Title: God's Beautiful Man
Contents
beautiful man of god
Ephesians 4:21-24 10.1.10
People look good when they act according to their status and status. A man should be masculine and a woman should be like a woman, a virgin should be like a virgin, a housewife should be like a housewife, a student should be like a student, and a soldier should be like a soldier.
Likewise, our saints must be saints to be respected by people and to be beautiful in God's eyes.
Through today's Word, God is teaching the saints how to become a beautiful person in God's eyes.
1. Put off the old man and put on the new man
As we know, the Bible tells us when we believe in Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, my old self also died, and when Jesus was resurrected, I was born again into a new person.
Therefore, 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has passed away; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
However, you may be wondering what the word means to put off the old man again and put on the new man.
But if you look carefully, He tells you to kill the old person and bring the new one back to life, but instead of doing it, take off your clothes and put them on.
Therefore, the old man and the new man here do not refer to who we are or who we are, but to things such as our personality, character, and habits that we can change through our efforts.
Being born again as a new person is a matter of status and law, not our disposition, habits, or temperament. Therefore, although we believe in Jesus and become saints, we still have our old temperament and personality.
It is as if a slave who had been in slavery for a long time was suddenly liberated and became a free man. From now on, he must be free in terms of status and law. From now on, in order to live as a free man, he must change while learning the habits, culture, and way of thinking of a free man.
We must first be aware of this fact and make an effort to change ourselves.
2. Appearance of old people
In order to put off the old self, you must first know the image of your old self that still remains.
It is defined as a Dunn person who follows the old custom that is corrupted by the lust of temptation.
Before we were born again, we were indulged in a bad habit. We need to change that habit.
Before we were born again, we were people who were greedy for all kinds of temptations and almost perished forever.
The world and the devil tempt us with the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life.
People succumb to this temptation and become greedy. They are busy chasing after the pleasures of the flesh, they want everything they see, and they are desperate to make others proud. Then they will eventually be destroyed.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted, being drawn away and deceived by his own lust; and lust has conceived and gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
There are people who were once successful businessmen who were greedy and forcibly expanded their business, but then became a complete beggar, squandering all the assets they had earned. When we are tempted, we cannot control ourselves and become greedy. As a result, we are destroyed.
The born-again believers must now live by resisting the temptations of the world and the temptations of the devil.
3. Renew your heart
In order to become a new person, you must first renew your heart.
The spirit here refers to the spirit of one who rules our hearts.
This spirit rules and dominates the hearts and minds of men.
In order for a person to change radically, his spirit must be renewed.
You cannot create a new person by changing your appearance, environment, or system.
Upgrading a computer requires upgrading the software, not replacing the hardware with a better one. Replacing a face with plastic surgery does not change a person's personality or personality. A person's spirit and heart are changed, and true change is made.
The human spirit is the source of life.
“More than anything else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Our mindset shifts from negative and negative to positive and positive. We need to change our selfish mind to altruistic, and our hateful and envy to compassionate and acknowledgment.
How can we renew our minds?
It is difficult with human will and determination. How weak is a person's will? Don't you mean three days? Isn't there a saying that I can't give my dog a habit if I do it?
However, if the Holy Spirit dominates my heart and the Holy Spirit renews it, I can become a new person.
Ask the Holy Spirit to rule over me and pray for the fruits of the Holy Spirit to be manifested.
Then, the character of a new person like love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control will sprout and grow.
4. Put on a new person
Just as you know what the old person looks like, you need to know how you became a new person, then nurture and perfect that new person.
It is said that they were created after God. It means that they were made in the image of God.
When we humans sinned, we lost the attributes we received from God, such as holiness, love, and mercy. However, when we believed in Jesus, we restored the lost image of God. It means that you made us anew.
Among them, the representative attributes are righteousness and holiness.
Righteousness refers to a person who has the right and right relationship with people in life. A person who is honest without lies, is responsible, and keeps his promises well.
Holiness is the state of being in a right relationship with God.
Holiness is total separation from evil.
Not only that, he went further, hated evil and completely turned away from evil.
How can we obtain such righteousness and holiness?
We can get it when we know the truth.
In John 17, when the Lord intercedes for His people
“Sanctify us by the truth; your word is truth.”
Psalm 119:9 “With what can a young man cleanse his conduct, for he only keeps the word of the Lord?”
Verse 11 “I have put Your word in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”
It is the truth that sanctifies. The Word of God is the truth. When we love it and study it diligently, it will lead us from sin and lead us to the right path.
It should be noted that the word “take off and put on” is in the present tense.
What it means is that putting off the old man and putting on the new man is not something that is done at a certain point in time and must be continued until we enter the kingdom of God.
It is momentary for us to be born as children of God. However, it is a lifetime task for us to grow into perfect people of God.
When we enter the kingdom of God, we will finally be glorified, fully conformed to the holy image of Jesus.
Everyone, why should we continue to strive to become like the Lord all our lives?
This is because we are the bride of the Lord who is to hold the wedding ceremony with the Lord who is to come.
How beautiful and clean is the bride when she goes to the wedding hall?
We too are brides to marry Jesus, the groom, so why not decorate ourselves accordingly?
Ladies and gentlemen, we are new people who have already been freed from defiled and evil sins through the merits of the blood of Jesus. He is a person who has the name of a holy person. Therefore, like that new person, we must live like God's holy people.
Just as a bride washes her body clean, puts on beautiful makeup, and adorns herself with a white dress, I hope that we too will make ourselves into beautiful people of God with the help of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. Amen