things—the old life of the flesh and everything
associated with it—are now passed away, and all things have become new. Being
born again, you have a newness of life; a Spirit-filled, Spirit-dominated, and
Spirit-influenced life.
Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” The old life has been
crucified with Christ. You have now put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). It wasn’t
just a mere change that took place in you when you were born again; it was an
actual spiritual rebirth. It was a translation, a replacement, or supplanting
of the old life with which you were born by your parents, with the
indestructible life of God. It’s a brand new life.
This new life in you transcends
all the distractions and debilitating influences of the earthly realm. Romans
6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.” The expression, “newness of life” doesn’t
refer to, or suggest, are newed life in terms of reworking or refurbishing what
was there before; no. It actually means that the old life has been completely
replaced by a new one that never existed before.
Moreover, this new life is
higher and different in quality from the human life, because it has its origin
in God. Your old nature was taken away the moment you confessed Jesus Christ as
your Lord, and now, you’ve been raised to a newness of life, to serve God in
newness of spirit.
CONFESSION
Dear Father, thank you for bringing
me into a newness of life, a life that transcends this physical realm! I
declare that the failures, defeats, and troubles associated with the old nature
are passed away, and I’ve put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after Christ, in Jesus ’Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY
.
|| Ephesians 4:22-24
.
|| Ephesians 4:22-24
That
ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness. ||
|| Colossians 3:9-10
Lie
not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him that created him: ||
Daily Scripture Reading
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: John
16:17-33,
1 Chronicles 7-8
1 Chronicles 7-8
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: 1
Corinthians 15:1-10,
Proverbs 28
Proverbs 28
Comments
Post a Comment