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shirtshangingOnce you’ve prayed the prayer asking Jesus into your heart, you can count on God to provide you with all the help you need to walk out the good life He has called you to live. You cannot, however, expect Him to fulfill His plan for you all by Himself. Your new life in Christ is a cooperative effort. You and God must work together for it to turn out as planned. 

According to Ephesians 4:24, your part of the work is this: “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” 

What does it mean to put on the new man? 

Let me tell you lirst what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean put on some kind of phony front and pretend you’re something you’re really not. On the contrary, it means let the new person you are on the inside shine through on the outside so that people can see the God who lives within you. Put on, or wear, your new identity in Christ like you would wear a suit of clothes. 

Weymouth’s translation says it this way: “clothe yourselves with that new and better self which has been created to resemble God in the righteousness and holiness which come from the truth.” 

As a believer, you have a whole new spiritual wardrobe to wear! 

I’ve noticed that when my wife goes shopping and gets some new clothes, she’s eager to put them on. She wants to wear them right away. I’m not like that. If I get something new, it may hang in the closet for a while. That I-will-wear-it-later kind of attitude is okay when it comes to natural clothing. But spiritually, we all ought to follow my wife’s example. We should hnd out about the new clothes God has given us, deck ourselves out in them, and come out of the closet! 

Christians shouldn’t be running around spiritually naked, like the nutcase at the ball game who runs across the field without his pants (or his shirt, or anything else). You shouldn’t act like a spiritual streaker and go out without your clothes on. You have a wardrobe full of righteous garments! 

You’re in Christ Jesus and He has been made for you “wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.“ God has imparted His own holy nature to you. You have what it takes to dress (and live) right; and that’s what God wants you to do. He wants you to get up in the morning, take a shower, brush your teeth, spray on something that makes you smell good, and put on your new spiritual clothes. He wants you to look in the closet of your spirit, see who you are in Christ, and clothe yourself in that identity. 

Value yourself because God values you.

Too many believers neglect to do this. Or else they just do it halfway. They streak around with nothing but their spiritual socks and hat on. They slop through life like the derelict on the street who doesn’t bother to brush his teeth, clean his fingernails, or trim his hair. 

Those Christians don’t value themselves the way God does. If they did, they’d take care of themselves. They’d dress up and look good. The reason they don’t is because they’ve fallen prey to the devil’s temptations. They’ve sinned so they feel devalued. They feel condemned and ashamed and unworthy to wear their righteous clothes. But God wants to restore those believers. He sees every one of His children as priceless and precious, and He wants us to see ourselves that way too. 

God’s plan is for all of us to be well-groomed spiritually and look like new creations all the time. He’s provided for us the most gorgeous, holy garments anybody has ever seen, and He intends for us to wear them every day-not only for our own sake but for His sake. 

You see, when you’re dressed up in your divine identity, God can advertise Himself through you. He can make you such a remarkable billboard of His goodness and His grace that people who knew you before you got saved will look at you and say, “You seem like a different person. I remember when you were out there sinning with the rest of us. What happened to you?”

Then you can tell them, “I’m a new man in Christ today! those old things are gone and all things in me are new!"

Wouldn’t you enjoy having those kinds of conversations? 

Sure, you would. And you’ll have the opportunity when you “put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness?“ People will see God in you because you’re like Him in righteousness. You’re like Him in holiness, and joy, and peace. And when you’re like God, inside and out, it’s a happy day for everybody!




Copyright © David Shearin Ministries
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

David Shearin
Web site: The Word for Living
 
David is the founding Pastor of Word of Life Christian Center, a multi-cultural church in Las Vegas, Nevada with various outreaches, including an international television ministry (The Word for Living), Word of Life Bible Institute and Word of Life Christian Academy (Pre-K through 12th grade school). In addition to pastoring, he is a frequent speaker for conferences across the U.S. and overseas. He ministers with boldness, humor, and compassion. Graduates of Rhema Bible Training College, David and his wife Vicki have been pastoring for 37 years. He is the author of five books: "The Master Key: Unlock the Mystery of Supernatural Living", "Tapping Into Wisdom's Treasures", "The Real You: Unveiling the Hidden Person of the Heart", "Friendship with God", and his latest book, "Accepted and Approved, Living Free From Shame".
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