Today’s New Covenant nugget is from 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The Amplified Bible says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.”
There are two aspects of salvation, ‘justification’ and ‘sanctification’…
When a person receives Jesus as Lord and Savior by faith, they are instantly ‘born again’ (made spiritually alive) and ‘justified’ (made righteous). This means the individual becomes a new creature in Christ, that old things are passed away and that all things have become new… they are now ‘spiritually alive’ and the judgement and penalty for their past, present and future sins has been paid for by Jesus.
They have permanently moved from the prison of sin and death to the palace of righteousness and life in Christ Jesus. Born again believers share an inheritance with Jesus, which includes everything pertaining to life and godliness… they are seated in heavenly places in Christ and have been made kings and priests in Christ to reign in grace in Christ, as the body of Christ on earth. When the father looks at a born-again believer, He sees them ‘in Christ’… perfect, without sin and one hundred present righteous and fully qualified to boldly access His throne and to receive whatever they need according to the New Covenant.
When 1 Corinthians 1:18 talks about ‘being saved’ is referring to ‘sanctification’, not ‘justification’. Sanctification is the progressive continual aspect of salvation, where we are continually being transformed into the image of Jesus.
Sanctification means ‘to be made holy’. As we get transformed by the power of God by the Holy Spirit… as we get renewed and transformed in the area of our souls, we receive new revelation from the Word of God concerning our covenant and we are sanctified…
Sanctification is a vital aspect of salvation… it is a process in which we are changed and equipped in order to ‘receive’ all that we have been given in Christ through the New Covenant.
Sanctification is referred to in scripture as the saving of the soul. (James 1:21) Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. As your mind, will and emotions are renewed, you are able to put on the mind of Christ and receive supernatural revelation of how to operate as a king and a priest in the kingdom of God.
Sanctification requires continual yieldedness to the transformational power of the Holy Spirit… it requires being willing to ‘continually die’ to what you have been (your old flesh nature), so that you may continually be resurrected to who you are becoming in Christ. The process is painful to the flesh, yet exciting to your spirit man and your soul!
The message of the cross is central to sanctification…
Because of what Jesus did on Calvary, those who receive Jesus are instantly made new, and only the ‘new person in Christ’ has the ability to be sanctified. Our flesh nature cannot be sanctified… we have to die to it, The flesh nature is continually being replaced by the ‘Christ nature’ (the renewed soul) by the power of the implanted Word which releases the power to ‘save and continually transform our souls.’ (James 1:21)
As a born-again believer, you are one hundred present justified, now yield to the process of sanctification and transformation by allowing the Word to be planted in your soul. Yield to the Holy Spirit as He waters the Word that has been planted and transforms you form glory to glory into the image of Jesus!
Blessings on you, Nick
