Battle between flesh and the Spirit

New life in Christ

The Christian life begins with receiving the Lord Jesus Christ - the gift of God’s love and forgiveness- by faith. It results in a threefold commitment to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ . This life began in faith (Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” ) and can only be lived by faith.

New Creation - 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

New Relationship with God - 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”

New Motivation - Colossians 3:1–4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

New Relationship with other Christians - 1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

New Relationship with others - 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Since we are a new creation,

we are saved from the penalty of sin - John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

We are being saved from the power of sin -

Jude 24–25 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

We will be saved from the presence of sin

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Philippians 3:21 “who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”