The New Creature

The New Creature is a free-moral agent. He is born of the Spirit of God but has the ability to turn away from His Creator. Of course, there are consequences for doing so, but nevertheless, rebellion against the truth is an option.

Colossians 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Why is Christ in you? What is His purpose? Is it just a stamp or seal to acknowledge you as a believer? Or might it be that you are able to live as He did, free from sin and driven by the purpose of God the Father?

It is time to acknowledge the disposition of the New Creature. In doing so, I must deal with erroneous mindsets that (even in the midst of such manna from heaven) have created cracks and grey areas for the born-again believer to be less than perfect. Below are some of the areas we really need to revisit and not only discover but implement the mind of the Father. You must agree that TRUTH İS SUFFICIENT and that it will be the authority in your life.

A. THE CHOICE

I want you to see the New Creature through the eyes of God. Follow me as I take you to some verses, that in the past, you might not have given the credence they deserve.

Romans 8:1-2

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

There is no condemnation (an adverse sentence or damnation) for those who are born of God, who choose to walk after the Spirit and not the flesh. Without saying so, the mindset here is that something other than the willful act of the New Creature leads the believer into sin.

You must accept that it is the New Creature who stands at the point of decision and chooses which direction He is going to travel. He is the one who decides to allow certain things that will gratify the flesh. It is not the flesh that compels Him to do so.

The key of knowledge reveals that you are one person, not two entities living in the same body. There is no old man “alive and well” in your flesh. The old man has been crucified with Christ and the flesh has been circumcised by the Spirit. The Law of Sin and Death has been disannulled by the Law of the Spirit of Life. You cannot even truthfully say, “My flesh made me do it.”

The truth is . . . you are a born-again believer, full of the Holy Ghost, who decides to walk after the flesh. You make a conscious decision to do so. You are not deceived or overtaken by some invisible power of Satan. There is no demon or demonic force that coerces you to disobey. It is your decision and yours alone.

I Timothy 1:19

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

In order to walk after the flesh, you must lay aside your conscience. You must ignore it and continue in self-will. To do so, is to put off the mind of Christ who is able to subdue all desires of the flesh. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins (II Peter 1:9).

I Timothy 4:1-2

1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Tosear means to cauterize with extreme heat or a branding iron. A wound is cauterized to stop the loss of blood. Peter describes the hardness of the heart against things pertaining to righteousness as a searing that stops the voice of your own conscience who is going to always remind you of the commandments of God.

Do not think of the conscience alone as the New Creature. He is the mind of your spirit. He is the seat of the Holy Ghost and the knowledge of God. Your brain is a part of your body, not another person. If it becomes defective or damaged, it is still a part of your body.

Under hypnosis, the mind is under the control of suggestions offered by another. However, the outsider can only make suggestions. Your body has to physically perform the act or deed suggested. The same is true with satanic influence. The devil can only make suggestions that feed the fleshy desires. But it is you who have to lay aside your conscience and perform unrighteousness. The devil cannot make you do it. You decide to turn against the law of your Father and seek after things you want to experience in the flesh.

I Corinthians 6:18

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

The New Creature, or born-again believer, sins against his own body when he commits fornication. Did the flesh rise up in rebellion against God? It is not the body that initiates the sin, it is the New Creature who begins to entertain the thought of experiencing a pleasure in the flesh. The cravings in the body are a direct result of the New Creature soliciting the fleshy mind to aide and abed in His decision to break the law of God. It is then that feelings and emotions of the flesh are gendered. Thus the flesh is not the blame. It has no sinful desire of its own. It was circumcised by the Spirit. The desire to fornicate was created by the behavior of the New Man.

I taught many years ago that wrong thinking is the root of all sin. The New Man was instructed as to how to direct His thoughts.

Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Paul says that when the New Man sins against His own flesh, He joins the members of Christ to a harlot. This was not the initial thought of the flesh. It was the want of the New Man. He refused to set His affections on things above, instead, He began to look to the earth for pleasure. This is the same thing that caused the angels of God to leave their first estate. They looked upon the earth at the daughters of men and desired them. Now they are bound in chains of everlasting darkness. Please do not make the same mistake.

Consider the following reference scriptures that shed even more light on this subject:

THE SIN ISSUE

One might say, “But, I thought the New Creature could not commit sin, simply because the seed of God remains in Him?” Remember, always interpret scripture in light of all scripture. Consider the passages below as you try to understand.

I John 3:9

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

I have chosen to start this explanation from the 2nd chapter in order to keep the subject matter in context.

I John 2:3-6

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

John is teaching the same thing that Paul taught in Galatians 5:25; If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. You must not miss the inference here. Notice that John and Paul imply that the Son of God has a choice regarding serving God. Their use of specific terminology such as, (“if we keep” or “ought himself also to walk”), should not be overlooked.

I John 2:24-25

24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

If the Word that you heard from the beginning remains in you, it will have an effectual work. But look a little closer. It will cause you to continue in the Son and in the Father. It is your obedience to the Word that determines your spiritual location.

You have been given a treasure in your earthen vessel. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him (I John 2:27). The Word of God is reiterated by the Holy Spirit. He is the anointing mentioned here. Jesus taught His disciples to expect the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them into all truth. The Word is truth, if you abide in the Spirit, the Word will be manifested in and through you.

I John 3:4-6

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

If we just deal with practicality, many of us who know the Lord have committed sin since we have known Him. Therefore, it is evident that John is speaking from a different perspective.

I John 3:7-10

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

I asked the Lord about this passage seeing as how it is the topic of much controversy. But if we go back to the beginning of this line of teaching, we will see that John was actually reminding the Church of the difference between the born-again believer and the world.

It is not the nature of the Sons of God to commit sin, for the seed of God remains in him. The Lord said to me that there is no need to make this passage complex. It is simply a comparison between the righteous nature of the Son opposed to the ungodly nature of one who does not know God. This is the difference between a Son and an unbeliever.

However, he continues to imply that if a Son of God hates his brother, he too, becomes even as the unbeliever, walking in darkness and alienated from the fellowship of God.

I John 2:9-12

9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

It is obvious that John is referring to the Son of God who dares to hate the brethren because the darkness of iniquity has blinded him. This implies that he was once able to see. Then John removes all controversy as to whom he is referring by stating “your sins are forgiven.” The central message here is that sin and iniquity carry the same consequences and penalties for the saved and the unsaved.

I John 3:11-15

11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Here John restates the issue and the penalty that follows it. The world is filled with those who hate one another. This makes them murderers and no murderer is worthy of the Kingdom of God. The Son of God who moves to hate his brother is under the same penalty.

C. THE CAPTIVITY ISSUE

When you walk outside the faith (walking after the flesh), you put your body and soul in a prison prepared by the devil.

II Timothy 2:25-26

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

First of all, you oppose yourself. This was not an attack of the enemy. He does not force you to do anything. You willingly submit to walking in a place where the Word of God is not reverenced or regarded as law for your life. In many instances, this operation is very subtle, but whether it be subtle or blatant, it is apparent that the will of God is not the order of the day. You begin to feel all the emotions and desires you were delivered from. The wants are the same. But more importantly, the struggle is the same if you do not relinquish the want.

Satan wants you to believe that you are deficient in spiritual power and such deficiency causes you to constantly fail in your walk of holiness. Consequently, you move into denial of the truth. Though you may not offer a public rebuttal of the Word which demands holiness twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, there is a secret spot of unbelief in the heart.

Follow me here. This unbelief is due to the struggle to keep from failing and falling. However, the struggle itself is due to the want that remains in the heart. You are fighting to live holy without giving up the thing that holds you captive, your way, your desire, your mind. The struggle is of your own making. You are the one opposing yourself, the devil simply capitalizes on your disobedience by ushering you into his prison of fleshy lusts and ungodliness.

Satan has been very successful in persuading the Sons of God to deny the power of the Holy Ghost in their lives. Shake yourself, and above all tell yourself the truth.

• Choice moved you to consider and pursue the things of this world.

• The want is still in your heart.

• By opposing yourself, (the spiritual creature), you became the captive of the devil once again.

But there is good news. You can deliver yourself out of this snare. The captivity is not the same as before you were born again. You are now a willing captive. You knowingly walked in the lust of your own heart, thus giving the devil the opportunity to ensnare you with more sinful devices.

Nevertheless, you have the power within to destroy the lust, pride and wantonness. It is the power of choice. Before Christ, you had no choice. The devil lived in you and controlled you from within. Now he can only control you by feeding you the desires of your heart. You can choose to put on the mind of Christ. If you do so, the struggle to live holy would be over. Christ has already conquered sin. Walk in Him and you will, too.