By His Grace And Mercy

Joyce: So when the bible says here in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that old things have passed away and all things become new, it’s not necessarily that I receive Christ and then I look in the mirror and have a wrinkle that went away or if I was bald, I grew hair or whatever might happen.  I may not look any different but something has happened deep on the inside of me that if I now work with the Holy Spirit, he will help work out through me that good thing that god has put in me by his grace and mercy.

Mark: Actually man is made up of three parts — you’re spirit, soul and body — so what happens when you are in Christ, the part of you that’s born again — not your body; your body’s not born again, your mind is not born again but 1 Corinthians 6:17 says “he that is joined unto the lord is one spirit,” so what happens is your spirit is literally joined to Christ so that the same life that’s in Christ comes into your spirit and the same righteousness, and that’s because when you’re in Christ, god literally takes whatever’s in Christ and puts it in you. You get the same righteousness, same life, same victory, same blessing, so god sees you now in Christ and I tell people “you look a whole lot better in Christ than you do outside of him.”  many times we continue to see ourselves naturally rather than taking the word of god and finding the scriptures that use that terminology and then declaring with our mouth that I am who god says I am, that I am a new creation in Christ. I’m not just a forgiven sinner, as good as that is, but I have become a whole new person – a new creation and everything has changed.  Old things are passed away, everything’s new. In other words, in Christ is radical change. You’re a different person. You’re not even the same person so you have to almost have a class to find out your new identity.

Joyce: that’s exactly right. So many people, myself included, I was insecure, I had a poor self-image and I kept trying to do better so I’d feel better about myself and every time I’d make a mistake, I’d feel more and more guilty and blame myself and beat up on myself more and more and more, and think I didn’t deserve anything.  I don’t even begin to know how to convey to people what it’s done for me to find out who I am in Christ. The bible says here in 2 Corinthians 5:21 — I love this — he that knew no sin became sin, that we might be made the righteousness of god in Christ. I think even to get it on a more practical level, we don’t stand before god with wrongness; we now stand before god with the righteousness — his own righteousness. He has clothed us with his own righteousness and the amplified bible says that he views us, he sees us as examples of his own righteousness.  If I was god and I could do anything I wanted to, then I could see you anyway I pleased; it would be none of anybody’s business. Even though you have some gray hair, if I wanted to look at you and see your hair jet black that would be my business because i would be god and could do whatever I wanted to. Well, if god wants to view you as righteous, then that’s his business; it’s none of the devil’s business, and it’s not based on what you do or don’t do; it’s based on your faith in Christ.  So, when you receive Christ, you’re in him and you have everything that he has; you’re a joint heir with him.

Joyce Meyer Online – I think a lot of people feel that pressure to have to preach to people and to give them some kind of printed tract. And I’m not saying that that’s wrong.