People commonly view the New Year as a new fresh start, a time for turning over a new leaf. So we make all kinds of New Year’s resolutions and try to leave the baggage of the last year behind us.
Why do we feel this drive for newness?
Human beings inwardly long for a new beginning. Sensing we’re “old” and worn out, we try different things to make ourselves feel new. We look for a new hobby, embark on a new exercise program, try a new diet, get a new haircut, or buy new clothes. And sometimes we do feel new, for a time.
But sooner or later we discover that nothing actually makes us lastingly, genuinely new. Everything eventually becomes old, and we’re back where we began, feeling like both our situation and we ourselves are old.
The only way we can really be new is for us to be renewed. And the New Testament speaks much about being renewed.
What does it mean to be renewed?
Oldness isn’t simply a function of time or age. Even the youngest person can feel old. Oldness is a result not of age but of something we’re missing; we need a new element. And only one element in the entire universe is new—God.
God is eternal, but He never grows old. He is ever fresh, new, and living. For us to be renewed, we need God, the One who is newness, added into us.
Being renewed starts at regeneration
Titus 3:5 says this:
“Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
Before we were saved, we were part of the old creation, the creation created by God, but that doesn’t have God Himself in it. Then one day we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior. God, the One who is new, came to be life in our spirit! This was the first step of our being renewed. When we were born of the Spirit in our spirit, the eternal life of God was added to us. This made us a new person with a new life, even a new creation, as the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Being renewed continues after regeneration
On one hand, we are a new creation in Christ, but on the other, we are in the process being renewed. This is because God came as the Spirit to live in our spirit, making our spirit new. But what about the rest of our being?
This excerpt from note 4 on Titus 3:5 in the New Testament Recovery Version helps us see the relationship between being born again, or regenerated, and renewing:
“The washing of regeneration begins with our being born again and continues with the renewing of the Holy Spirit as the process of God’s new creation, a process that makes us a new man. It is a kind of reconditioning, remaking, or remodeling, with life. Baptism (Rom. 6:3-5), the putting off of the old man, the putting on of the new man (Eph. 4:22, 24; Col. 3:9-11), and transformation by the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) are all related to this wonderful process. The washing of regeneration purges away all the things of the old nature of our old man, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit imparts something new—the divine essence of the new man—into our being. In this is a passing from our old state into a wholly new one, from the old creation into the status of a new creation. Hence, both the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are working in us continually throughout our life until the completion of the new creation.”
Our regeneration was once for all; our spirit will never again be old! But the rest of our being must undergo the day by day process of being renewed, remade, remodeled with God’s life. The new life in our spirit needs to spread into our soul, and especially into our mind, our soul’s leading part.
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How to be renewed day by day
Since everything gets old so quickly and our outward circumstances wear us out, how can we be renewed in a practical, daily way?
Our spirit is the key. In order to be renewed, we have to turn to our spirit, where the life-giving Spirit dwells in us. As we do, He imparts life into the rest of our being. When we set our mind on our spirit, pay attention to our spirit, and exercise our spirit, we give the Spirit opportunity to spread into our mind, emotion, and will.
To turn to our spirit certainly can be challenging, especially in the midst of trying circumstances. But we can exercise our spirit by means of two helpful practices.
Call on His name
One precious gift the Lord gave us is His name. First Corinthians 12:3 tells us, “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” When we call, “Lord Jesus,” or “Oh Lord Jesus,” or tell the Lord, “Lord Jesus, I love You,” we turn to and contact the renewing Holy Spirit in our spirit. As we do, we allow Him to spread a little more into our being. When we call on the Lord in all the situations of our daily life, we receive more of His life within. In this way, the Lord is remodeling us inwardly with His life.
Receive the Spirit in the Word
We have not only the Lord’s name but also His Word. Ephesians 6:17-18 says, “And receive…the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition.” Every day, especially in the morning, we can exercise our spirit by prayer to receive the Spirit in the Word. As we pray with the Word of God, we are revived with a fresh supply of life. Not only so, we’re also renewed a little bit more as the divine life spreads in our soul. The more we receive the living Spirit in the Word, the more our inward parts are renewed. The oldness of our natural thoughts, our natural feelings, and our natural decisions is purged away, and the new element of God is added to us, renewing us in every part of our being until we become a new creation.
This year, let’s enjoy more of the rich supply of God’s new life to be reconditioned, remade, and remodeled within. As we stay in this process of renewing, our mind, emotion, and will eventually will become as new as our spirit, and we will fully express God as the new One!
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
In the Bible, the Greek word kosmos, translated world in English, has different meanings depending on its context. The meaning of kosmos we’ll discuss today is “system” or “organization,” specifically, the organized system set up by Satan to keep people from living for God.
God gave us a strong and unequivocal command concerning the world in 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world.”
As Christians, we need to know clearly what the world is so we can guard ourselves from loving it and being deceived and distracted by it.
Where did the world come from?
God did not, of course, create the world as this anti-God system. God created the heavens and the earth and all the things on the earth so that mankind could live to fulfill His purpose.
For example, God took care of Adam and Eve in every way in the Garden of Eden. He provided their protection, their provision, and even their pleasure and enjoyment in His presence. What God created was ordained by Him for human beings to exist and live for Him.
But when mankind fell and was corrupted by Satan, Satan began to organize the very things created by God for mankind’s existence into his system. Mankind needed food, so he systemized food. Mankind needed enjoyment and pleasure, so he systemized entertainment. In this way Satan formed the world, a system to occupy human beings, to take them away from God and from living for His purpose.
We can see the beginning of this world system in Genesis 4. Cain, who had murdered his brother, left God’s presence and went out on his own. Being without God and God’s protection, Cain needed to secure his safety, so he built a city for himself and his family. In this city, Cain’s descendants continued to live without God or God’s care. So to care for themselves, they invented cattle raising for their provision, music making for their amusement, and metal forging for weaponry. Cain’s city was the beginning of a worldly culture that existed apart from God.
The needs of Cain’s family were not sinful. In fact, mankind’s need for protection, provision, and pleasure existed before sin ever came into the picture. However, God’s intention was to provide and even to be all these things for us. When Cain left God’s presence, He left the proper source of supply for all his needs. Thus, Satan had the opportunity to use the necessities of life to bring him into a world system that replaced God and existed apart from Him.
The development of the world
This world system has grown. Today Satan continues to use every day, legitimate necessities like food, clothing, housing, and transportation to capture our hearts and consume our time. We only have to look around to see all the advertisements, products, activities, and inventions vying to attract us. We may need these things, but the world makes us want more than we really need.
Any of these things can become something that takes our time and energy away from God. For example, everywhere there seems to be a new restaurant, a new diet, or a new food craze. We certainly need to eat to live, but Satan has systemized food, making it an end in and of itself. We eat for pleasure, we use our energy to find and enjoy the tastiest cuisine, and we spend so much time and money on restaurants and food products. In this way, Satan usurps our legitimate need for food, occupying our being with this part of his system.
Satan has also systemized clothing. The world makes us feel we must have certain kinds of clothes. As a result, we expend a lot of time considering different styles, and we spend our money on buying new clothes. The necessity of being clothed is utilized by Satan’s world system to take up more and more of our lives.
Additionally, as we spend more and more on the latest foods and fashions, we have to work harder and longer to pay for these things. In the end, we have less time and energy for God, and less money we can offer to Him for the advancement of His kingdom. We’re fully distracted by the attractive things of the world.
More things of the world
Perhaps food or clothing isn’t our problem. Perhaps video games, sports, art, or the theater are what draw us. We must remember that Satan is crafty. We may look down on a particular thing that draws someone else and even wonder how they could be captured by it, but the world system has something for everyone.
The world consists of sinful things, certainly, but not only of sinful things. The world also includes things such as religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, and entertainment. All of these can be used by Satan to fill our time, take our energy, and occupy our thoughts so that we have less and less for God.
First John 5:19 tells us, “The whole world lies in the evil one.”
Satan keeps human beings under his control by using the world. He uses anything and everything as part of his system to attract and occupy people. He controls some by their careers. Others he occupies by music. With others, he uses education.
When anything, even what we consider a good thing, takes over our lives and causes us to be for something other than the Lord, we have to realize it has become the world to us. So the question isn’t, “Is this thing good or bad?” The question is, “Does this thing hinder my relationship with the Lord?” Whatever it is, if it’s something that hinders us from living for God and His purpose, it’s the world.
What should we do about the world?
How can we live a life that’s not distracted by the world? How can we live, in actuality, for God and for the fulfillment of His purpose? Is moving away from civilization or secluding ourselves the answer?
The Lord’s prayer in John 17:15-18 tells us what the Lord wants:
“I do not ask that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them out of the hands of the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
These verses show us that God’s intention isn’t to remove us out of the world; it’s for us to be in the world, but not of the world. God wants us to live a normal human life on this earth, but without being under the control of the world as Satan’s system. He wants us to live for Him and to shine as testimonies to the world concerning Him.
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What should we do?
Being controlled by Satan’s evil world system is a serious matter. We can only delve into a few helpful points in this post. All involve prayer and fellowship with the Lord.
1. We must “be saved from this crooked generation,” as Acts 2:40 says.
We can’t save ourselves. We need to be saved. A drowning man can’t save himself, but he can be saved by simply letting someone save him. If he struggles, still trying to save himself, he will actually hinder the person saving him. We need to realize that the Lord Jesus wants to save us from the world’s usurpation, and we need to let Him do this in us.
None of us are immune to the world’s attraction. Perhaps our education distracts us, or a desire to have a picture-perfect family, or wanting a high position in a particular field. We’re all distracted by different things, and the world has something to captivate the heart of every person. And what is perfectly fine for us today may become the world to us later. We should seriously consider, Does anything hinder us from loving the Lord and living for Him?
We need to pray and let the Lord shine on us to point out anything of the world that distracts us from Him. He is faithful, and He will shine and speak to us about specific things. When He does, we can pray, “Lord Jesus, this thing has become the world to me. Save me from the world in this matter. I would be saved by You. Don’t let me be usurped by Your enemy in this. Work in me to save me from this distraction.”
2. We can be, as 2 Peter 1:4 tells us, “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.”
Our own energy and good intentions can’t deliver us from the power of the world. We need the energy of the divine life that comes from our partaking of the divine nature of God. The more we enjoy what God is, the more we’re able to escape the world’s corruption.
It’s crucial for us to spend time with the Lord Jesus each day to fellowship with Him and be fed by Him in His Word. When we’re spiritually weak and malnourished, the current of the world carries us away so easily. But we can be filled with the divine life through contacting the Lord in His Word and in prayer. Then we’ll be living and healthy during the day, like “fish” that can swim against the current of the world.
3. By loving God, we can keep ourselves from loving the world, as indicated in 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”
Our hearts were created to love, so they have to love something. But our hearts were not meant to love the world. When we love the world, we have no room left to love God. But when we love God, our hearts have no room for the world, and we’re kept from loving it and being usurped by it.
Our daily need is to enjoy fellowship with the Lord in prayer and bathe in His love for us. As we enjoy His love for us, spontaneously our hearts will be filled with love for Him. The more we love Him, the more we’ll be delivered from the world and its allure. As we spend time with the Lord Jesus, contacting Him in our spirit and enjoying Him in His Word, we’ll be attracted to Christ as the most charming One in the universe. We’ll be filled with love for Him and not for the world. Right now we can pray,
“Lord Jesus, I love you, but I know I also love some worldly things. Have mercy on me. I would let you save me from the world. Teach me to live a life separated unto You so I can shine You forth to people. Lord, I desire to serve You and live for You. Purify my heart so I love the world less and less and love You more and more. Amen.”
May the Lord have mercy on all of us and save us from the world so we can live for Him and serve Him freely.
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
Throughout the Bible, numerous verses show us God’s desire for us to take Him in, to drink of Him as the living water. For example, in John 7:37-38 we see that God’s desire for us to drink of Him is so great, Jesus actually stood up and cried out during a feast, issuing a call for people to come to Him and drink:
“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”
So how do we come to Him and drink? Only the Lord Jesus can quench our inner thirst; only He is the living water. He wants us to drink of Him to quench our thirst, and even to drink until rivers of living water flow out of our innermost being to others. But quite often, instead of feeling satisfied and watered, we feel dry and even dead. We may want to drink the living water, but not know how.
How to drink the living water
In Isaiah 12:3-6, we see six ways we can drink Christ as the living water:
“Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing From the springs of salvation, And you will say in that day, Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! Make His deeds known among the peoples; Remind them that His name is exalted. Sing psalms to Jehovah, for He has done something majestic! Let it be made known in all the earth! Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Let’s look at how to practice these six ways to drink the living water.
1. Give thanks to Jehovah
We can drink the living water by thanking the Lord. This is something we can easily do first thing in the morning, before meals, and throughout the day.
It’s healthy for us as Christians to be thankful and to practice thanking the Lord all the time. The Lord Jesus has done so much for us through His death and resurrection, and He cares for all of our needs. We all have so much to thank Him for, and He is worthy to be thanked!
The opposite of being thankful is being unthankful. Second Timothy 3 lists being unthankful with being lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, revilers, disobedient, unholy, without natural affection, and many more negative things. We surely don’t want any of these negative characteristics to apply to us.
Our own experience tells us the more we’re unthankful or complain about things, the dryer we become. Our situation doesn’t improve, and we feel worse and worse. But when we thank the Lord, we’re saved from being unthankful and we take a drink of living water. This water supplies and refreshes us, whatever our outward situation may be.
Being thankful is something we can practice. First thing in the morning, we can say, “Lord Jesus, thank You for another day. Thank You for dying for me, for shedding Your blood for me, and for giving me another day to experience Your grace.” We can continue by thanking the Lord for our health, our family members, our job, and whatever else the Lord touches us to thank Him for.
We can especially thank Him for all He is and all He’s done. We can pray, “Lord, thank You for being the light of the world. Thank You, Lord, for coming to us and loving us. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being my light and my way. Thank You for Your life in me.”
We can continue thanking the Lord throughout the rest of the day for anything and everything He reminds us to thank Him for. Even simply saying, “Thank You, Lord Jesus,” throughout the day waters us. Every time we utter thanks to Him, we drink of Christ as the living water. It’s like taking a drink from a refreshing spring. Instead of being dry, we’re watered and revived.
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2. Call upon His name
The next way to drink revealed in Isaiah 12 is to call upon the Lord’s name. Right after instructing us to give thanks to Jehovah, verse 4 directs us to call upon the Lord’s name.
This may be new to many of us, but calling on the name of the Lord is a practice that’s found throughout the Bible, beginning in ancient times in the Old Testament. It’s first recorded in Genesis 4:26 where it says that at the time Enosh was born, men began to call upon the name of Jehovah.
The practice of calling upon the name of the Lord continues in the New Testament. Acts 7:59 records how Stephen called upon the Lord’s name as he was being stoned. Note 1 on Acts 2:21 in the New Testament Recovery Version is a wonderful and full note tracing this practice throughout the whole Old and New Testaments, and is worth reading.
Today, we can call on the Lord’s name throughout the day by saying, “Oh Lord Jesus,” or “Lord Jesus, I love You.” Each time we audibly call on His name, we drink of the living water.
3. Make His deeds known among the people
We can also drink by making Christ’s deeds known among people. He’s done so much that we can speak to others about! He came to this earth and lived a perfect life; He died for the sins of all mankind; He resurrected and ascended; He became a life-giving Spirit to give us eternal life; and He produced the church as His Body through His death and resurrection.
How wonderful all of this is! And additionally, He is still doing so much in each of our lives! We have so many marvelous things to speak concerning Christ. We shouldn’t be silent; we should tell others about the Lord’s deeds.
We can speak to our neighbors, our classmates, our family, and other people we meet during the day. As we speak to them, we minister Christ to them, and at the same time, we take a life-giving drink. Our making the Lord’s deeds known to others is an effective and wonderful way for us to drink the living water.
Perhaps we feel dry because we haven’t spoken to anyone for a while about Christ. But when we open our mouth to tell someone about Him, we ourselves take a drink and are watered and refreshed by the living water.
4. Remind people that His name is exalted
In addition to telling people about the Lord’s wonderful deeds, we can remind others that Christ’s name is exalted. Philippians 2:9 tells us that Christ’s name is above every name. This is something we can speak to those around us.
We can ask people, “Do you know that Jesus’ name is exalted?” Or we can declare this fact, telling them that Jesus is Lord and that His name is the highest name in heaven and on earth. Even our personal exalting of Jesus’ name, when witnessed by others, will remind them that His is the highest name. When we tell others that the name of Jesus is exalted and that Jesus is Lord, we drink living water from the well of salvation.
5. Sing psalms to Jehovah
Did you know that singing is a way to drink? Opening our mouth and singing hymns to the Lord is one of the best ways to drink from the fountain of living water. As we sing, this fountain begins to well up in us, and even overflows. Singing is such an enjoyable way to drink!
So what should we do? We can sing hymns as we start our day in the morning, we can sing hymns as we drive to work, and we can sing more hymns when we’re with fellow believers. Ephesians 5:19 even instructs us to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and also to sing and psalm with our heart to the Lord. The more we sing with our hearts to the Lord throughout our day, the more watered and refreshed we’ll be!
6. Cry out and give a ringing shout
We can drink the water of life by crying out and giving a ringing shout.
Have you ever done this? Many times we pray quietly to the Lord, but have you ever cried out to the Lord and given a ringing shout? If you haven’t, give it a try!
Sometimes we may find it difficult to pray. This can be because our mind is full of thoughts and anxieties. It’s not that God doesn’t hear us when we pray quietly. The problem is more with us. To get through all our mental activity, sometimes we have to shout out loud. We can break through the desert of our mind by crying out and even giving a ringing shout.
A great place to try this is when you’re alone at home or in a car. You can cry out desperately, “Oh Lord, I need You! I need You right now! I’m so dry, and I’m even so dead. Lord Jesus, be my life. I can’t make it without You. Lord, I come to You to drink. Oh Lord, quench my thirst!”
You can also cry out to praise and to thank the Lord, and give a ringing shout by saying loudly, “Praise the Lord! Jesus, You are so good! I love You, Lord Jesus!”
When we cry out like this to the Lord, we get saved from all the thoughts in our mind and take a deep drink of the life-giving Spirit as the water of life.
Daily practice
You can practice these six ways to drink every day. Whenever you feel dry or depressed, you can try thanking the Lord, calling on His name, speaking about Christ to someone, telling someone that Jesus is Lord and that His name is the highest name, singing with your heart to the Lord, or crying out and giving a ringing shout.
You’ll drink Christ as the living water, be refreshed and revived in your Christian life, and even overflow rivers of living water to others.
Praise the Lord, we can drink of Him as the living water every day!
Here’s a link to an enjoyable song based on Isaiah 12:3-6 that you can practice singing to the Lord to drink the living water.
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
This is an important question for every believer to ask. Whether we’ve recently been saved or we’ve been saved many years, the answer to this question has profound importance for our Christian life.
This post will provide some practical help about baptism from God’s Word.
Our need to be baptized
In Mark 16:16 the Lord Jesus said,
“He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.”
One thing we need to be clear about is that only believing in Christ saves us from being condemned by God. We can see in the second half of this verse that not believing is the only matter mentioned in relation to being condemned. Additionally, John 3:16 confirms this point by saying that “everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.”
So we can be assured that if we’ve received the Lord Jesus, we are a child of God. We’ve been saved from God’s condemnation and we will never perish.
Then what does the first part of this verse mean: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved”? If believing is sufficient to save us from being condemned, why is baptism mentioned at all?
The meaning of “saved”
As Christians, we usually think of a saved person as someone who received the Lord Jesus and is saved from eternal condemnation. This is certainly true, as we previously mentioned. But in the Bible, we find a fuller meaning of the word “saved” than we sometimes think of.
We would probably all agree we need to be saved from many things. The most obvious thing is eternal condemnation. But what about in our daily lives, after we believe? Satan uses many things to try to ensnare Christians today, even though their eternal destiny is secure. He uses things like the world and our old ways of living to try to weigh us down and distract us from pursuing Christ. So what do we do? How can we escape these things? It’s clear that we need to be saved from more than eternal condemnation.
The good news is that God’s complete salvation involves even more than our not perishing eternally.
In His wisdom, God ordained baptism as the second step in a wonderful, full salvation to deal with things we need to be saved from now.
Before God and men
Believing is something inward and hidden. When God sees our faith, He justifies us and imparts His life into us. We’re no longer condemned by God, and we’re begotten with His divine life to be His child. By believing, we are saved before God.
However, people around us can’t see all this and may still want us to live the same way we lived before. In fact, the world tries to hang onto us. So we not only need to be saved before God; we also need to be saved before men. We need a separation from the world.
Believing saves us from condemnation; baptism severs the world’s hold on us. It buries our past life and delivers us from the world that entangles us.
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A picture of one aspect of salvation: the Passover
We can illustrate these two aspects of salvation with the account of the children of Israel in Exodus 12—14. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:6 says that what occurred with them is an example for us as believers today.
The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and cried out to God in their misery. God heard them and sent many plagues on the Egyptians, including the last, a plague of the death of the firstborn. To be saved from this death, the Israelites had to sacrifice a lamb—a picture of Christ as the Lamb of God sacrificed for us—and apply the lamb’s blood to the doorposts and lintel of their houses. When God saw the blood of the lamb on a house, He passed over that house and the firstborn within was saved from destruction. By staying in their house under the blood of the lamb, the Israelites escaped God’s condemnation.
Today we have Christ as the real Lamb of God who died for our redemption. When we apply His blood by believing into Him, we are saved from the eternal judgment of God upon all sinful mankind. If you’ve never received Christ as your Savior, you can pray a simple prayer like this:
“Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to this earth to be the Lamb of God to take away all my sins. Thank You for shedding Your blood for me. I receive You as my Savior and life. Forgive me of all my sins and cleanse me with Your precious blood. Come into me right now. Amen.”
If we have prayed such a prayer, we can be assured that we’re redeemed, our sins are forgiven, we have eternal life, and we are a child of God. Praise Him!
But God didn’t stop with the Passover. He didn’t rescue the children of Israel from condemnation only to leave them as slaves in Egypt.
Exodus 12:51 says,
“And on that very day Jehovah brought the children of Israel out of the land Egypt by their armies.”
But how did God bring them out of the land of Egypt?
A picture of another aspect of salvation: crossing the Red Sea
Although the Israelites were spared from God’s condemnation of death by the Passover lamb, their original problem remained: they were still in Egypt under the tyranny of Pharaoh. They needed an exodus out of Egypt to save them from that tyranny.
To save them from Pharaoh and Egypt, God led the Israelites out of Egypt deliberately by way of the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his army chased them until the children of Israel were pinned between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, seemingly with no way out. But God told Moses to stretch out his staff over the waters, and the waters parted. The Israelites then crossed through the sea on dry land to the other side.
When they all got through, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea again, and its waters returned, burying the entire pursuing Egyptian army. The children of Israel were thus separated from Egypt, and the power of Pharaoh over them was overthrown.
This account of the children of Israel vividly shows us why we need to be baptized after we receive Christ. Although we have been redeemed by the Lord and received Him as our Savior and life, something holds us back. We’re not as free to enjoy our salvation as we thought we would be, not so free from our old manner of life or worldly entanglements as we had hoped.
These feelings indicate that we, too, need an exodus. They show us we are aware of our need to escape the world, represented by Egypt, and the tyranny of Satan, represented by Pharaoh. But “Pharaoh” is not happy to give up his slaves, and he pursues us even after we’re redeemed to bring us back into the world. So how do we escape?
A proper baptism provides the separating line between us and the world, just as the Red Sea separated the children of Israel from Egypt. Baptism frees us from Satan’s tyranny over us. When we’re baptized, he and his army are left buried behind us in the waters of baptism. They can no longer cling to us, and we are safe on the “other side,” free from Satan’s bondage and able to follow the Lord Jesus in an unhindered way.
When should we get baptized?
The simplest answer to the question of when we should be baptized is, now. If a person has received Christ as their Savior, then according to God’s Word, it’s never too early for them to be baptized.
The New Testament records two excellent examples of new believers being baptized immediately after receiving the Lord.
The Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8
The Lord Jesus told Philip to speak to an Ethiopian eunuch, who received the gospel with joy. As they went along the road, they came upon some water. The eunuch said to Philip,
“Look, water. What prevents me from being baptized?” (v. 36)
Philip responded simply, “If you believe from all your heart, you will be saved.” The eunuch declared his belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and they proceeded with his baptism.
“And he ordered the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” (v. 38)
Philip expressed only one requirement for the Ethiopian eunuch to be baptized—that he believe in the Lord. Philip didn’t require the man to take a class, to learn about Christian practices, or to be saved for a certain length of time. Rather, once the man declared his faith, Philip baptized him.
The Philippian jailer in Acts 16
The apostles Paul and Silas, after being beaten and jailed for preaching Christ, were in prison singing praises to God in the middle of the night. While they were singing, an earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, loosing the bonds of all the prisoners and giving them the opportunity to escape.
The prisoners’ escape would have meant execution for their jailer. Because he thought they had all escaped, the jailer decided to end his own life. However, Paul stopped him and showed him they were all accounted for.
Under such circumstances, the jailer asked the apostles, “What must I do to be saved?” (v. 30). The apostles responded simply, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household” (v. 31).
The apostles then spoke the Word to him and those in his house, and the jailer washed their wounds. After receiving the Word and believing in God with all his household, the jailer “was baptized immediately, he and all his household” (v. 33).
From these two cases, we can see that we don’t need to wait to “be ready” to be baptized. We’re ready when we believe. Nothing will make us either more or less worthy for the water of baptism. We can find only one requirement in God’s Word for our being baptized: believing in the Lord Jesus.
Don’t miss the opportunity
Whether you’ve believed in the Lord for many years or you’re newly saved does not matter. Just as it’s never too early for a saved person to be baptized, it’s also never too late. If you have believed into Christ, but have not yet been baptized, don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
If this is your case, please take a moment to pray to the Lord concerning your need for baptism:
“Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me my need to be baptized. Lord, I don’t just want to be saved inwardly by receiving Your life. I also want to be saved outwardly from Satan and the world that prevent me from following You freely. Lord, show me how You would have me complete this important step of being baptized. Amen.”
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
When we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, some marvelous things happened to us. We were justified by God, forgiven of our sins, and saved from perdition. How we praise God for these wonderful gifts!
But as wonderful as each of these is, something more happened when we received Christ: a union and mingling of God’s divine Spirit with our human spirit. This is a profound fact that we can enjoy today in our daily experience.
The two spirits revealed in the Bible
Three Bible verses put the divine Spirit and the human spirit together, and each for a particular reason.
1. For our being born again—John 3:6
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
This verse mentions two spirits—a capital “S” Spirit and a lowercase “s” spirit. What are these two? Note 2 on this verse in the Recovery Version says this:
“The first Spirit mentioned here is the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, and the second spirit is the human spirit, the regenerated spirit of man. Regeneration is accomplished in the human spirit by the Holy Spirit of God with God’s life, the uncreated eternal life. Thus, to be regenerated is to have the divine, eternal life (in addition to the human, natural life) as the new source and new element of a new person.”
In putting these two spirits together, this verse speaks of our divine birth. So our experience of the two spirits begins when we believe in Christ and are born again.
2. For witnessing that we are children of God—Romans 8:16
“The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.”
Here again we see the two spirits together—the capital “S” Spirit is “the Spirit Himself,” the divine Spirit of God, and the lowercase “s” spirit is “our spirit,” our human spirit.
This verse shows us something very sweet and comforting in our experience of the two spirits. At the moment we believe, the Spirit Himself enters into our spirit and witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.
And we can continue to experience this witnessing throughout our Christian life. We just open our mouth and declare,
“I’ve received the Lord Jesus as my Savior and Lord, and I am born of the Spirit in my spirit! I am a child of God!”
While we’re making such a declaration, something wonderful happens deep inside of us. The Spirit who resides in our spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. As a result, we have a sweet sensation within that God is our dear Father, and that we are born of Him. This witnessing is an inward proof of our salvation, assuring us that we are truly saved.
3. For worshipping the Spirit in our spirit—John 4:24
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.”
Notice once again the capital “S” Spirit, referring to God, and the lowercase “s” spirit, referring to our human spirit. The Lord’s word here has to do with our worshipping God. We may have our own different ideas about how to worship God, but this verse clearly tells us that true worship involves our spirit.
Note 3 on John 4:24 explains why:
“This word was given to instruct the Samaritan woman regarding her need to exercise her spirit to contact God the Spirit. To contact God the Spirit with the spirit is to drink of the living water, and to drink of the living water is to render real worship to God.”
As believers, our basic need is to enjoy Him and receive Him as our divine supply, our living water. To do this, we need to exercise our spirit to contact God who is Spirit. As we contact Him, we drink of the living water and are refreshed and revived. This is the real worship God desires of us.
[[Free Study Bible]]
The divine Spirit with our human spirit—our mingled spirit
For those who believe in Christ, these two spirits are not separate, but are united and mingled together as one.
In 1 Corinthians 6:17, Paul said,
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”
By this verse we can see that the two spirits are mingled together as “one spirit.” This doesn’t mean a loss of distinction occurs between the two. The Spirit is still the divine Spirit and our human spirit is still our human spirit, but they are united as one. For example, hot tea is a single beverage, but with two distinct ingredients. When we brew tea with water, neither the tea nor the water loses its distinct identity. But brewed together, the two are mingled together as one.
Note 2 in the Recovery Version on “one spirit” says:
“This indicates the mingling of the Lord as the Spirit with our spirit. Our spirit has been regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3:6), who is now in us (v. 19) and is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). This is the realization of the Lord, who became the life-giving Spirit through resurrection (15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) and who is now with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). This mingled spirit is often referred to in Paul’s Epistles, e.g., in Rom. 8:4-6.”
The divine Spirit and our human spirit are made one. This is truly something profound, and yet so experiential!
How can we experience these two spirits, this mingled spirit?
The main way we can exercise our spirit is by prayer. Just as we exercise our feet by walking, we exercise our spirit by praying. As we pray, even in a simple way, we exercise our spirit and contact God.
But at times we may become very complicated when we pray. Or, we’re in a situation where we cannot stop and go off somewhere to pray. So sometimes the simplest way to exercise our spirit is by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. We can call on Him anytime and anywhere.
In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul said,
“No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.”
So when we call on the Lord’s name, we’re in His Spirit, and we enjoy our union with Him.
To call on the Lord isn’t just to casually say the name of Jesus, without any feeling. It’s to cry out to Him from deep within, to call out to the Lord Jesus audibly. We can even take a moment right now to practice calling on the Lord from the depths of our being:
“Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! Oh Lord, I need You. Lord, I love You. Oh Lord Jesus, I open to You.”
A graceful sweep of white pillars gives shape to the World War II memorial in Washington, DC. At its center stands Freedom Wall, holding a field of 4,048 sculpted gold stars. Each star represents 100 Americans who died in the war; together they commemorate the more than 400,000 Americans who lost their lives. In front of the wall, engraved in granite, are the words, “HERE WE MARK THE PRICE OF FREEDOM.”
These symbolic stars are reminiscent of the gold stars displayed by families of fallen service men and women during the Second World War. The gold stars on the Freedom Wall vividly bear witness to the fact that the ultimate price for freedom is paid both by those who serve and by their families.
In our nation’s capital, and in bustling city centers and quiet green parks across our great country, stand monuments dedicated to great military leaders, service members who performed acts of valor, and singular moments of victory. Occupying their rightful place of honor, these monuments proudly display the gratitude of a nation, and movingly bring to mind our solemn obligation to never forget those who gave their lives so we could live ours in peace and security.
On this Memorial Day, as we honor all U.S. service men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion, we also remember the countless personal monuments hidden from public view—the empty seat at a family dinner, the folded flag above a mantle, the memories that well up in a mother’s heart during quiet moments of reflection.
Behind the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice stand the living, resilient legacies of their loved ones’ service—the mothers and fathers, the husbands and wives, the siblings and children. In them we find our bedrock of patriotism, the continuing thread of our nation’s character, and an unbroken line of love and sacrifice for this country.
These family members understand the true price of freedom, as did their fallen loved ones, for they are the ones who have paid it. They carry on with solemn pride and resolve, despite unthinkable loss. America endures because of the sacrifice our troops have made to maintain our freedom, and because of the unending sacrifice their families continue to make.
Today, we at Bibles for America salute you, and we pray for you.
We are thankful as Americans. We are thankful as Christians. We know that our organization can exist because some have paid the price for freedom.
From all of us here at BfA, thank you for your service.
