One of the most famous passages of the Old Testament references lines that have been drawn by Yahweh and fall in pleasant places (Psalm 16:6). For the religious, these lines are boundaries within which we live, and as long as our beliefs and behavior are correct, we are living a successful “Christian life.” However, from a new covenant perspective, we no longer need lines that create boundaries, but rather lines that connect us by the Spirit to Yahweh and to one another.
Through Sunday’s message, we described the fact that two major forces exist outside the nucleus of an atom: mass (gravity) and electromagnetic energy (Holy Spirit). For many reasons, the organized church has found it difficult and has become stubborn in wanting to transfer everything from lines that bind to lines that connect by the Holy Spirit. Religion’s main expression is forming and giving people false identities, which we refer to as garments, to substitute for the identity we are given in Christ. Of course, the process of removing the old identities (garments) that bind and restrict and taking on the garments of righteousness is called sanctification.
Just as our dear granddaughter was born with many genetic defects in her body, which ultimately caused her passing five months after her birth, many Christians discover that the version of Christ to which they are introduced possesses some spiritual flaws that lead to a dysfunctional expression. You cannot retain the old and expect to thrive in the blessing of the new.
Remember, Christ is being formed in you, and this process requires you to yield to a transformation process of renewing the mind by taking on the mind of Christ. As you are transformed by the Holy Spirit and become a partaker of His divine nature, these old garments of false identity begin to be identified and must be repudiated. As you do so, the Holy Spirit begins to fashion the identity you were given before time began and prepares you to receive it. Once you are fitted with your identity in Christ, you are ready to appropriate by faith His valuable resources for your purpose and become joined and jointed to others who are similarly assigned. (See Ephesians 4:20-24.)
This is perfectly illustrated in the marriage union, where both spouses must decrease in their former identity and allow Christ to change them from within, introducing a whole new marriage and family culture that is defined and constructed by the Holy Spirit.
Scriptures
- Psalm 16:5,6 – Yahweh is your portion and inheritance, and the lines He has drawn for you are expressive as you connect to Him and others for kingdom expansion.
- Romans 8:27-30 – We are predestined to be conformed to the image of Yahweh’s Son, that He might be the firstborn of many brethren.
- Philippians 3:20-21 – We are subjected to a process by the Holy Spirit to be transformed from the lowly body of the flesh and conformed into the glorious body of Christ through the process of subduing (hupo-tasso).
- Ephesians 4:20-24 – If you have been taught by Christ in the truth, you will put off the old man (repudiate) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, which leads you to put on the new man, a creation of Yahweh both positionally (righteousness) and functionally (living a disciplined life of holiness and self-control).
- Ephesians 5:27 – Yahshua loved His ecclesia so much, He gave His life for her.
Discussion Questions
1. Read Psalm 16:5-6. Do you see yourself as an heir in the family of Yahweh? Are the lines Yahweh has drawn in your life restrictive or expressive... maybe both? Explain. The law given to Israel were lines that restricted them for their own protection. How many of the issues you pray about really begin with you?
2. Read Romans 8:27-30. Do you believe Yahweh knew you, your identity, and purpose before time began? How compliant and submissive are you to His Spirit as He conforms you to the image of His Son?
3. Read Philippians 3:20-21. Transforming from the lowly body to the glorious body includes a renewing of the mind. Where is your thought life right now? Would you consider it healthy and faith-focused? Do you set your mind on things above and take on the mind of Christ, or does your thinking usually default to negativity, doubt, and unbelief? Explain.
4. Read Ephesians 4:20-24. How much repudiating (denouncing, denying, and disavowing) do you actually engage toward areas of renegade thinking and false identities? What does it mean to you to put off the old man and put on the new man?
5. Read Ephesians 5:27. Do you value Yahshua’s ecclesia? Are you willing to identify with Yahshua and lay your life down for the expression and expansion of His kingdom in all areas of your life? Remember, no one really appreciated Yahshua’s sacrifice at the time. Not until the Spirit convicted their hearts were their eyes opened.
6. CHILDREN: Cultivate the identity of Christ in your children. Be watchful for activities in which they become prideful. Ramp up the communication and put life in a healthy perspective for them, distinguishing between what is temporary and eternal.
Declarations and Appropriations
Father, truthfully, this process of Christ being formed in me seems overwhelming at times. I am convinced the key is to totally surrender my life, all of it, to Your Spirit and receive Your abiding grace to fulfill Your ultimate will. I am a speaking spirit in the earth and will continue to align and allow the Spirit to cultivate me into a mature son/daughter and ultimate intercessor. I will transmit on the earth what You are broadcasting from the heavens, and I will allow the Holy Spirit to continue to conform me to the image of Yahshua, Who is the patterned Son. For the King and His glory!!