How Do You Walk In Your NEW IDENTITY?

 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor 5:17).

How can you tell if your thoughts and emotions are coming from the new, born-again self or the old carnal self? We know that the old man is corrupt and, at best, is incapable of living the Christian life. This is the self that most people try to patch up and feel good about.

I was with a denomination for many years which focused on the weaknesses of the flesh that “Need Work On” (NWOs). Everybody was talking about their NWOs, what all they needed to perfect. In other words, perfecting the old man. That’s not scriptural.

Paul’s solution to dealing with the old man is to renew your mind to your new identify in Christ. And we are not to know anyone after the flesh, not even ourselves, but we must all see each other as new creatures in Christ. You can’t fix the old garment with a piece of the new one.

Give it up! Jesus made it cut and dry, “Deny yourself and die to self if you want to live in the Spirit.” We have to die to this old self life with all its good and bad, and find our new identity in Christ. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.” (Mat 16:23,24).

The new man is exactly as Jesus is! (1Cor. 6:17). We are a totally brand-new person in Christ. We have everything that Jesus has, in our spirits (1Jn 4:17). We have a totally new identity in Christ. Why then would we want to fix up our old selves instead of just living in our new selves? If we let the new man dominate us, we’ll walk in power and victory in every area of our lives. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Not only must you see yourself as a new creature, but you must also see everyone else in our church as new creatures. We know no man after the flesh.

So how do you know you’re living in your new identity? God’s Word is the key. Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in you.”  Otherwise you can’t do it (Jn 15). “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” (Jn 6:63). It’s quite simple. Your thoughts have to match God’s Word. Any thought or emotion that agrees with what God’s Word says about you is from your new man. Any thought or emotion that violates God’s Word is from your old man or the devil.

If you’re feeling weak, the Word says: “Let the weak say ‘I am strong.’” You must SPEAK the Word. The Word cannot return void, it is an incorruptible seed. So let the sick say, “I am healed.” Let the poor say, “I am rich.” Let the cursed say, “I am blessed.” If you feel down, say “I am only above and not beneath, I am the head and not the tail. I am the righteousness of God.” You’ve got to SAY it to SOW it into your life.

SPEAK the new into the old. Call the things that are not as though they were and they will be. Trust in the power of the seed.