It's by the Spirit that we are putting to death the deeds of the body.
Romans 8:12-13 (NASB)
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12 [/SUP] So then, brethren, w
e are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
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13 [/SUP] for if y
ou are living according to the flesh, you must die; but
if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
We are transformed by the Spirit of God as we behold Christ in our inner man. When we see Him - we see ourselves in Him.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NASB)
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17 [/SUP] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
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18 [/SUP] But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord
, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Are being transformed = present passive
present tense = continuous action
passive voice = something being acted upon you - you are not doing it
As we see who we are in Christ - we by the Holy Spirit are transformed into His image. Christ/Holy Spirit/ Father all inhabit our new creations in Christ.
It is really an outward manifestation of what is already true within our new man in Christ.
Our "old man" ( which had the Adam nature in it ) was crucified with Christ as most other Christians have heard of before or should know.
If this is not recognized we will be off in our understanding of the new creation in Christ. Christ and true believers in Him are united in our spirit which has been created in righteousness and true holiness. This is our new man - our true identity now.
We still have a body with flesh and the power of sin in it which is why we need to put to death the deeds of the body a
nd this is done by the Spirit within - transforming us. This is where the Life of the Vine in us produces fruit in our outward lives. We are saved by His life.
Our body is simply a house for our new man but it still has the flesh/power of sin in it. This is not our identity. ( which is why we will get a new body )
Paul in Romans say that people are either "
in the flesh" ( unbelievers with their old man still attached to the body with the power of sin in it ) or "in the Spirit" ( believers - with the nature of Christ in our inner man now ) -
there is only one identity.
Romans 8:9-10 (NASB)
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9 [/SUP] However,
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
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10 [/SUP] If Christ is in you, though
the body is dead because of sin, yet t
he spirit is alive because of righteousness.
It's in the "knowing " that our old man is dead is where things start to come together concerning sinning or walking according to the Spirit and to start to have an understanding of the new creation in Christ.
Romans 6:6-8 (NASB)
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6 [/SUP] k
nowing this, that our old self was crucified with
Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with
( to make useless), so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
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7 [/SUP] for he who has died is freed from sin.
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8 [/SUP] Now if w
e have died with Christ, w
e believe that we shall also live with Him, It's by the life of Christ in our inner man is how we live now!
So, this is not about denying things....or having a mind game going on with oneself
...it's all about spiritual awareness of who we are now in Christ in our new man...the new creation in Christ...the hidden man of the heart...this is our true self. It's all about awareness of us being in union with Christ.
Baby Christians have no idea of who they are in Him yet...they identify with their old man still - not seeing the new creation we are in Christ. These baby brothers can be Christians for 50 years...even be pastors in a church..deacons.....etc.
We all need to grow up in Him! We need all of our brothers and sisters in the Lord to mature.
Ephesians 4:14-15 (NASB)
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14 [/SUP] As a result, we
are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
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15 [/SUP] b
ut speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Sure, we are to identify with Christ, and our new man but if we ignore the struggle between the spirit and flesh by only reckoning ourselves dead unto sin, it then becomes mental gymnastics, self effort, rather than applying ourselves to the grace and mercy of Christ in full dependence on Him.