Introduction

Welcome! We are so thrilled you are here, and I am so honored to be able to share this message with you, entitled, “Living from the Inside Out.”

To begin, I want to share something I have shared a few times before. It’s something I wrote in 2012 and included in the Unveiling Jesus book.

Under Grace, you will be freer than you could ever imagine. You will have – 

• nothing to hide,
• nothing to prove,
• nothing to gain, (Why? because you have it all in Jesus!)
• nothing to lose, (you won’t care about your reputation anymore)
• no one to convince, (God can handle that!)
• no one to impress. (Because the only One who matters thinks you’re awesome)
• You don’t need followers because you are secure in Jesus
• You don’t need man’s approval.
• You don’t need a position or a title.
• You are filled with joy
• You are marked with peace.
• You are resting in the finished work of Jesus
• You are confident in your identity in Jesus
• You are free to serve and free to love
• You are free to succeed because you’re free to fail. There’s a safety net of grace. Grace is a Person, and His name is Jesus. His loving arms will catch you when you fall.

And the biggest one is this: you are free to hear the voice OF the Holy Spirit for yourself!  The gospel of grace transforms us into eagles who soar!

Does this describe you? Are you living under grace? Or are you living as if you are under law?

With grace you know your identity is in Jesus, which means you know that you are a complete, beloved child of God.

With law you believe that your identity is in your actions, appearance, decisions, emotions, and feelings.

What do I mean by law? In the Bible, the term “law” is used to refer to the Old Covenant law of Moses in the Old Testament with all its rules and regulations that the people had to obey to be right with God. The New Testament says,

Romans 10:4 – For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Righteousness means right standing with God. Faith in Jesus is the end of trying to be right with God by obeying rules and regulations. 

That means that we are not under the Old Covenant law. Jesus fulfilled it. We’ll talk more about that in a second.

Since we are no longer under the law, how can we apply the scriptures that talk about the law in our current world?

Another way to think of the law is “the standards of perfect performance” enforced through fear of punishment and rejection. Anyone living under that system is living in bondage! 

When the Bible says that Jesus fulfilled the law for us, it means that He took the punishment for our sin, our “missing of the mark.” (That’s what the Greek word for sin, harmartia, means.) He took the condemnation, the guilt, the shame that sin brought on us, and He took it in Himself and to the grave.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to release us from the bondage of having to achieve right standing with God on our own.

And if you know that you are right with God and you know what that means, you will let go of needing to be right with people because you will be confident in who you really are.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us,  [He took our identity of sin – He identified with us] that we might become [as our identity] the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus traded places with us at the cross. In that Great Exchange, He took our sin to the grave and left it there. He rose again without it, conquering sin and death for us.

Through Jesus Christ, and only through Jesus Christ, can we live in freedom from the power of sin, the condemnation of sin, and the identity of sin.

At the core of your identity, do you believe you are a sinner, or do you believe you are a blood-bought, beloved a child of God? It’s very important because you will behave like who you believe you are. A child of God can sin, but that doesn’t mean sin is his identity. You cannot have two natures because cannot have two origins. You cannot have two heads because two heads makes a freak.

When we believe in this awesome, powerful gospel, we receive His righteousness as our own, and the Spirit of Jesus comes to live inside of us, joining Himself to us – to our redeemed spirit – and He lives His perfect, beautiful, glorious, supernatural life through us. 

God’s standards can only be met by God Himself. You think it’s all about rules and regulations? No! It’s much more than that! And He showed us what true righteousness looks like by sending Jesus. Jesus is the exact image, the perfect manifestation of the goodness of God. If you want to know what the ministry of righteousness looks like, look at Jesus.

Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, defended the rejected, forgave the sinner, and delivered those in bondage. He loved the unlovable and touched the untouchables. He wasn’t afraid to touch a leper because the power of His righteousness went into the leper, not the other way around. No one was beyond His grace except those who were determined that they could live without Him and those who were more afraid of the pharisees than they were desperate for His grace.

A great tragedy has happened in our present world. The Bible says that this world is under the control of the evil one. The devil is still trying to convince people that they don’t need Jesus.

And the tragedy is that in this world, there is a godless religion, but there is no Savior. There is no forgiveness. There is no grace. There is only striving for a goal of perfection and conformity that is unreachable.

And the goal continues to change because it’s the law of man, not the law of Christ which is the royal law of love. One never knows where he really stands with cultural legalism. It’s full of hypocritical pharisees who tell you what to say and what to do and what to think and what to believe.

And they tell you that if you do not obey the latest set of rules, you are a bad person. But they offer no redemption. There is only condemnation and shame. The simple purpose is to control through fear.

That’s why we must stand on the truth of God’s word as revealed in Jesus because that is the only place we will find redemption and amazing grace.

Married to Law or Jesus?

Now let’s get into the scriptures. We’ll be looking primarily at Romans 7 and a portion of Colossians 2.

In the first few verses of Romans 7, the apostle Paul refers to the analogy of marriage to describe our relationship with Jesus. In verse 4, he writes –

Romans 7:4 – You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ [Meaning through His death on the cross.] that you may be married to another —to Him [JESUS!] who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.

In this analogy, there is one wife, there are two husbands, two unions, and two types of fruit. You are the wife. The two husbands are the law and Jesus. Union with the law produces the fruit of death. Union with Jesus produces the fruit of life.

You, the wife, cannot be married to two husbands at one time. You were once married to the Law which says you are what you do, you are how you feel, you are how are you look. It says your identity comes from your behavior, actions, appearance, decisions, thoughts, and feelings, good or bad. And  no one should want that!

The only way you could be released from the Law was to die, but how could you die and still live? There is only one way. Your new “husband,” Jesus, would have to die your death for you, and that’s exactly what happened. Jesus provides everything for us. He even provided our death.

In the next verse Paul begins to describe what living under the law was like: attempting to achieve perfect performance in and of ourselves.

Romans 7:5 – When we were [past tense] in the flesh, [dependent on the flesh to achieve righteousness, living a rule-dominated way of life vs resurrection life] the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members [in our flesh] to bear fruit to death.

Sarx

I want to stop here and define the word “flesh.” It’s the Greek word “sarx,” and in this context means  self-effort (as opposed to the power of the Holy Spirit from within), or it can simply mean our bodies and emotions. Jesus put on human flesh (sarx). He had a body and emotions, so “sarx” isn’t intrinsically bad. 

Here in verse 5 and particularly later in the chapter in verses 18 and 25, more modern versions of the Bible translate “sarx” as “sinful nature” as if a believer still has a sin nature as an identity. But “sarx” doesn’t mean “sinful” or “nature.” It simply means “flesh.” 

Unfortunately, because of mis-translations of the word “sarx,” many Christians believe that their ongoing battle is with their own sinful nature.

So they go from 

• Believing that they have a sinful nature at the core of their identity to
• Believing that the most natural thing for them to do is to sin. 

But if you are a new creation in Christ, nothing could be further from the truth! At the very core of your being – in your spirit, you want what is holy! The most unnatural thing for you is to sin. It is completely inconsistent with your true nature!

Confidence in the flesh

Romans 7:5, again – When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

In other words, when you live under a rule-based mindset – under the standards of perfect performance enforced by the fear of punishment and rejection – you will ultimately end up doing the opposite of what you set out to do. You will end up doing whatever you can get away with, so there’s always hidden sin that you are ashamed of because you believe it identifies you.

The standard of perfect performance puts demands on our self-efforts to overcome sin. But sin in the flesh will always be more powerful than the willpower of the flesh to overcome it.

Romans 8:6 – [Paul said – ] For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

The worst thing we can do is set our mind on the flesh and attempt through rules, regulations, and willpower to force compliance. All it will do is bear fruit to death because we will constantly fall short.

Sin consciousness and sin management in our own strength ultimately makes us all the more rebellious. With this mindset, flesh is a squealing pig.

Confidence in the flesh – self-righteousness – will lead to the works of the flesh which Paul listed in Galatians 5 – right before he listed the fruit of the Spirit.

He listed all sorts of sinful behaviors that come with believing we can overcome the power of sin in the flesh without the Spirit of Jesus

Galatians 5:19-21 – Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…

But when our minds are set on Jesus and His love and supply, we will bear the fruit of life effortlessly out of our true desire to walk after the Spirit. That fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Once I saw a sign with the command: “Be kind!” But you can’t force someone to be genuinely kind from the heart! You can’t force someone to love! That’s legalism, and it will wear you out and make you angry!

But if the love of Jesus is inside of us through the Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit from within!

A branch doesn’t produce grapes from striving. It bears fruit from abiding in the vine. It’s the same with us! We will bear fruit effortlessly by resting in Jesus and meditating on His love and all of His attributes.

If you want to be kind, don’t attempt to be kind in your flesh because you’ll never be kind enough. And I’ll tell you what – this is what always happens – if you are trying to do something in your flesh, you will judge others. You’ll just others for not being kind. You’ll judge others for not being loving enough. And this is a sign that you are living in a law-mindset because you are always judging others. You’re always trying to catch them. You’re always looking at the worst in people.

So instead, we turn our eyes upon the kindest Person we will ever know. Jesus! And we meditate on all the kind things that He has done to us in our lives, and then we well up in thanksgiving. As we just look at His loving face. He has kind eyes. Did you know that? He has very kind eyes. And you look into those kind eyes, and you can’t help but be a kind person. 

1 John 4:19, NASB –  We love because He first loved us.

The law never made anyone kind. It only made people fear the rejection or the punishment for not appearing kind. The modus operandi of the law was fear. The modus operandi of grace is love – the unconditional love of God that we must first receive in order to give.

The law arouses sin

So back to verse 5 – to walk after the flesh would be to suppress our true desires! Because the flesh is not our identity! Which I will explain more about shortly. Verse 6 – 

Romans 7:6 – But now we have been delivered from the law having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit [from within] and not in the oldness of the letter. [from without]

What were we held by? What have we been delivered from? We have been delivered from the outward demands of perfection on our powerless flesh. Now we are set free to live from the inside out by His Spirit.

Romans 7:7-8 – What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” [Paul is talking specifically about one of the Ten Commandments here.] 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me [in my flesh] all manner of evil desire.

The law is like wood on fire. Paul is saying, “The more I try not to covet in my own strength, the more I covet in my flesh!”

Romans 7:8 doesn’t say that sin by itself produced in my flesh all manner of evil desire. It says sin “taking opportunity by the commandment” produced in my flesh all manner of evil desire.

Here’s why people fall into sinful behavior: 1st there is temptation. It can come as a thought, something you saw, something you remember… then before it becomes sin, there is an in-between. You never go directly from temptation to sin. 

Temptation meets confidence in the flesh – self-effort. This is the conception that gives birth to sinful behavior. Paul said,

Philippians 3:3 – We put no confidence in the flesh.

When we put confidence in the flesh, we will fail because we fall back into the performance mentality of the law: “I can handle this thing.” 

And then after we fail, we have guilt. With guilt, we make new resolutions.“From now on, I will never do that again!” We get into extreme rules. 

The enemy loves our resolutions because they presume on our own strength and give fresh propensity to more sinning.

1 Corinthians 15:56 – [because he knows better that we do that -] …the strength of sin is the law…

Here’s the cycle of sin under a rules-based mindset: You sin, then beg for forgiveness as if you aren’t already forgiven. DO you understating that when Jesus paid for our sins, He didn’t just pay for them one at a time? His blood was enough to pay for the sin of all humanity in one fell swoop. It was “one sacrifice for sins forever.” He doesn’t need ot get back up on the cross again. He has paid the debt. For a minute you feel forgiven, and you sense His grace, and you say, “Praise the Lord, I’m forgiven!” – until the temptation comes again. Then live like you aren’t really forgiven. What does that mean? It means that you believe that you are separated from God, and you need to get yourself together before you come back to Him. So you have to put confidence in yourself to do better! And then you fail, and then beg for forgiveness again – and start the whole cycle over again.

This is spiritual adultery. You are going from one husband to the other and back. Law to grace to law to grace. It’s what I call a mongrel religion. We can’t mix law and grace! It will wear you out!

The Law always points to your flesh on the outside, but grace always points to Jesus on the inside!!!

Instead of trying to make yourself a better person when you fail, just know this: Jesus says, (like He did to the woman caught in adultery) “Neither do I don’t condemn you. (He silenced all our accusers!) Now go and sin no more.” Our empowerment is knowing that there is no condemnation! 

Our empowerment is knowing we are still married to Jesus – Jesus will never leave us or divorce us no matter what!  He will never break His vow to you. Because of His redeeming love, He will forever provide His own righteousness from within.

Satan’s agenda

Romans 7:8, cont. – [Back to Romans 7:8 -] …For apart from the law sin was dead. [So let’s just keep it dead! Let’s stop trying to achieve perfection in our flesh!]

Who do you think is using the law today? Who stands to gain the most from us never knowing who we are in Jesus and never knowing that we are free from sin and that we have dominion over the power of sin? The accuser of the brethren!

Satan’s main agenda is not to try to get us to sin. His main plan is to get us to attempt to be perfect on our own so that he can condemn us when we fail.

The devil is a prosecutor. He’s an expert in the law. If you use the law to be right with God (or with people!) – “I did this right, and I did that right!” – The devil will nail you to the wall with his fiery darts of shame and condemnation!! He’ll taunt you: “But you didn’t do this; you didn’t do that well enough!”

1 Peter 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, [“Our adversary the devil” literally means your opponent in a lawsuit (antidikos) who falsely accuses and slanders you (diabolos). He is – ] seeking whom he may devour. [With his false prosecution. He says, “You are guilty! You are guilty!” What is our response?] 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith…

What is “THE faith?” It’s the faith to believe that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! Which means you are a child of God! You are His! You will forever be His! Jesus said, “No one can snatch you out of My hands!” Even when we fail! It’s knowing that every attack of the enemy is illegitimate for us because Jesus has overcome the enemy’s hold on our lives. He cannot legitimately accuse us! Every accusation – even the ones we deserve – have been nailed to the cross. in the body of Jesus. Never try to prove yourself to the devil. Go back to the foot of the cross! And you say, “I know who I am! I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!” Only He can help you pick up the pieces and move forward.

Romans 7:9-12 – I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, [not by itself, but again – ] taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, [the deception is that you can overcome sin in your own self-effort] and by it [using the law as a weapon, “sin ] killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. 

Yes, the commandment is holy, but it cannot make you holy. It is just, but it cannot make you right with God! The commandment is good, but it cannot make you good.

Galatians 3:11, NLT – [Paul wrote] No one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. 

Romans 3:19-20 – [Paul wrote – ] Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law [under that “standard of perfect performance.” And what is the purpose of it?? – ], that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. [The law stops every human being from attempting to come to God with a list of their accomplishments or a defense of their good intentions. The standards of perfect performance will tell you that it’s never good enough. It shuts every mouth. It is pride to go to God with your fleshly righteousness.] 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, [no one will be made right in His sight] for by the law is the knowledge of sin. [the law only points out your sin!]

The law was not given to encourage, to give life, or to make anyone good. It was given to condemn, to bring consciousness of faults and feelings of guilt and unworthiness. The law wasn’t given to be reached, it was given to prove that we couldn’t reach it in our flesh so we would give up and turn to Jesus. To believe that we can reach it on our own is the same sin committed in the Garden of Eden: that you can be like God independent of God.

The battle that rages

Paul continues in Romans 7 to describe the battle between his will to do good vs the influence of sin on his flesh. He explains what is actually going on when he does the thing he hates. Skipping down to Romans 7:17 –

Romans 7:17 – But now, it is no longer I [my true self] who do it, but sin [an unwelcome trespasser] that dwells in me. 

In the next verse he clarifies what he means by “me” – he means “my flesh.” Paul says that it is not his true self who is doing it.  It’s a source called sin operating in his flesh.

Romans 7:18-20 – For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. [Where he is looking? In his flesh. The willpower in the flesh is not enough to perform what is good because – AGAIN – the power of sin in the flesh is more powerful than the willpower of the flesh to overcome it.] 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me [in my flesh].

Paul is describing an agonizing dilemma that will make you depressed. It will make you anxious. It will even make you sick in your body. But it’s an agonizing dilemma that we can be freed from! Thank God we don’t have to rely on willpower! After he describes the agonizing dilemma, he gives us the solution: 

The solution for the agonizing dilemma

Romans 7:24-25 – O wretched man that I am! Who [Not what! Who? Not “I need a vacation! I need a drink! I need medicine!” Not what, but WHO – ] will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

It is through faith in what Jesus has accomplished at the cross that the voices of condemnation are silenced!  We don’t have to live under the black cloud of constant defeat. We don’t have to rely on willpower! We can now rely on the Holy Spirit from within! How? By believing what Paul said in the very next chapter of Romans.

Romans 8:1, NASB – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. [Condemnation comes from the law. Colossians 2:14 says that the law has been taken away because it  has been nailed to the cross.]

The word “condemnation” is the Greek word “katakrima” which means “the judgment of guilt, worthy of punishment.”

The dilemma of the battle that rages in our minds is resolved through our faith in the forgiveness of all our sins and our faith that God is not counting our sins against us because all our sins were counted against Jesus at the cross. On the cross, Jesus paid our debt of sin!

Ephesians 1:7 – In Him [Jesus] we have redemption [freedom] through His blood, [that’s the cross] the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Not according to the confession of every sin, not according to begging for forgiveness for the same sin over and over because we don’t feel forgiven. We are forgiven “according to the riches of His grace” – which is unlimited. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more.

Forgiveness is the Greek word “aphesis” – to release from bondage or imprisonment; letting go of our sins as if they had never been committed, remission of the penalty; releasing someone from a debt or obligation.

We don’t need to fear grace. Grace will never lead you to the sins of the flesh. When you fully grasp grace in your heart, you will be “gooder” than you have been. This is inside out Christianity! 

Romans 8:1-3, NASB – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For [because] the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, [The law could not change who you are. Its demands for perfection could not transform you on the inside. It was weak. “What the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh] God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh [“sarx” – the human body God prepared for Jesus. so that He could be our sacrificial Lamb. He came in our likeness, yet without sin, so that He could bear sins in His body a the cross and take them to the grave!] and as an offering for [our] sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.

Sin in the flesh has been condemned. That means it has been subdued, overcome, and deprived of its power to condemn us or identify us or control us or separate us from God!

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the new “want to’s” on the inside! It’s the perfect law of liberty and the royal law of love where we bear each others burdens from the heart.

Spiritual circumcision

Now let’s quickly move to Colossians 2 where Paul explains what happened to us when we were joined to Jesus and delivered from an identity which hopelessly relied on being the perfect in the flesh.

Colossians 2:9-10 – For in Him [In Jesus] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, [in Jesus] who is the head of all principality and power.

We are complete in Jesus. Complete means that nothing is missing. It means we have been rendered perfect in His sight. This is our spiritual reality. When God looks at us – who we truly are – He loves what He sees. 

Our starting point in Jesus is the finish line. The moment you were born again, there was an inward transformation from spiritual death to spiritual life. It’s not a new, improved version of the old you. It’s a brand new you! 

God looks at you and says of you what He says of His Son:

Matthew 3:17, NIV – “This is my Son (that’s our identity), whom I love (that’s His acceptance of us); with Him I am well pleased (that’s His approval of us).”

Next verse in Colossians 2 – 

Colossians 2:11-13 – [In Jesus] In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands [this is speaking of the cross cutting away the flesh from your spiritual identity], by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 [you were] buried with Him in baptism, [into His death. When you get baptized in water, it’s a picture of your immersion into Jesus’s death, and your resurrection in Him, raised to new life as a new creation] in which you also were raised with Him [how?] through faith in the working of God, who raised Him [Jesus] from the dead. 13 And [the old] you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, [you were joined to the flesh, but then through faith in the cross your flesh was circumcised and now -] He has made alive together with Him [Jesus], having forgiven you all trespasses,…

How did He make you alive? He forgave all your sins! ALL! Past, present, and future! If you aren’t forgiven of ALL, you aren’t forgiven at all!

** Spiritual circumcision ILLUSTRATION **

I’m going to give you an illustration of what happened when the cross of Jesus cut away the flesh from your identity, releasing the old you to die so that the new you could be born again and joined to Jesus.

This is the old you. [hold up the bundle wood] You were dead in sin and joined to the flesh – uncircumcised, one with the flesh. [cup hand on wood]

When you were made alive, the cross of Jesus Christ cut away the “old you” from the flesh. In this spiritual circumcision, the old you with your sin nature went into the grave with Jesus and ceased to exist.

The old you will never be resurrected. The only issue with the old you is believing that he or she still exists. What still exists is flesh, not the old you.

This is the “new you” – completely new creation in Christ with a new identity and a new nature.  You are born from above! Of the second Adam! Not of the old creation, but the new creation!  [hold up gold ball]

This new creation is joined to the Lord, not joined to the flesh as the old creation was.  Whatever we are joined to is where we get our identity. [cup gold ball with the other hand]

1 Corinthians 6:17 – He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

However, although our identity was cut away from the flesh, the flesh remains and also the power of sin that operates in the flesh.  [hold original hand away from hand holding the gold ball]

Our flesh was not saved in the new birth. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, but we will all get new incorruptible bodies when Jesus returns that will be 100% compatible with our redeemed spirit. (1 Cor 15:50-54). 

Until then, the power of sin is confined to the flesh and does not have dominion over us. That’s why we can never be condemned or identified by it again.

Psalm 103:12 – [there is a great chasm between the our redeemed spirit joined to the Spirit of Jesus and sin in the flesh] As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

This means that whatever I do in the flesh will not change who I am in the spirit. Why? Because the new creation has no sin and never will. The new creation isn’t based on what I do or have done or how I feel or how I look. It’s based on what Jesus has done at the cross.

Spirit Soul Body

You are a spirit who has a natural soul who lives in a body.

• Your spirit is where your true nature and identity is.  As a child of God, you are holy, righteous, faultless, and perfect.

• Your soul life is your emotions, feelings, decisions, and thoughts. The Greek word is “psuche” from which we get our word psychology. Psychology can help people to manage life, but it doesn’t get to the root fo things, but everything is actually spiritual. 

• Your body is the members of your physical body; and your 5 senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing)

Your spirit is joined to Jesus.  In your spirit you have communion with God. This is not emotion. This is fellowship out of our union with Jesus. We worship in spirit and truth, not out of our of emotions, even though sometimes we can feel His presence in our soul and even in our bodies. However, our communion with Jesus is not based on feelings.

From that communion comes spiritual discernment understanding, imagination, and perception. This is where we can sense the peace of God or the lack of it. In that communion the Holy Spirit speaks to us and leads us on the path of wisdom.

This is not an emotional feeling. It’s God’s Spirit speaking to our spirit. We “knowings” on the inside on how to navigate relationships or parent or manage our money or take care of our health or minister to others. 

When we live from the inside out, we live from the spirit.

Romans 8:10-11, NASB – If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, [meaning the body is on course to die] yet the [your] spirit is alive because of righteousness. [Whose righteousness? Christ’s righteousness imparted to you as a free gift] 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

The body is not immortal. It is already in the process of death. But because of the righteousness of Christ within us, our spirit is alive. And the Spirit of the resurrection dwells in our spirit producing life that flows from the inside out. 

The life of the Spirit of God flows from the inside out – from our innermost being to our soul and to our bodies, bringing peace and health and restoration and well-being.

When we walk in the Spirit, the discernment and wisdom and the perception and the imaginations of the Spirit of God controls our lives through our communion with God. We are not living according to the flesh. We have given control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. And then something amazing happens: these earthen vessels become a sieve for the glory of God. This is what living under grace is all about!

Romans 6:13-14 – And do not present your members [your flesh] as instruments of unrighteousness to [the power of] sin, [in the flesh] but present yourselves [your true identity] to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. [Why?] 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, [why?] for you are not under law but under grace. 

When we live from the inside out – from our redeemed spirit, the identity of the new creation – then our body and our mind, will, and emotions are instruments of righteousness to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus. That is what Paul called the “ministry of righteousness” and “the ministry of the Spirit.”

New creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

God has totally changed us – in our spirit, in our innermost being. But our actions, our emotions, our decision-making, our feelings, were not instantly made new. The only part of you that was totally changed when you in the new birth was your spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “All things have become new.” This cannot refer to our behavior and emotions because they didn’t change instantly. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is not a process. It has already happened. It’s an accomplished fact, a done deal. 

The change that took place in our spirit must work its way into our daily lives. How? By setting our minds on things above, not on the things of earth. We change outwardly by beholding Jesus inwardly. He is the mirror of what He has accomplished in us! 

2 Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [Look at Jesus and say, “That’s who I am!”] are being transformed [The Greek word “metamorphoo” – like the caterpillar to the butterfly] into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit works in us and through us to transform our outward lives to reflect our new inward identity in Jesus.

If we don’t understand this, we’re going to think, “Nothing has changed. I’m still the same. I still have the old thoughts. I still have the old habits. Maybe I’m not even saved.”

But we must believe that in our spirit – our true identity – right now we are as perfect and as complete as Jesus is. And then we will live out what we believe to be true.

If you believe right, you will live right!

Conclusion – progressive manifestation

Don’t focus on the fruit. Focus on the Source. Many of us are “doing to be” instead of realizing that we are already complete in Christ. 

So today, let’s stop trying to be someone. Let’s behold to know Someone. And when we know that Someone (whose name is Jesus), we know who we are in Him. Then we’re not doing to be. We see that we are, and we find ourselves doing.

Inside these bodies is the great mystery that the religious spirit out in the world doesn’t understand because religion focuses on the outward. Always trying to find an identity in the flesh. Always trying to find identity in actions, appearances, and feelings. You can’t go by your feelings! They will lie to you. Your feelings are not who you are. You are not what you feel! You are who God says you are!

The progressiveness of the believer’s life is a progressive manifestation of what already is. Outwardly it appears that we’re getting more holy because our actions are changing. But we are already holy. Do you know what the word holy means? Set apart. We have been set apart for something awesome because you are joined to Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:7 – But we have this treasure in earthen vessels [the Spirit of Jesus joined to our redeemed spirit. Why?], so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

People look at us and glorify Him. Why? They won’t be attracted to our flesh, but to His glory flowing from us Because they will see that it’s His power and not our own. They will be drawn to Him, not to us!!!

Do you want to heal the sick, feed the hungry, have the courage to defend the rejected, have the grace to forgive the sinner, and walk in the power to deliver those in bondage? 

Do you want to be able to love the unlovable and touch the untouchables? You must first know who you are and whose you are.

Copyright info: All scriptures in the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

• (NKJV) New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
• (NASB) Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
• (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• (NLT) Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.