SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/3/2019
11:28 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “Become
the New Self”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eph. 4:23-24
Message of the verses: “23 and that you be
renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the
truth.”
What
we see here is a contrast to what we looked at when we looked at 4:17-18 “17 So
this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as
the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in
their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.” John MacArthur says that “the Christian is
renewed continually ‘in the spirit of [his] mind’ (cf. Col. 3:10):” “and have
put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the
image of the One who created him.” He
goes on to define the word renewed “Ananeoo
(to be renewed) appears only here in the New Testament. The best rendering of this present passive
infinitive is as a modifier of the main verb ‘put on,’ so that it would read ‘and
being renewed in the spirit of your mind, ‘put on the new self.’ This makes clear that such renewal is the
consequence of ‘laying aside the old self’ and is the context in which one may ‘put
on the new self.’ Salvation relates to
the mind, which is the center of thought, understanding, and belief, as well as
of motive and action. ‘The spirit of
your mind’ is explained by one commentator as intending to show that it is not
in the sphere of human thinking or human reason, but in the moral sphere, that
this renewal occurs. John Eadie says:
‘The change is not in the
mind psychologically, either in its essence or in its operation; and neither is
it in the mind as if it were superficial change of opinion on points of
doctrine or practice; but it is the spirit of the mind; in that which gives mind
both its bent and its material of thought.
It is not simply in the spirit as if it lay there in dim and mystic
quietude; but it is in the spirit of the mind; in the power which, when changed
itself, radically alters the entire sphere and business of the inner mechanism.’”
Now
because of the difficulty of this section I will quote one more paragraph from
John MacArthur’s commentary and then we will, Lord willing, pick up where we
left off today:
“When a person becomes a
Christian, God initially renews his mind, giving it a completely new spiritual
moral capability—a capability that the most brilliant and educated mind apart
from Christ can never achieve (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9-16).This renewal continues
through the believer’s life as he is obedient to the Word and will of God (cf.
Rom. 12:1-2). The process is not a
one-time accomplishment but the continual work of the Spirit in the child of
God (Titus 3:5). Our resources are God’s
Word and prayer. It is through these
means that we gain the mind of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:5; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:7)
and it is through that mind that we live the life of Christ.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I know that the Christian life is a life
that after becoming saved that I have responsibilities to perform, however being
saved is something that comes after the Holy Spirit give an effectual call to
the unbeliever, thus no one can be saved by doing good works. After salvation there are things that I need
to do in order to walk with the Lord in a way that will bring glory to
Him. Sometimes I have a difficult time
figuring out these responsibilities.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
trust the Lord to give me more insight into living a life that is humble and a
life that pleases the Lord.
Verse that goes with yesterday’s
quote: “Your Word I have hidden in my
heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).
5/3/2019 12:06 PM
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