Our New Creation in Christ & sin

• People are born spiritually dead with the condition of sin. It is the charge of the action of sin that does not currently exist (from God or the law). God holds nothing against anyone so they can freely experience the grace of His kindness which leads them to trust Jesus. Not everyone is born again but God makes it as easy as possible to be by removing sin as a spiritual barrier & having no wrath for the time being for anyone.
• Baptism is a picture of burial & resurrection with Christ. My understanding is that all spiritually died with Christ on the cross, "Christ died for all, and therefore all died" (2 Corinthians 5:14). However you are not raised until you first trust in Jesus. That raising is new birth. New birth is exclusively spiritual. Your new born spirit cannot sin because it is "one spirit with God" (1 Corinthians 6:17). The issue of sin was taken care of on the cross. We trust God and thank God that He has handled sin for us. Eternal life is about relationship. Jesus said in John 17:3, "This is eternal life, to intimately know God the Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent."
• "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8)
• 1 John 1 is a description of how to be saved in the first place. One must acknowledge their sinful state to recognize that Christ has already taken their sin upon Himself. 1 John 1 is not a continuing description of Christians whom God has rebirthed & cleansed forever. Christians have no sin. They are in Christ & "in Him there is no sin." (1 John 3:5)
• My stance on 1 John 3:6,9 & 1 John 5:18 is that it speaks of the Christian's spirit, their true identity. It says, "Whoever is born of God cannot sin."  The only part of us that is born of God is our spirit, Jesus makes that clear in John 3. There is no doubt to me that these scriptures speak of spiritual identity & not of temporal flesh based morality.
  
• If these scriptures meant "Christians cannot continually sin" how do you define continually? Is that to be left up to man's interpretation? How I see these scriptures don't leave a gaping whole of "how much sin is enough sin to be considered "continually"? The interpretation that this means "Christians cannot continually sin" points to man's performance in the flesh rather than the rebirth of the spirit through the work of Christ. It is utterly sin conscious.
• Can a disciple of Jesus Christ look at a woman lustfully?
  I would say no.
  
• The bible says to not regard anyone (including yourself) according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). The Christian's spirit is their true & sole identity & it cannot sin. It is "perfected forever by the one time sacrifice of Christ" (Hebrews 10:14).
  
• A disciple of Jesus Christ, through unrenewed parts of their mind (which is flesh), can offer their eyes (part of their flesh) to sin (Romans 6:13). God does not charge them with sin because of this. He doesn't add plus one to the sin ledger, He doesn't get offended (angry), He doesn't break fellowship, He doesn't condemn, disgrace, shame, or convict (convict means to declare guilty). He doesn't require you to ask for forgiveness or to "turn from sin."
  
• As a disciple pays attention to the Spirit God will walk them out of doing such a thing (it could take a very long time before the eyes are no longer offered to sin). God's loving kindness is able to change us without charging us with sin.
• Walk by the spirit which is your true (sinless) identity in Christ or walk by the flesh which causes you to treat others unlovingly through lies etc. My manifested actions do not change my identity nor are the sinful actions caused by it.
  
• 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "He who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." If you think a Christian's spirit can produce sin you believe God can produce sin. Is God's Spirit sinful?
• We have both the flesh & the spirit but I am only identified by one.
  
• "YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH BUT IN THE SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you."  (Romans 8:9)
  
• That means all Christians are exclusively in the spirit because all of us have His spirit in us.
  
• "Because Christ died for all we are to no longer identify anyone according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16).
  
• Our identity is our spirit, that is how God identifies us and how God wants us to identify ourselves.
  
• "Your new man (spirit) has been created in the likeness of God. You truly are right with God. You were made righteous, pure, guiltless, innocent, faultless, and holy" (Ephesians 4:24).
• I am not saying we do not have flesh. I am upholding the idea that we are to walk by the spirit/not the flesh. If the spirit is bad why walk by it?
  
• Sin is never sourced in or credited to our spirit, which is our sole identity. Our flesh (if we walk by it) produces sin.
  The flesh we have can produce sin but our spirit cannot. Our spirit is one Spirit with God.
  
• If you actually believe Christ is our new identity how then do you believe we can sin with that identity? Christ does not serve out sin (Galatians 2:17), we are in Him.
  
• If God sees us as he sees Christ WHY SHOULD WE SEE OURSELVES ANY DIFFERENT? Why should I not see myself with God's perfect eyes?
• Did Peter sin when he lied about not being with Jesus?
  
• Yes. Peter had not yet received God's spirit (John 20:22) & Christ had not yet been to the cross.
• Can a child of God sin?
  The answer is no.
  
• A child of God is an eternal spirit that temporarily lives in the flesh. They are responsible for controlling their flesh but are not condemned or charged with sin by God if they do a bad job.
  
• "No one who is born of God practices sin, BECAUSE GOD'S SEED ABIDES IN HIM; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9)
  
• "You have been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed" (1 Peter 1:23).
  
• Sin corrupts. Sin cannot touch our spirit.
  
• "YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH BUT IN THE SPIRIT, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you." (Romans 8:9)
  
• This isn't talking about physical locality but identity.
  
• "Because Christ died for all we are to no longer identify anyone according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16).
  
• You empower sin by holding onto it as part of your identity.
• Perfect Spirits
• In spirit we are perfect but our consciousness resides in the flesh. Our mind is the bridge between the spirit & the flesh. When we allow God to renew our minds we walk by the spirit.
  
• His divine power has granted to us EVERYTHING pertaining to life and godliness, THROUGH OUR TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM (2 Peter 1:3-4)
  
• "Everything" means we lack nothing (are perfect) but we cannot experience "everything" or "perfection" unless we have true knowledge of Him.
  
• I say we are perfect in the spirit only. That does not mean we see perfect behavior come out of us all the time. Nor does it mean that our fleshly minds have perfect knowledge. Our spirits have the mind of Christ. Our spirits "know all things" (1 John 2:20) but we cannot access that knowledge & righteousness if our fleshly minds are ignorant (unrenewed).
  
• "The spirits of righteous men have been made perfect" (Hebrews 12:22-23).
• "I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." (Romans 7:15,19)
  
• I once experienced the struggle Romans 7 talks about when I believed I was a sinner. But now that I truly walk by the spirit (which doesn't simply mean to act moral or obey the law, it means to know & focus on the spirit of God & what he has birthed as our spirit) I never experience the condition of Romans 7 but the freedom & empowered state spoken of in Romans 8 where I never have condemnation, guilt, or shame.
  
• Twice in Romans 7 (17 & 20) Paul says, "It is no longer I who sin but sin living in me that sins." He is saying "I no longer sin." "I do not sin anymore." "When you see sin come out of my person it is not me who is doing it. I am not the cause or the source. I no longer produce sin." This gels perfectly with 1 John 3:9 which says someone who is born of God cannot produce sin. I can rightly say, "I, being a child of God, no longer sin."
  
• "It is no longer I who sin but sin living in me that sins," has to be speaking of either the flesh, the mind (soul), the spirit, or some combination of those. Certainly it is at the very least talking about the spirit. IT MUST BE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THEM or Paul is a liar & you must throw out his writings.
  
• I no longer sin. Sin in my flesh still produces sinful actions if I don't walk by spirit but I, in my new spiritual identity in Christ, do not sin. Why? Because a birth establishes a new identity. "Your new creation has been created in God’s image. It is righteous and holy" (Ephesians 4:24).
  
• "From now on we identify NO ONE according to the flesh (what else is there left to identify by but the spirit?). If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things PASSED AWAY; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) That new creature is new because it has been recently born. Jesus said in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." New birth exclusively concerns the spirit because "A man cannot be born when he is old. He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born" (John 3:4). Our new creation is our spirit, we are not to identify ourselves according to the flesh. Don't hold onto the flesh as part of your identity, doing so empowers the enemy.
  
• If "It is not I who sins but the sin living in me that sins," as Paul says in Romans 7:17,20, then who is responsible for the sins?
  
• While there are various instigators for unloving actions (sin, Satan, the law, the body, lies that are believed) the unrenewed mind, which is flesh, is ultimately responsible for those actions occurring.
• If you don't put to death the DEEDS of the flesh sin is going to come out of your body. If you don't mow the lawn it is going to continue to grow & get longer. Putting to death the deeds of the flesh is like mowing the lawn.
  
• Renewing your mind is like uprooting the grass & plowing the dirt so sin will never grow there again. The less renewed your mind is the more unloving actions will show up in your behavior.
• Truly it is not you, as a spiritual child of God, sinning. If sinful actions come out in your behavior it is your unrenewed mind that does not cut them off. Your mind is the bridge between the flesh & the spirit. The unrenewed parts of your mind are paved with old flesh. The renewed parts of your mind are paved with spirit.
• Your mind can be used as a lawnmower, plow, or seed sowing hand. The unrenewed mind lets the grass grow. A partially spiritual area of the mind only mows the grass. A renewed area of the mind plows the land to prevent grass from growing in that area again. A fully renewed area of the mind sows good seed into the soil for fruit bearing life.
• The love of the spirit, through renewed parts of the mind, takes responsibility for the unloving actions caused by the flesh & makes amends with the parties harmed. Christ made amends for our actions & relationally He continues to do so through us who walk by spirit.
• So our spiritual identity in Christ isn't a false excuse to "get off the hook" for how we behave. It is our reborn identity perfectly loved by God that, given the opportunity, flows out only good things. It is our true self, our eternal self. It is not self-centered nor does it make excuses for the flesh's behavior. It is one spirit with God(1 Corinthians 6:17 & Ephesians 4:4) . It is God living in us, & with us, & through us. I will accept nothing less than the identity I know I was born into by the Spirit of God. I am not a sinner. I am perfected forever. I am perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect. I am one with God because He wanted to love me & I let Him. The fact that nothing can separate you from His love means you are already in His love. Absolutely nothing ever stands between you & His love. Trust Him & let Him love you as He wants to love you.

Fearing the Truth

I don't have the impression that truth is dangerous & to be avoided. Are we to think that everyone that Paul wrote Romans & Corinthians to, or everyone Hebrews was written to, or everyone that 1 John was written to were all mature enough to "handle the truth"?

Paul said to the Romans "I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh" & he goes on to speak some of the most solid & amazing spiritual perfection language in all of scripture.

In 1 Corinthians Paul calls the people "babes" yet still hands out to them major things in 2 Corinthians such as "God is no longer charging people with sin" (5:19-20), & "we identify no one according to the flesh (5:16)."

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 isn't meat, it is as pure & simple as the gospel gets & Paul speaks of the new creation (spirit) in this same context.
"From now on we identify no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; look, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the service of reconciliation, which is that, "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their (the world's) sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."'

Is it dangerous for people to pick up the bible and read it? How does the truth lead someone astray? Why would we rather put the light of the gospel & our new creation in Christ under a bushel OUT OF FEAR than we would shine it?

Are we to be afraid of God's perfect love which doesn't charge people with sin & makes His children born spiritually perfect? Or are we to be so afraid of sin, whose power Christ destroyed, that we hush up about the goodness of God? Are we to be more afraid of the power of the enemy to lead people astray with the truth than we are to trust in God that He will use the truth to set them free?

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who trusts" (Romans 1:16). I trust the power of the true gospel far more than I trust that the enemy can distort its results. False gospels ruin people. The true gospel makes people whole.

I've never seen a single person ruined by the God's honest truth. People who fear the truth of grace still bask in a self-righteous mindset. They think that people shouldn't be taught about Christ's righteousness given to us until they can "handle the truth" & not go out acting however they want. They are afraid that knowledge of grace will cause people to behave badly. So what if it does? Would you rather someone believe a lie & be ignorant of the truth & behave morally for a time or someone know the truth of God's love & behave immorally for a time? The first entrusts people to themselves and their own performance. The second entrusts people to God & the power of His truth. For whatever reason people are so afraid of someone "sinning" that they'd rather keep them in the dark instead of exposing them to the light of God's love, the same love that is the only thing that truly changes people.

Romans 7, Rebirth, & Renewed Minds

"I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." (Romans 7:15,19)

I once experienced the struggle Romans 7 talks about when I believed I was a sinner. But now that I truly walk by the spirit (which doesn't simply mean to act moral or obey the law, it means to know & focus on the spirit of God & what he has birthed as our spirit) I never experience the condition of Romans 7 but the freedom & empowered state spoken of in Romans 8 where I never have condemnation, guilt, or shame.

Twice in Romans 7 (17 & 20) Paul says, "It is no longer I who sin but sin living in me that sins." He is saying "I no longer sin." "I do not sin anymore." "When you see sin come out of my person it is not me who is doing it. I am not the cause or the source. I no longer produce sin." This gels perfectly with 1 John 3:9 which says someone who is born of God cannot produce sin. I can rightly say, "I, being a child of God, no longer sin."

"It is no longer I who sin but sin living in me that sins," has to be speaking of either the flesh, the mind (soul), the spirit, or some combination of those. Certainly it is at the very least talking about the spirit. IT MUST BE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THEM or Paul is a liar & you must throw out his writings.

I no longer sin. Sin in my flesh still produces sinful actions if I don't walk by spirit but I, in my new spiritual identity in Christ, do not sin. Why? Because a birth establishes a new identity. "Your new creation has been created in God’s image. It is righteous and holy" (Ephesians 4:24).

"From now on we identify NO ONE according to the flesh (what else is there left to identify by but the spirit?). If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things PASSED AWAY; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) That new creature is new because it has been recently born. Jesus said in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." New birth exclusively concerns the spirit because "A man cannot be born when he is old. He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born" (John 3:4). Our new creation is our spirit, we are not to identify ourselves according to the flesh. Don't hold onto the flesh as part of your identity, doing so empowers the enemy.

If "It is not I who sins but the sin living in me that sins," as Paul says in Romans 7:17,20, then who is responsible for the sins?
While there are various instigators for unloving actions (sin, Satan, the law, the body, lies that are believed) the unrenewed mind, which is flesh, is ultimately responsible for those actions occurring.

If you don't put to death the DEEDS of the flesh sin is going to come out of your body. If you don't mow the lawn it is going to continue to grow & get longer. Putting to death the deeds of the flesh is like mowing the lawn. Renewing your mind is like uprooting the grass & plowing the dirt so sin will never grow there again. The less renewed your mind is the more unloving actions will show up in your behavior.

Truly it is not you, as a spiritual child of God, sinning. If sinful actions come out in your behavior it is your unrenewed mind that does not cut them off. Your mind is the bridge between the flesh & the spirit. The unrenewed parts of your mind are paved with old flesh. The renewed parts of your mind are paved with spirit.

Your mind can be used as a lawnmower, plow, or seed sowing hand. The unrenewed mind lets the grass grow. A partially spiritual area of the mind only mows the grass. A renewed area of the mind plows the land to prevent grass from growing in that area again. A fully renewed area of the mind sows good seed into the soil for fruit bearing life.

The love of the spirit, through renewed parts of the mind, takes responsibility for the unloving actions caused by the flesh & makes amends with the parties harmed. Christ made amends for our actions & relationally He continues to do so through us who walk by spirit. So our spiritual identity in Christ isn't a false excuse to "get off the hook" for how we behave. It is our reborn identity perfectly loved by God that, given the opportunity, flows out only good things. It is our true self, our eternal self. It is not self-centered nor does it make excuses for the flesh's behavior. It is one spirit with God (1 Corinthians 6:17 & Ephesians 4:4). It is God living in us, & with us, & through us. I will accept nothing less than the identity I know I was born into by the Spirit of God. I am not a sinner. I am perfected forever. I am perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect. I am one with God because He wanted to love me & I let Him. The fact that nothing can separate you from His love means you are already in His love. Absolutely nothing ever stands between you & His love. Trust Him & let Him love you as He wants to love you.


Related Posts
Commentary on Romans 7 by Andrew Wommack

Self-Focus is God-Focus

As a Christian, because of Christ, I have a good self. In order to walk by the spirit I must acknowledge the good self (spirit, identity) that God has given me. My spiritual identity is in fact my only identity in God's eyes. Thus it is my only identity, it is my only "self." If you must talk about selfishness I think self-centred is a better word to use than selfish. Jesus had the greatest self ever but He was not self-centered. The opposite of self-centeredness is love for others. If I focus on self to the exclusion of others that is a harmful thing.

Jesus knew who He was and the importance of what He came to do. If He was not confident that He was the Son of God everything would have been in disarray. Likewise we must have confidence in the fact that we are His children & confidence in what it means to be born of God. The idea that I should degrade myself is sick, satanic, & useless (Colossians 2:18,23). For the Christian a focus on our true self (our only "self" as God sees us) is a good thing and is actually a focus on God. If I rejoice about my identity in Christ it is all because of what Christ has given me & done for me.

An amazing thing to do is to also rejoice in how God sees other people, about their true identity in Christ especially when they treat you poorly. We who are in Christ are equally loved, equally holy, equally righteous, & equally perfected whether we can see it or not. To see someone through the eyes of Christ disarms your negative thoughts and emotions towards them. If we have an awareness of sin, that is if we count sins & label things as sin, it is impossible for us to see anyone, including ourselves, as God sees us. God has taken the world's sin away. He has removed it from people so now He does not regard anyone according to their flesh based actions. God knows this is best for us too. Not regarding people according to their flesh based actions changes how you treat people. You cannot judge or compare by pride. You simply love because you are loved & they are loved. God's love is like butter, it is better when spread.

God is not mocked. - Avoid Flesh Renovation

God is not mocked.
Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, he will also reap."

Most take this to mean, "You better not mock God by sinning or He'll punish you."  But I think "God is not mocked" shares meaning with 2 Corinthians 5:19, "God does not count sins against you."  Literally God is not mocked.  God is not counting anything you do against you, but you will still receive the consequences of your actions.

It goes on to say in 6:8, "The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."  Jesus said in John 17:3 that eternal life can be defined as "knowing God" or "relationship with God."  So if you sow to the spirit (trust in God, set your mind on the spirit) you will know God more & grow an ever improving relationship with Him.

Avoid Flesh Renovation
"The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6).

The flesh is your physical body & mind. It is what produces sin.  Your spirit is "born in the likeness of God" (Ephesians 4:24).  It cannot produce sin (1 John 3:9).  You don't want to attempt a flesh renovation, not even based on the commands of scripture.  Attempting a flesh renovation is "sowing to your flesh."  Focusing on the negative qualities & behaviors of yourself or others will cause you to lack peace & reap corruption (an inferior, harmful life).  Focus on God & who He has made you in your new born spirit & as Philippians 2:13 says, "God will work in you to desire & to act according to His good pleasure."

Rebirth and Perfection

I found some very interesting insight from The Merged Gospels.

Matthew 5:48 Merged with Luke 6:35-36
"You will be sons of the Highest, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. You will therefore be merciful, as your Father is also merciful; perfect, even as your Father Who is in Heaven is perfect."

Very telling. Taking these scriptures together we can see that perfection is linked to spiritual rebirth! Let us fast forward the language to apply to a post-resurrection child of God.
"You are sons of the Highest. You are perfect, even as your Father Who is in Heaven is perfect."

Reminds me of these:
"Your new man (spirit) is created in the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24)
"By one offering Jesus has perfected for all time those who are made holy" (Hebrews 10:14)
"The spirits of righteous men have been made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23)

You might be thinking, "I don't feel perfect or act perfect." That is because you are looking at your flesh (body/mind) rather than your spirit. Your spirit cannot produce sin (1 John 3:9, 5:18). The bible talks about "walking by the spirit" by "setting your mind on the spirit" (Romans 8:6). When you walk by the spirit you "will not carry out the harmful desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Walking by the Spirit may, not only refer to the Holy Spirit but also your spirit that is "created in the likeness of God" because "the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).

"The mind set on the spirit is life and peace"
(Romans 8:6)

Our True Identity & True Victory

As a Christian God does not identify you by your behavior but by the fact that you have a reborn spirit, that you are His child. God's children have been "perfected for all time" (Hebrews 10:14). You are perfect in God's eyes and God's eyes are the ones that count not our human eyes that judge everything based on behavior.

Romans 10:4 tells us, "Jesus Christ is the end of the law for everyone who trusts Him." Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no sin." Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law." We still do harmful things but Jesus took sin away, He nailed it to the cross with the law.

"Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but Jesus who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 3:5-6,9; 5:18)

That is talking about you Christians, your spirit (the only part of you that is born of God) is perfect and sinless. That is what it means to be a child of God. The bible says to not regard anyone, including yourself, according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). While my flesh still produces harmful actions I am perfect. I am sinless. Just like Jesus prayed for me to be in John 17:11 I am one with God. If you are a child of God you are too. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, "Because Jesus rose from the dead we are not in our sins!!" We are IN CHRIST.

Your victory is Christ's victory. He has already won. You just need to grow in understanding of His love so you can join in His victory party. Your mind doesn't have to be fully straight & your heart doesn't have to be strong. He won for the harassed and helpless. Join me & celebrate in Jesus's victory party!


Related Posts:
God's Old Target, Our Own Targets, Jesus's Victory Party
Sin? Forgetaboutit!

We Are Free Spirits Living in Flesh and Bone

Whoever trusts that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1).

At salvation we receive a new and living spirit that is born of God. Who we really are is our spirit. To call yourself a child of God is to identify yourself by your spirit. God calls us His children and exclusively identifies us by our spirit. Our spirits are righteous, holy, pure, clean, perfect, sinless, and so much more.

When our spirit is born from above we do not lose our flesh. Our flesh is our physical body which is genetically hardwired to sin. With God we are to put to death the deeds of the flesh, refuse to offer our body parts to sin, & allow our mind to be renewed. With these things, mainly allowing God to renew our mind, our outward actions will meet our inward reality. We will "rewire" our flesh.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-3 our body, the flesh, is called a tent. A tent is a temporary but portable dwelling place. Our body, including our mind, is a faulty tent that needs repairs. We carry it with us until we die. We aren't supposed to determine our identity based on the flesh because God does not identify us that way. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). "We are not in the flesh but in the Spirit because the Spirit of God lives in us. We belong to God" (Romans 8:9). "Because Christ died for all we no longer regard anyone according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Romans 8:20,23 says, "The creation itself ALSO will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the (spirit born) children of God. We groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for the redemption of our body." We are alredy set free in spirit but the physical world and our physical bodies are not. Why didn't Jesus fix the physical world at the cross too? 2 Corinthians 4 tells us, "We have this treasure (the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the person of Christ) in jars of clay (earthen vessels, our flesh, our body) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." God chose to display His strength in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) so people would know that it is God who works in us to love (Philippians 2:13). Seeing His kindness through us leads them to trust Him (Romans 2:4) to receive His love and His strength.

We, who we really are in our spirit, are dead to (separated from) sin but our flesh is not. Sin cannot stain your spirit. Sin is not a spiritual issue with the Christian. God removed that issue when Christ died for us. Sin is only a humanly relational, physical, & practical issue. It is only an issue between you & God if you don't understand your total forgiveness & new identity in Christ. Even then God is not charging you with sin or counting anything against you. You are just walking in ignorance unable to experience your freedom in Christ. Your ignorance, mistrust, or disbelief are the only possible barriers between you and God. But that doesn't make what Christ did for you less true nor does it mean that God is creating or validating any barriers. You just cannot experience the joy of that truth if you are unaware of it or don't trust it to be true.

The Christian life is very simple and relational. It in many ways works just like normal life except there are many aspects that seem too good to be true. When you trust that they are true you get to enjoy those aspects. If you don't know the truth or trust the truth then the truth doesn't make you aware of your freedom. We are already set free but so many of us have not walked out of our perceived prison cell to enjoy our freedom.