My Spirit: Me as God re-Created Me
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” John 13:12
My spirit has the essence or light of my Father
During my first week at college, the President of the college explained that there were more parking permits issued than available parking spaces. Purchasing a parking permit did not guarantee us we would find a parking space but was more like a license to hunt.
When I was a child, salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ was explained to me much the same way. I was taught to view my decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as more a right to hunt than a guarantee of a place in heaven when I died. If I lived life well under His Lordship, I might find my place in heaven. If I screwed up a lot, well, there were no guarantees.
I, therefore, struggled with my salvation. Was I really saved? Was I forgiven of sins I did not know about or had not asked specific forgiveness? Was I really good enough?
In His mercy, Jesus showed me a vision about the depths of His salvation. I saw the world as a dark and dirty place with little life in it. Men were running about enjoying the dirt because they actually absorbed the dirt into their skin and into their inner beings. They were “of the earth.”[1] Then I saw an infinite river of liquid light running through the world. Some of that liquid light was removed from the river and formed into mounds of solid light, planted in the world. When we receive the salvation of Jesus Christ, our spirits, once “of the earth,” become solid light. We are “of heaven.”
But there was a problem. Even though we were made of solid light, we were covered with mud and slime. Creatures that looked like small octopi were crawling over the mounds depositing their slime. Then I saw Jesus walking among us using a clean white cloth to wipe away the mud and slime. When He would come to one of these creatures, He would flick it off with His little finger. As He cleaned up a small spot on one of us, the bright light of who we really are could shine through, piercing the darkness.
My view of salvation instantly changed! Our spirits have been totally re-created in His image of light. We are creatures of light in a dark place. Yes, we might not be fully cleaned up or we might even be totally covered in mud where no light shines forth, but the truth is our spirits are solid light. On the inside, you and I are the righteousness of God. We are made holy and without blemish. We are indeed a new creation; children of God, made like Him, in His image.
The opportunity to be born again, to be born of the Spirit of God, is one act of re-creation that Jesus accomplished at the cross. We absolutely must see that we are like Him simply because we are born of Him. When we are born of God, the DNA of God is in you and me. In fact, our spirits look just like our Father. Think about it. Your spirit has your Father’s eyes, your Father’s nose, your Father’s walk, and your Father’s nature. He is light and He is love.[2] You are, therefore, made of light and love. You are light and you are love.[3] The light and love you are will never change so long as you belong to Him. You could even say that your spirit is made of the substance of God or the essence of God.
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My re-created spirit
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[1] I Corinthians 15:48
[2] I John 4:8, I John 1:5
[3] I John 4:16-17, Ephesians 5:8