Changed by God for God
From the moment we say YES to God, He starts to change us from what we were to what He wishes us to be. He changes us from being dead in sin, and unbelief in His Son, to life, belief, trust and faith. An awesome exchange indeed!
First, after saying yes, we become “alive.” Ephesians 2:1-3 explains that “He has made you alive, (you) who were once dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also had our way of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
We also receive a new heart and a new Kingdom oriented set of desires as Ezekiel 36:26 says “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”
This transformation may take an earthly life time and be smooth or difficult, painless or otherwise, but not only is it for our own good, it is mandatory. It is what our God requires of us. Our hearts will be opened to embrace and wallow in His Truth. Recognising God’s Truth, that truth with a capital “T” makes all the pain and discomfort worthwhile. When one recognises His Truth, all else pales into insignificance – all else becomes of no value to us.
We will also develop an insatiable hunger for more of the Lord and a joy to work for Him and His Kingdom, not as a duty or a requirement, but as an act of praise and worship which comes naturally to a transformed heart. We are “born again” and our inner person is being transformed, morphed into a new person for as Jesus tells us in John 3:3 “Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
From the time we become “born-again” God will move us on to become more Christ like as Romans 8:28-30 says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers. But whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
In one sense, in a positional sense, we become perfect immediately, as Romans 4:5 says and we are clothed in righteousness which allows us to stand before God without fear of condemnation, thanks to the propitiational sacrifice of Jesus for us. And as Ephesians 1:3 says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.”
Not only has God changed us inside, we have been changed positionally too, as Ephesians 2:6 tell that God “has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.”
God has not only changed us inside, He has made us alive and sat us in the heavens with Jesus. But there is more! Having declared that, by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus His Son, God has declared us righteous (justified) and just keeps working on us to conforming us, sanctifying us, to the perfect image of His Son. Earlier it was mentioned that we are legally perfect, it is God’s aim to make us so in all other ways, so that, as Colossians 2:10 says “you (we) are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power”.
All this and more, just because we said YES to Jesus, and believed in Him.
Amen.
AMEN, Well done Angus!! May be interesting for you the information of the differance between salvation versus the Kingdom:
Salvation versus the Kingdom.
“Someone asked Jesus: What good deed must I do to have eternal life? Jesus answered this question: keep the commandments. Which ones? the man asked. Jesus replied: You must … I’ve obeyed all these commandments, the young man replied. What else must I do? Jesus told him: If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:16-23)”. This man is asking two different questions and is receiving two different answers.
The first question is about salvation: What must I do to have eternal life? Because this man was living before the victory of Jesus at the mighty cross, the law and the prophets were still applicable, and the answer was: Keep the commandments. The answer for today is: Believe in Me and you will have eternal life as written: “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it (Ephesians 2:8-9)”. The first question is answered, this man has fulfilled the conditions, and has eternal life (his salvation is secure), which is only based on believe, 100% grace and not based on one single work from our side.
The second question is another one in addition: What else must I do? The answer is: If you want to be perfect, … This question is not about salvation at all. Jesus is not judging this man regarding his decision but only suggesting him how to be perfect in addition to his salvation. As a result the consequences “it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” are also not about salvation.
What are the consequences of our choices regarding this “What else must I do”? If you accept the suggestion of Jesus: You will receive a hundred times as much in return, in this very life, from that what you have given up, and in addition eternal life in the world to come (Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29-30). Well, this means a blessing in this very life (living in the Kingdom) and in the world to come eternal life. If you don’t accept the suggestion of Jesus to be perfect: In that case you are missing the blessings in this very life, however you still have eternal life in the world to come, which wasn’t based on our works (being perfect in this second question), but only on grace (the first question). You didn’t built on the foundation and are saved “as through the fire” as written: If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). You are missing the benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven in this very life, for “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:17)”.
The Kingdom of heaven came with Jesus first coming, is spiritual and has many advantages, already in this very life. You will be placed outside the spiritual Kingdom in this very life if you say no to question number two, which is based on our works, to prove your faith and your thankfulness for your salvation. However salvation, eternal life in the world to come is based only on Grace and not on our works. Never mix that.
Please, never ever exclude anyone from eternal life based on human works. Thank You Lord for saving me only by grace and not because I was one of those five out of ten who had enough oil for my lamp (human works).
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
Keep up the Good work and stay blessed,
Kees Heijstek
Dear Kees,
Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated. Will follow up on your comment in detail as soon as I get some time.
Blessings, Angus