It's imperative that we find our true identity, as new creation children of God. We can't continue to see ourselves after the old flesh and blood man or woman. Paul writes about this several times in the scripture, but let's look at 2Corinthians 5:16-17 (Amp), where he tells the Church in Corinth, "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a purely human point of view (in terms of natural standards of value. No, even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a Man, yet now, we have such knowledge of Him that we know Him no longer in terms of the flesh."
Paul says, "YET NOW, we have such knowledge of Him. How did we get this "knowledge of Him?" From God's Word. The early Church didn't have The New Testament, so the only knowledge they had came from word of mouth, about the Man from Nazareth. Jesus Himself gave Paul the Revelation of His being the Risen Christ, which many hadn't heard until Paul began preaching and writing. We now have access to the Risen Christ and the High Priest of the new covenant. We have the privilege of knowing Jesus, from the Holy Spirit's dwelling within us and from the Revelation provided in God's Word.
Paul says that, "We regard no one from a purely human point of view or in terms of natural standards of value." God's new creation people shouldn't see ourselves from only natural standards of value and as mere men and women. Most continue to view our identities from the natural standards, causing us to miss the most important aspect of our fellowship with the Father. Our true identity is in Christ Jesus, as sons and daughters of Almighty God Himself.
When we see ourselves like the Father sees us in Christ, our prayers, healing and even the Blessing of Abraham can be manifest in our earthly lives. We've been made so aware of our human failures, that we've failed to center in on the Spiritual Power Jesus brought to us, when He raised us up with Him. I'm not writing about being hedonistic and living any way we wish, but about taking who we are in the Spirit and by Him, changing the outer-man/woman. We've tried making the old person holy and pure, without realizing that Jesus made us holy and pure in our spirit, when He raised us up together with Himself.
1Corinthians 1:30 (Amp) says, "But it is from Him, God that you have your Life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, revealed to us a knowledge of the Divine Plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as our Righteousness, THUS MAKING US upright and putting us in right standing with God. And our Consecration, making us pure and holy and our Redemption, providing our Ransom from eternal penalty for sin."
Jesus has already made us righteous, pure, holy and consecrated to God. Jesus paid our Ransom from the Curse of the Law. This is the real you, that the Father sees, so we should no longer see ourselves or any other believer, only after the natural standards of the flesh. Jesus didn't come to clean-up our flesh, but to bring us back to the Father, in the purity of the Spirit. God's Word, the Holy Spirit and our born-again spirit, give us the ability and boldness to apply the Power of the Spirit over the flesh. We also have our New creation Father, Who guides and corrects us.
For years, we've identified ourselves by the denomination or church we belong to in the flesh. Very few have dared to identity ourselves the way God identifies us, which is by our new creation spirit that is pure, holy, righteous and Blessed, in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If we continue to see ourselves only in the natural flesh and blood, then we'll never dare to believe that God gives His children the Kingdom, so we would have great pleasure in it. Your purpose and calling comes by and through, your spirit man/woman. Our outer-man/woman is only the house we live in.
Hebrews 11:1 (Amp) says, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed), of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see, and the conviction of their reality, faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses."
We're saved by NOW FAITH, and no longer Law or good deeds, or by wishing it would happen, or by being under condemnation for past things of the flesh. It comes by faith and not just hope. We all have hope when we go to God for deliverance, but we must have faith and not hope alone. God's Word defines "Hope" as being a "Favorable and confident expectation." It's faith only, that can bring expectation into this realm. When we only see ourselves as natural men and women, instead of who we have now been made in Christ, then we can only have hope, without faith.
If we see ourselves as pure, holy, righteous and redeemed, like God does, then we can put more faith into the hope and receive what we hope for. God is the One Who said that we are pure and holy, not us. We're not the ones who said we're righteous; God did. We're not the ones who said we're heirs and children of God; God did. We're putting faith and agreeing with what our Heavenly Father has already said about who we are in Christ Jesus. No believer would ever say that "Jesus still has the stain of our sin on Him," after He was raised up from death.
We are no longer only human and we must begin to trust in the Finished Word of Jesus and discover our true identity in Him. If Paul had only see himself as being "only human," then he would have died after the viper bit him. Paul says in 2Corinthians 12:9 (Amp), "Therefore I will all the more gladly glory in the weaknesses and infirmities, that the Power and Strength of Christ (the Messiah), may rest, yes may pitch a tent over and dwell upon me."
Paul saw his own flesh and that God was Greater than that. Paul relied on his relationship with Jesus, by his spirit. Paul no longer saw Jesus, "just as a Man," but as the Risen Christ, Who was his strength. When I say, "Jesus," then what do you see? What do you see, when you end your prayers, "In Jesus' Name, Amen?" Do you still see the Man of flesh from Galilee or do you see Him high and lifted up and living through and in you? Do you "have such knowledge of Him now" that you no longer see Him as a Man? We must see ourselves like we see Jesus, by and in the Spirit.
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