My Regeneration by Identification and Transformation through the Finished work of Jesus Christ – His Divine exchange with Me
Dear Jesus of Nazareth,[i] the promised Messiah,[ii] the Savior of the world,[iii] You sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[iv] You, the spotless Lamb Who knew no sin,[v] became sin at Calvary on my behalf to make the new me the righteousness of God in You.[vi] You redeemed me from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for me on the cross to give the new me the blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith.[vii] By Your perfect sacrifice, You purchased me and washed away all my sins in Your Blood[viii] and I now belong to You[ix] and live by grace though Your gift of faith (believing, trusting, relying, resting) in You.[x]
By that faith, which is the assurance of things being hoped for and the conviction of things not seen,[xi] I can now see that my former self was crucified with You[xii] and passed away (ceased existing). Consequently, I became a new creation[xiii] and an heir of God with You.[xiv] Now I live, yet no longer I, but You live Your divine life in and through me, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. The life I now live in my body I live by faith in You, Lord Jesus, Who proved Your love for me by giving Yourself up on my behalf.[xv]
Accordingly, I gratefully accept and rejoice in the revelation that I am no longer my former self but that your resurrection regenerated a new me.[xvi]* As the Firstborn among many brothers,[xvii]** You qualified me to be as a member of Your elect race, the people of God,[xviii] a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Your purchased possession,[xix] Your own Body.[xx]
Furthermore, when You return in triumphant victory, my whole being – spirit, soul and body – will be fully like You because I shall see You as You are.[xxi] God has done all this through You to prove His steadfast love to me, once and for all, even while I was an in Adam sinner.[xxii]
Father-God sent You, Jesus, born of a woman, to both redeem and justify me by Your blood (which saves me from God’s just wrath)[xxiii] so that He could adopt me as His son.[xxiv] Now, by identification with Your death to the first Adam and with Your resurrection as the last Adam,[xxv]*** I am a reborn child of Father-God.[xxvi] Moreover, because I am now His child, He sent Your Spirit into my heart crying, “Abba! Father!”[xxvii]
Consequently, though I once was of darkness and a child of the devil,[xxviii] I declare Your praises for calling me out of darkness into Your marvelous light,[xxix] thereby making me a sharer of a heavenly calling.[xxx] I am now light in You, empowered to walk as a child of light.[xxxi] Let Your light shine out through me to others as a minister of reconciliation so that they may see Your good works through me and then glorify our heavenly Father.[xxxii]
Being justified by faith in You, I now have peace with Father-God through You, Jesus, as well as access by faith into this grace in which I now stand. I glory in the hope of the glory of God and this hope will not fail me because the love of God has been poured out into my new heart through the Holy Spirit Who You sent to live in me.[xxxiii] I love You because You first loved me[xxxiv] and I now know and believe in the love You have placed in the new me. For, through faith, You now dwell in my new heart, which was rooted and founded in love, so that I have the ability and power through You to grasp what is the breadth and length and depth and height of Your love for me and to personally know Your surpassing knowledge and love.[xxxv]
I thank You for enabling me to abide in You and that You, Who is Love, abide in me. By this, love has been perfected in me so that I can now have confidence (rather than fear) on the day of judgment that, as You are, so also am I in this world. For perfect love for me casts out all fear[xxxvi] of God’s wrath and the punishment that was due to my former in Adam self .[xxxvii] Now, You keep me in perfect peace because my mind is set on You and I trust in You completely[xxxviii] to change me (my outer man) into your likeness from glory to glory.[xxxix]
This glorious salvation, transformation and reconciliation[xl] legally grants the new me the same right standing and confident access to God, my new Father, that You enjoy.[xli]**** Thanks to You, Jesus, Who made me one spirit with Father-God, He is now for me so that nothing and no one can prevail against the new me[xlii] now seated in heaven in You in God.[xliii] Now I am free to wholeheartedly do Your will. Hallelujah to You, O King of all kings and Lord of all lords.[xliv]
[i] John 19:19 “And Pilate also wrote a title and put (it) on the cross. And having been written, it was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
[ii] John 1:41 “… ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which being translated is the Christ.”
[iii] 1 John 4:14 “And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”
[iv] Hebrews 12:2 “… looking to the Author and Finisher of (our) faith, Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured (the) cross, having despised the shame, and sat down at (the) right of the throne of God.”
[v] 1 Peter 1:19 “…but with precious blood of Christ, as of an unblemished and unspotted lamb,” Also see 1 John 1:5.
[vi] 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made the (One) who knew no sin (to be) sin on our behalf, that we might become (the) righteousness of God in Him.” Also see Hebrews 4:15 and Romans 5:17 and 6:18.
[vii] Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it has been written, ‘Cursed is everyone having been hung on a tree;’ that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith.”
[viii] Acts 20:28 and Revelation 1:5-6 and I Corinthians 6:19,20 “… to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased through (His) own blood.” “… To Him loving us and and made us kings and priests to God … .” “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of (the) Holy Spirit in you which you have from God; and you are not of yourselves. For you were bought with a price; then glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are of God.” Also see Colossians 1:14, Ephesians 1:7 and 1 Peter 1:2.
[ix] Galatians 5:24 “But the ones belonging to Christ crucified the flesh with (its) passions and lusts.” Also see Romans 7:4, John 17:9 and Titus 2:14.
[x] Galatians 3:11 “And that no one is justified by law before God (is) clear, because ‘The just (righteous) shall live by faith.’”
[xi] Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is (the) assurance of things being hoped (the) conviction of things not seen.”
[xii] Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I live (yet) no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And the (life) I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, the (One) loving me and giving Himself over on my behalf.”
[xiii] 2 Corinthians 5:17 “So that if anyone (is) in Christ, (he is) a new creation; the old things (former me) passed away; behold, all things have become new and are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ….” Also see Colossians 2:11.
[xiv] Galatians 4:7 “So that you no more are a slave, but a son, and if a son, also an heir of God through Christ.” Also see Romans 8:17.
[xv] Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I live (yet) no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And the (life) I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, the (One) loving me and giving Himself over on my behalf.”
[xvi] Titus 3:5 “…not by works in (self)-righteousness which we had done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through (the) washing of regeneration and renewal of (the) Holy Spirit.”
*Note: The crucifixion of the old man (original self) constitutes a complete removal – not just a remodeling – of the original me. Therefore, I am of a new, regenerated, re-begun, nature, not two natures. The old has passed away, the new has come as 2 Corinthians 5:17 makes clear. The inner battle now is between the new me and the flesh (the remnants or “former programming” of the original me which was circumcised away at rebirth) that still must be reprogrammed through the washing of the Word of God. For more clarification, see the “Note” about the term flesh in Footnote #134 and # 117 and #118 about regeneration.
[xvii] Romans 8:29 “…because whom He foreknew, He also predestinated (to be) conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be (the) First-born among many brothers.” Also see Hebrews 2:11 and Hebrews 2:16.
**Note: While females might find it hard to being called “brothers,” it is no more problematic than for males who are called members of the bride of Christ. Both terms point to a relational dynamic rather than a gender identity. Furthermore, in Galatians 3:28, Paul states that, in Christ, there is no male or female.
[xviii] 1 Peter 2:10a “…(you) who then were not a people, but now (are) the people of God.”
[xix] I Peter 2:9 “But you (are) an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for (God’s) possession, so that you may openly speak of the praises (excellence) of the (One) who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Also see Ephesians 1:14.
[xx] 1 Corinthians 12:27 “And you are Christ’s body and members in part.” Also see Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18.
[xxi] 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and I John 3:2 “And may the God of peace Himself fully sanctify you and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.”
[xxii] Romans 5:8 “But God commends (introduces) His love to us in that we, while being sinners, Christ died for us.” Also see Romans 5:6.
[xxiii] Romans 5:9 “Much more, then, being justified now by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.” Also see 1 Thessalonians 5:10.
[xxiv] Galatians 4:4-5 “…God sent His Son having been born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Also see 1 John 3:1.
[xxv] 1 Corinthians 15:45 “…the last Adam (became) a life-giving Spirit.”
***Note: While the term identification is not found in the Bible per se, the concept it conveys is central to understanding how God operates through the New Covenant. As the term implies, it means to be “identical to” or one with another in some capacity. When Adam fell, the whole human race was included “in Adam,” making us identical in nature to him since he was mankind’s representative. We all received the penalty of his rebellion. When God blessed Abraham, the blessing was also given to all included “in Abraham,” who are all those having the same identity, “his seed,” for coming generations.
Now, the reborn of God have a new identity through identification with Christ, becoming one with Him from the cross to the Ascension. As with Adam and Abraham, it is not what the believer does (beyond receiving this by faith) but belief in what Christ did that gains him the blessings of His finished work through the dynamic of identification. Since nothing depends on us and everything on Jesus Christ, He alone deserves all the credit and therefore all glory, honor and thanksgiving.
[xxvi] Galatians 3:26-27 and 1 John 3:2 “For you are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.”Also see John 1:12, Romans 8:14-16, 1 Peter 3:1 and James 1:18.
[xxvii] Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
[xxviii] John 8:44 “You are from (your) father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to do that one was a manslayer from (the) beginning, and he has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in Him. When he speaks (a) lie, he speaks from (his) own because he is a liar, and the father of it.”
[xxix] I Peter 2:9 “But you (are) an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for (God’s) possession, so that you may openly speak of the praises (excellence) of the (One) who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Also see Romans 1:6 and Revelation 1:5-6.
[xxx] Hebrews 3:1a “For this reason, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling….”
[xxxi] Ephesians 5:8 “… for you then were darkness, but now light in (the) Lord – walk as children of light.” Also see 1 Thessalonians 5:5.
[xxxii] Matthew 5:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:18 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and may glorify your Father in heaven.” “And all things (are) of God, the (One) having reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and having given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” Also see Matthew 5:14.
[xxxiii] Romans 5:1-2 and 5 “Then being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and (we) glory in the hope of the glory of God. … And the hope does not lead to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through (the) Holy Spirit given to us.”
[xxxiv] 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”
[xxxv] Ephesians 3:17-19 “… that through faith, Christ may dwell in your hearts, having been rooted and having been founded in love, that you may be given strength to grasp what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the surpassing knowledge and love of Christ.”
[xxxvi] 1 John 4:16-18 “And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is Love, and the (one) abiding in love abides in God, and God in Him. By this, love has been perfected with us, that we have confidence in the day of judgment, that as He is, also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment (torment) ….”
[xxxvii] Ephesians 2:3 and Romans 5:9 “… among whom also we all conducted ourselves formerly in the lusts of our flesh, doing the things willed of the flesh and of the understanding, and were by nature the children of (God’s) wrath, even as the rest.” “Much more, then, being justified now by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.” Also see 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
[xxxviii] Isaiah 26:3 “You keep in perfect peace him whose mind is set on You, because he trusts in You.” Also see Colossians 3:1-3.
[xxxix] 2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all with unveiled face beholding in a mirror the glory of (the) Lord are being changed (into) the same likeness from glory to glory, as from (the) Lord Spirit.” Also see Romans 8:28-29 and 1 Corinthians 15:49.
[xl] Romans 5:10 “For if (while) being hostile (ones) we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
[xli] John 17:21 and 24 and Ephesians 3:12 “…that all may be one, as You (are) in Me, Father, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent Me.” “Father, I desire that (those) whom You have given Me, that where I am, they may also be with me that they may behold My glory which You gave Me, because You loved Me before (the) foundation of (the) world.” “In whom (Jesus) we have boldness and access (to God) in confidence through His (Jesus) faith.” Also see Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 5:1.
****Note: Right-standing with God is also contained in the concept of “righteousness” (or justification) cited above.
[xlii] Romans 8:31 “… If God is for us, who can be against us?”
[xliii] Ephesians 2:6 and Colossians 3:3 “…and raised (us) up together and seated (us) together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus….” “For you died and your life has been hidden in Christ in God.”
[xliv] Revelation 19:16 “And He has on (His) garment and on His thigh a name having been written; KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Coming Next Week: Chapter 5 The Result of Father God’s Resurrection Power Applied to Me Through Identification with Jesus
life, that is, Jesus himself.