Galatians 2:20 (TPT) “My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer lives; for the nails of his cross crucified me with him. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, and dispenses his life into mine!”
I professed my faith in Jesus Christ at the age of 13 at a revival in my community church. Up until that time, I loved the “things” of the Lord, but at that ripe young age, I didn’t have a loving, personal relationship with Him. I was taught early on that I was a sinner saved by God’s grace. That identity seemed to fit because I did sin. With that extremely limited, misinformed view that my identity is rooted in sin and a sinful nature, I frameworked my life in good works to prove how acceptable I was. I found myself even “working” for God to show Him how righteous I was to gain His approval. At fifty, as a young widow, I began Discipleship Counselor training. Admittedly, I didn’t know God was about to turn my belief system upside down and lead me to the beautiful Truths of the New Covenant. The first Truth I was assured of was I am not “just” a sinner saved by grace, but a saint who sometimes sins. The freedom in that major shift led me to believe in the finished work of the cross, a work already accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The reality is my “old man”, as Scripture calls me, with its sinful nature has been co-crucified with Jesus and no longer lives. That profound Truth leads me to choose Christ in the moment.
Romans 6:3-6 (TPT) “Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death?
4 Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. 5 For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.
6 Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.”
Ephesians 4:21-24 (AMP) 21 “Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him],
22 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;
23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],
24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.”
I have been raised into newness of life, out of the kingdom of darkness into the glorious light of Jesus—a saint. I am dead to sin and alive to Christ. Therefore, abolishing the need for approval because God made it plain through His word that I am totally accepted in Christ, the Beloved. I need no other approval. I no longer have to work for acceptance from man because I am fully accepted by a God who sees my sin no more. Does that permit me to sin more? God forbid! It calls me to live out of the Truth of who God says I am, a saint. I can rest in what He has done for me. As I daily depend on Christ, my life is a natural outpouring of my changed nature, the nature of Christ-me in Christ; Him in me. My focus has shifted to Christ and the work that He has already done on the cross, not what I have to do for His approval. What’s my responsibility? Believe! Believe what? My union with Christ, which defines Who He is and Who I am in this world-a life changer.
John 6:28-29 (TPT) They replied, “So what should we do if we want to do God’s work?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work you can do for God starts with believing in the One he has sent.”
1 John 4:17 (AMP) “In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.”
That, my fellow sojourner, is Abundant Life filled with the overflow of God’s grace. A life for me to enjoy, not work for, while I’m on this earth! That is New Covenant Living. Invite Him In to experience these life-giving Truths. He is the Fountain of Life.