“…and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” Ephesians 4.23-24
I take great hope and courage every day in the promise of God that He will never leave me or forsake me (Deut 31.6). What could be greater than to know that my God goes before me and is with me and will never depart from me? Yet even still, the promises of God go deeper than that. Not only is He always with me; He is also always working good things in me. In Ephesians 4 Paul discusses the new life of the believer. He tells the Ephesian Christians that they are now a part of the body of Christ, where there is no distinction between Jew or Gentile. Each person within the Church has become a new man and/or woman with an old self that has died—they are people whom the Spirit worked within by renewing their inner spirit, mind and person everyday.
Scripture is very clear that God is not just resting in believers but is at work inside them, renewing them from the inside out. In Psalm 51 David prays to God that He would “renew a right spirit” within him. (Ps 51.10) He seems confident that God is able and willing to do this. In his letter to Titus, Paul speaks of this renewal and its source by calling it the “renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3.5) Ultimately it is the Spirit of God at work inside the believer. In 2 Corinthians, Paul claims that the Spirit is bringing about this renewal on a daily basis as he writes, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor 4.16)
You have been called to a new life while still living in a corrupted flesh and in the midst of a broken world. How is it that anything good might come out of you? How will you resist temptation? How will you serve any of God’s purposes? It is only by the promise and reality that God is always with you, and His Holy Spirit is renewing your person day by day. What an incredible truth, that God is with you and working in, on and through you.
Challenge:
- What are some areas in your heart that need to be renewed?
- What are some promises of God to help motivate you and encourage you toward renewal?
By Ryley Heppner | Christina Lake, British Columbia