What Does it Mean to Have a New Life in Christ?
Have you ever heard someone say that you can have a “new life in Christ”?
What does this mean?
To have a new life in Christ means you are supernaturally changed into a new creation. You receive a brand new spirit and quite literally, start a new life.
Your spirit is the real you. You are made up of three parts- spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is the real, core part of you that gives life to your body and soul. This is the part of you that is completely made new when you receive salvation.
How does this happen?
How Do I Start a New Life in Christ?
When you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came to earth as a man and was crucified on a cross for your sin and raised from the dead, you can receive salvation. The Bible says that if you confess Jesus as Lord, you will be saved. It’s not complicated. It’s a matter of what you believe.
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved Romans 10:9 NKJV
When you receive this gift of salvation, a complete miracle takes place. The real you- your spirit dies and is raised again as a completely new creation. This is how you receive a new life in Christ.
This new birth of your spirit is not just a religious idea, it is a reality, a real miracle that takes place.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV
All the sin that your old spirit was created in and covered in is now gone, and your new spirit is completely righteous and holy. This is the miracle of the new life in Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God… 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NKJV
The old you was born in sin, completely without God. Your new spirit, or the new you, is alive unto God and created in complete righteousness.
that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 NKJV
and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24 NKJV
What is Our New Life in Christ?
Our new life in Christ is the life that we were created to live, before the fall of humanity, before sin and death entered the world. We have been restored to God’s original intent for us- a life free from the curse and full of supernatural power and blessing. A life connected to God.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV
When Jesus was crucified, He took all of our sin and the curse for sin on Himself, in our place. Now, the punishment for sin has been rendered and we can live free from it, as if we had never sinned. It is nearly too good to be true news, which is exactly what the word “gospel” means.
The new life in Christ is a life that is above only, and not beneath (Deut 28:13). You are forever one spirit with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17) and He will never, ever leave you (Hebrews 13:5). Nothing in existence can separate you from Him. He is forever your Father.
Within your new spirit is the authority of God to carry out His will on this earth. You have become an incredibly powerful being. As you submit to God and resist the devil, the devil will flee from you.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NKJV
The power to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons is within you, because God is within you. The same authority that Jesus walked in when He was walking the earth has been given to you.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8 NKJV
You have become the very temple of the Holy Spirit, completely clean and holy (1 Corinthians 6:19).
How Can We Live Our New Life in Christ?
God’s Word is like a mirror that shows us who we are now in Christ (James 1:23). As we put His Word in our hearts, it changes us. We start to see who we are now in Christ and we are empowered to live out our new life in Christ.
Our new life in Christ is not a set of rules and behaviors that we now try to live up to. We are not trying to be like Jesus. We already are like Jesus. As you realize this and believe it, your actions will begin to change in accordance with who you know that you are now.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17 NKJV
The new life in Christ is not something we can “work up” on our own. Without God, the Christian life is absolutely impossible. If you try to do it on your own, you will fail every time. This is where religion misses it- big time. The power to live our new life in Christ comes supernaturally as we believe what the Bible says about us. This is why renewing the mind is so important.
Our job is to believe right. As you discover who you are now in Christ, everything about your life will become better. Every promise you can find in the Bible has now been given to you (2 Corinthians 1:20). Everything you could possibly need for this life has been provided (2 Peter 1:3).
Begin to acknowledge everything good that God has given you and your new life in Christ will flourish!
that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:6
Why is it So Important to Know Who We Are in Christ?
Many people receive this miraculous new life in Christ, but never understand what has truly happened to them on the inside. I’ve met many Christians who say they have been saved, but have no clue what has actually happened. I was this way for many years.
If you don’t know what happened when you received salvation, you won’t experience much of it in this life. You’ll have a hope of living forever with God one day, but in this life, you’ll probably be weighed down with guilt, shame and confusion. You won’t know who you really are and everything that Jesus has done for you. You won’t know the truth about how God sees you and relates to you.
When you understand what the new life in Christ really is, it will make you completely free.
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
If there’s any area of your life where you’re not free, then it’s because you don’t know the truth in that area. That may seem over simplified, but it’s what the Bible says. When you know the truth, it makes you free. This is good news!
As you learn the truth about your new life in Christ and who you really are now, you become free. Free from oppression, free from guilt, free from lies, free from bondage. Free from every negative thing you could imagine. The new life in Christ is a life better than you could imagine!
Recommended Reading:
What Does it Mean to Be a New Creation?