The New Creation

Written by Henry Morris

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creature." (Galatians 6:15)

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated "creature" is the same as "creation," so the apostle Paul, in our text, is stressing the vital importance of being a "new creation" in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is nothing less than the mighty Creator of heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16), and the very same creative power which called the universe into existence must be exerted on each lost sinner to create in him a new nature, capable of having the eternal fellowship with God for which man and woman were created in the beginning.

This new creation is not only for the purpose of saving their souls, but also for transforming their lives. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Although good works can never bring salvation, salvation must inevitably bring good works, for we are thereby "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Paul exhorts us to continually "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

Adam and Eve were originally created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27), but that image has been grievously damaged by unbelief and overt sin. Although still resident in man--in fact, distinguishing him from the animals--this divine image must be renewed through saving faith in our Creator/Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Scripture reminds all true believers that they "have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:9-10).

Knowing Christ

Author : Kevin Probst

My wife and I have been married for many years. We have both recently been made aware that after so many years of living together in the deepest intimacy a marriage relationship can offer, there are still things about each other that we don’t understand. Is it possible to ever know all there is to know about your spouse?

Likewise, many have enjoyed an intimate spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ for many, many years yet hardly know him. Do you really know him? Not just as a personal savior but do you really know Him for who he is? We can know him through the word he has given us but we cannot know him by accident. Just as it

takes effort to know and understand a spouse, it also takes effort to know and understand Christ. He is so vast in his nature and so complex in his person that he can never be fully known. It will be our greatest challenge throughout eternity to try to know Him.

But we do know a little about Christ. We know that he is exalted about all others. We know that he is supreme.

Christ is Supreme in His Diety – He is equal with God in all of his attributes. He is radiant in His glory. Christ is the exact image of the nature of God the Father.

“If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” – John 14:7

Christ is Supreme in His Eternal Nature (eternality) - This is incomprehensible. Think long on it and it will drive you crazy. Jesus Christ never had a beginning. It is an imponderable truth.

“He was with God in the beginning” of the creation.” – John 1:2

Jesus is God! The whole world and all the worlds unknown and all of creation and its creatures are frail and vulnerable and fragile and could be shattered into a million pieces by a simple word spoken by the eternal One.

He lived eternities before the beginning and he will live eternities after the end.

Christ is Supreme in His Unchangeable Nature. Is Christ holy? He shall always be holy. Is Christ love? He shall always be love. Is Christ good? He shall always be good. His holiness will never be overcome by carnality. His love will never be replaced with hatred. Throughout all of eternity, his goodness shall reign and he shall never, never be touched with the darkness of evil.

His character is constant.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8 The seasons come and go. The sun shines and then the sky darkens. Friends change. Families fluctuate. Circumstances are unpredictable. Relationships evolve. The cards are always being shuffled. Transition is a norm in the American lifestyle. But Jesus Christ never changes. His feet are firmly fixed in some unknown foundation of the vast universe and he cannot be moved.

Christ is Supreme in His knowledge. We revel in our knowledge. The information age makes available a never ending source of knowledge. There seems to be nothing Google does not know. Gather all the billions and trillions of bits of information together and compare it to the knowledge of Christ and it’s like comparing a single drop of water to all the water held in all the oceans of earth multiplied by a trillion quadrillions. His knowledge knows no limit.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, why would you ask me any question at all. You know ALL things.” – John 21-17

“His understanding is infinite.” – Psalm 147:5

There are some things God has never experienced. He has never been confused. He has never been perplexed. He has never been puzzled. He has never been surprised. He could never be a scientist who searches out the meaning of natural laws. God is the source of all those laws. He could never be a historian to search out the story of man. God wrote the story and he knows every single detail. God could never experience the thrill of the archeologist finding a buried artifact. God hid all those pieces and he knows exactly where they are and what story they tell. God has never made a mistake. He has never experienced sickness. He has never explored anything. He has never investigated. He has never discovered. He is infinite in all his knowledge and wisdom.

Supreme wisdom flows like a great river from the heart of God. Those who drink of its waters are blessed with understanding and they comprehend His eternal truth. Americans find themselves in terrible moral decay: our financial system is in ruins, our legal system is plagued with unfairness, our leaders are diseased with the cancer of greed and corruption, our population is blinded by a lust for material things. Why have we murdered 51 million unborn babies? Why do Americans incarcerate more or its population than any other nation on earth? Why are 35% of our children born out of wedlock? It is because we do not drink from the waters of everlasting wisdom made available by an omniscient God.

Christ is Supreme in His Authority. He is qualified and he is worthy to have all authority. He is all wise, he is all powerful and he is morally perfect. No other can offer those qualifications. He can never do the wrong thing. He can never make a wrong decision. He can never be corrupted by flattery or bribed by money. It is not possible for him to show favoritism. He cannot be selfish and self-serving.

He never seeks a majority vote. He never has to seek approval or get permission. He never has to sit down and ponder and reason regarding a solution to a certain problem. He knows how to end warand poverty. He knows how to cure cancer. Christ is supreme in his authority because he is worthy.

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” - Matthew 28:18

Ten thousands of angels sang, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” – Rev. 5:12

Jesus does as he pleases and we must be forever grateful that what he pleases to do is always good and honorable.

“All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" – Daniel 4:35

Christ is Supreme in His Providence. God knows everything there is to know about you. “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” – Luke 12:7

Christ didn’t just plunk you down on this earth and make some provisions for you and then walk away. He has a plan for you. You may not know his plan. It may take time for you to understand and you may sometimes experience doubt. Rest assured and do not doubt that God has a plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Do you sometimes feel he has forgotten you? Do you sometimes feel he isn’t listening? Know this; He knows every time a bird falls from the sky. He is fully aware every time one of his creatures becomes more road kill along the highways. He is fully aware of the smallest fish in the most remote area of the ocean where the eyes of men have not yet seen.

“Look at the birds of the air…your heavenly Father feeds them.” – Matthew 6:26

We have not yet scratched the surface of what it means to know Christ.

The Morning Hour

Written by Andrew Murray

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up (Psalm 5:3)

From the earliest ages, God's servants have thought of the morning as the time especially suitable for worshiping Him. It is still regarded by Christians both as a duty and a privilege to devote some portion of the beginning of the day to seeking seclusion and fellowship with God. Many Christians call it the Morning Watch, or the Quiet Hour. Others use the name, the Still Hour, or the Quiet Time.

All these believers, whether they think of a whole hour or half an hour, or even a quarter of an hour, unite with the psalmist when he says, "My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord."

In speaking of the extreme importance of this daily time of quiet for prayer and meditation on God's Word, Mr. Mott has said, "Next to receiving Christ as Savior, and claiming the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we know of no act attended with larger good to ourselves or others, than the formation of an undiscourageable resolution to keep the morning watch, and spend the first half hour of the day alone with God."

At first sight, this statement appears too strong. The act of receiving Christ as Savior is of such infinite consequences for eternity, and the act of claiming the Holy Spirit works such a revolution in the Christian life, that a simple thing like the morning watch hardly appears sufficiently important to be placed next to them. If, however, we think how impossible it is to live out daily life in Christ, or to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, without daily, close fellowship with God, we shall soon see the truth of the sentiment. The morning watch is the key by which the surrender to Christ and the Holy Spirit can be unceasingly and fully maintained.

To realize this, let us look first at what ought to be the object of the morning watch. The morning watch must not be regarded as an end in itself. It is not sufficient that it gives us a blessed time for prayer and Bible study, and so brings us a certain measure of refreshment and help. It should serve as a means to an end. And that end is: to secure the presence of Christ for the whole day.

Personal devotion to a friend or a pursuit means that the friend or pursuit shall always hold that place in the heart, even when other activities occupy the attention. Personal devotion to Jesus means that we allow nothing to separate us from Him in a moment. To abide in Him and His love, to be kept by Him and His grace, to be doing His will and pleasing Him--this cannot possibly be an intermittent thing if we are truly devoted to Him. "I Need Thee Every Hour," "Moment by Moment I Am Kept in His Love"--these hymns are the language of life and truth. The believer cannot stand for one moment without Christ. If we are devoted to Him, we will refuse to be content with anything less than abiding always in His love and His will.

Consider the morning watch now as the means to this great end: I want to secure absolutely the presence of Christ for the entire day, to do nothing that can interfere with it. I feel that my success for the day will depend upon the clearness and the strength of the faith that seeks and finds and holds Him in the inner chamber.

The link for the day between Christ and me must be renewed and firmly fastened in the morning hour. True Christianity aims at having the character of Christ so formed in us, that in our most ordinary acts His personality and disposition shall show themselves. The spirit of Christ is meant to possess us so that in our association with others, in our relaxation, in our business, it shall be second nature to act according to His will. All this can be because Christ Himself, as the Living One, lives in us.

Your purpose will especially have its influence on the spirit in which you keep the morning watch. As the grandeur of the aim (unbroken fellowship with God in Christ through the day) and the true nature of the means to secure it (a definite conscious meeting with Christ, securing His presence for the day) possess us, we will see that the one essential thing is the fixed determination, whatever effort or self-denial it may cost, to win the prize. When studying or on the sports field, a student knows the need for vigorous will and determined purpose if he is to succeed. Christianity needs, and indeed deserves, not less but more intense devotion. If anything, surely the love of Christ needs the whole heart.

Above everything else, it is this fixed determination to secure Christ's presence that will overcome the temptation to be unfaithful or superficial in the keeping of our pledge. It is this determination which will make the morning watch itself a mighty means of grace in strengthening character, and enabling us to say "No" to every call for self-indulgence. It is this determination which will enable us, when we enter the inner chamber and shut the door, to be there with our whole heart, ready at once for our communication with Christ. And it is this determination that, from the morning watch on, will become the keynote of our daily life.

The Christian who makes personal devotion to Christ his watchword, will find in the morning hour that day by day insight into his holy calling is renewed. This is the time when his will is braced to walk worthy of Christ. His faith will be rewarded by the presence of Christ waiting to meet him, and take charge of him for the day.

Stand Strong!

“And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” – 2 Samuel 23:11-12

We are told very little about Shammah and Bible commentaries generally refer only fleetingly to this Old Testament character. Yet his name is preserved in the Word of God for a purpose and there are some vital lessons that we can learn from the record of his life.

The chapter in which Shammah’s name is found lists David’s “mighty men” whose exploits are recalled at the end of the life of Israel’s illustrious king. Shammah is the third man to be mentioned. He lived at a time when the cruel enemies of God’s people (the Philistines) were making inroads into Israel’s territory. He was a Hararite, which means a mountaineer. This suggests that his ancestors lived in the hills – perhaps having been forced there by earlier Philistine oppression. Shammah’s own name means ruin, and by implication it can mean distress or dismay. It seems very likely therefore that Shammah had been born at a time of great difficulty when the Philistines were oppressing the people of God. The Israelites could well have been living in constant fear of the marauding armies. As Shammah appears on the scene, the Philistines were mounting another attack. The enemy presented a united front, being “gathered together into a troop,” as yet again they invaded Israel’s territory. God’s people were all too familiar with this kind of situation and simply “fled from the Philistines.” Some past attacks may have been thwarted, but this latest one looked well organized and was too much for the Israelites to contemplate. But one man stood his ground – alone. Shammah would not flee with the rest! Bravely he took his stand right “in the midst” of the ground. Why was he prepared to be different and take this lone stand?

Shammah recognized something that nobody else seemed to remember. The land that the Philistines had entered was not theirs but belonged to Israel! The God of heaven had given the land to their forefathers centuries before. It was His – and it was not to be surrendered! Lentils had been eaten at least since Jacob’s day (Gen. 25:34). Someone had planted and tended that crop. Was it to be lost to the Philistines as well? Were they simply to trample upon it as they took possession of the territory or would they be allowed to exploit someone else’s labors and enjoy the harvest themselves? As far as Shammah was concerned, it was unthinkable! Bravely he took his stand to defend that ground because he appreciated its value. We are living at a time when many precious things are being regarded as cheap. Liberties to worship God have been won, precious doctrines have been uncovered, and God’s people possess a rich and priceless heritage. The enemy (the devil) today threatens to rob us of these prized possessions. Many treat sacred truth lightly and think nothing of allowing the trends of the world to find a welcome in the church. Others see no harm in ecumenical ventures and are unaware of the peril of joining forces with those whose beliefs and practices deny the truths of Scripture. We need men and women of God today who will value their heritage and take that lone stand for the glory of God.

In Shammah’s case “the Lord wrought a great victory.” Without regard for his own safety, he stood his ground – right at the center of the field. As he defended the land single-handedly, he “slew the Philistines” who had tried to dispossess him. What a great victory was wrought that day! It was great because the enemy did not prevail. Super-human strength was given to God’s “man for the moment.” Ultimately, the victory was traced to what the LORD had done!

For Shammah, more than a field of lentils was at stake. The challenge for all believers is this: Are the things of God precious to us? In this day of spiritual compromise and cheapness are we prepared to take our stand for Him? If we, like Shammah, are ready to defend His interests he will use us to win great victories in His name.

Written by Martin Girard