17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
Philippians 1:23-25 reveals that if a believer dies and leaves his body, he will be with Christ which is far better or more glorious than being in the flesh. This clearly shows that man is much more than a bundle of flesh, for if man dies and leaves the body that’s not the end of him. Man is more than a bundle of flesh; he is more than flesh and blood. Indeed, man is a spirit being that has a soul and lives in the body. When you got saved (born again), the man that got saved is the man of the heart, the inward man, your spirit being. That’s the real man. That’s the man that is instructed by the Spirit of God to know and understand the will of God concerning divine guidance; that’s the man with whom the Spirit of God bears witness regarding the will of God per time. That’s the inward man; that’s the man within. That’s the man that got born again. That’s the man that received eternal life at new birth; that’s the man that is changed and transformed from glory to glory. Our opening Scripture reveals that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. In John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The man that got born again is the man of the heart. So, if you are a Christian, you are a new creature in Christ and you are of God. Your spirit has the nature of God; you are born of Him.
1 John 4:4 says “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” The Christian has a divine essence that is of God; it is called eternal life – the life of God. Eternal life is sourced in God; it is the life of God Himself, the life that God possesses and gave to us at new birth, when we got born again. Jesus speaking in John 10:10b says, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The life of God is resident in the believer. The same quality of life that God has, is what the believer in Christ has and lives by. When a believer gets filled with the Holy Spirit, he becomes energized by the Holy Spirit to give unrestricted expression to this new life. This is the life you possess as a child of God. You are not just your body, you are a spirit being like God; therefore, your spirit must gain ascendancy over your body. You need to learn to respond to the promptings of God deep within your spirit. As a child of God, you are to put your body under by the strength of the Holy Spirit within you. You must never allow your body to control you; don’t let your body rule you. Refuse to be sensual! You must always be in charge. The spirit man, the real you, must always be in control. You don’t do things because you ‘feel’ like. Feeling is not faith, but the just shall live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). When your spirit receives a word from the Lord, you believe it and act it out. You don’t allow your flesh to call the shots. This is how to walk with God by faith. Whatever God has said to you, your spirit receives it as your present hour reality, you believe God that it is so and your body receives the signal of accomplishment, victory, with rejoicing and celebration and translates the same to action.
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I declare that I am walking in the light of the Word. I respond to my new nature in Christ; I walk by faith and not by sight! Amen!
Further Meditation:
James 1:18; 1 Corinthians 9:27.