When you believe the truth of God’s word in your heart you will begin to see the manifestation of kingdom realities in every area of your life.
Real transformation in your life happens only by a revelation in your heart of Christ in you. What is revelation? How does it come? How does it relate to transformation?
Christianity is not a personal development course to a better you because you can’t get any better than Jesus in you.
Everything that God has for you is received by grace through faith.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The promises, quality of life and general “things” you want/need from God are included in the salvation you receive from him through confidence in the finished work of Jesus. In other words, you can not work for the things you want/need from God, every aspect of salvation is in Jesus already but it becomes real in our lives when we receive it by grace through faith.
Saved = Made whole, rescued, delivered, restored, provided for
Grace = God’s influence in your heart. Unmerited favor and his acts of favor toward you.
Faith = Confidence (that God is who he says he is and that you have what Jesus paid for)
As you become confident in what Jesus did and who he is, trust grows in your heart, which causes you to allow God to be who he is in your life. He is not withholding any aspect of salvation from you, you are merely limiting it through a lack of confidence in him.
How do you develop confidence in him? (Notice I didn’t say how do you get more faith?)
If it’s received by grace, let’s look a little deeper at grace. The Greek word for grace is charis. The Greek root word for charis is chario. (Why Greek? Because the Net Testament letters, like Ephesians, were originally written in Greek. So we’re just going to the original language to extrapolate a more accurate understanding from the writers original intention.)
Why is the root word important? In this case, chario gives us the attitude or inner environment that is present when charis (grace) is flowing in our hearts.
Chario = be glad or rejoice
The environment in which grace is most effective is when you’re glad or happy about the things that Jesus accomplished and made available for you. When you feel like those things are possible. When you’re happy that every aspect of salvation in Jesus is already true for you and God wants you to live in all of them now. A joyful heart receives better.
Psalm 9:1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Here’s the progression of transformation. You experience salvation by saying yes to God’s influence in your heart because he favors you, which is done from a position of confidence in Jesus and your new identity in him. You’re transformed by the renewing of your mind. So you can renew your mind with the truth of your currently available salvation provided in Jesus and experience the fruit of that salvation.
Use the truth about your salvation in Jesus to renew your mind, because what you allow to rule in your mind will be reflected into your life. If you allow God’s truth about Jesus and who you are in him to influence your thinking, you will be transformed into that image because you will eventually believe that truth in your heart, and whatever you believe in your heart will manifest in your life.
Pretty simple, right?
I know, it’s a mouthful but it’s actually a simple process. The bottom line is this, you become what you think about. So think about what’s already true about Jesus in you so you will be outwardly transformed into that image. It’s your destiny!
Consider these passages in light of renewing your mind with the good news about Jesus.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
“The gospel is the power unto salvation,” is a perfect description of the progression of transformation by grace through faith. Do you see the connection?
You are destined to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Think about the good news of Jesus; what he’s done for you and who you now are in him. Allow that to develop confidence in your heart toward God and allow him to establish his salvation in and through you.
The good news about Jesus is truly powerful enough to inspire your heart to grab hold of every aspect of salvation to be established in your life as you take ownership of your identity in Christ!
CHECK OUT THIS RELATED SERIES
Renovate Your Mind: Transforming Into the Image of Jesus
Message Titles
1. Renovate Your Mind
2. Renovate Your Mind 2
3. The Spitting Image of Jesus
4. Tearing Down Strong Holds
5. Start and Finish In Spirit
6. Proving the Will of GodRen-o-vate: verb – rearrange, revive, make new, refresh
No amount of physical effort can produce a spiritual change
The changes we want in our lives only come through renewing our minds, not works of the flesh. The flesh is a mindset that trusts seeks to establish a spiritual truth rather than allowing the spirit of God to form us by grace through faith. In this series you’ll learn to be transformed by the spirit of God from within rather than change through striving and self-effort.
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