Sermon in the Year 2025
The Person Made New in Christ

 

Download PDF:
https://od.lk/f/MV8zNTE2NzMyMDZf
https://od.lk/fl/MV8xODI0MzMzNl8

Please share this website with all your friends and family members. Thank you, and God bless.

All New Testament verses quoted in this article are from the English Majority Text Version, and Old Testament verses are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

Through the Holy Bible, we understand that each person is a living soul. Every person has a spiritual body, which is the spirit, and a physical body, which is the flesh.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7).

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

“For the word of God is living and effectual, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).

The spirit engages with and perceives the spiritual world. The emotions, perceptions, reasoning, understanding, and will of the spirit are collectively referred to as the spiritual mind. The spiritual world includes God; the angels, including those who sinned, led by Satan, whom the Holy Bible collectively refers to as demons. The spiritual world also includes heaven, also known as the third heaven; Hades; and hell. The senses of the flesh cannot perceive the spiritual world.

A person’s spirit engages with God if that person loves and obeys Him. However, a person’s spirit can also engage with demons if that person delights in living in sin—that is, delights in violating the commandments of the Lord God. Demons will sow deceitful ideas, heresies, and thoughts of rebellion against God into the spiritual minds of those who do not love and obey Him. Demons can grant power to those who worship them to perform miracles, like Pharaoh’s magicians in the time of Moses. Therefore, it is no surprise when we see people who do not believe in the Lord, do not worship Him, and do not obey Him, yet they are still able to perform signs and miracles.

The flesh engages with and perceives the physical world. The emotions, perceptions, reasoning, understanding, and will of the flesh can be referred to as the fleshly mind. The physical world includes the vast material universe, within which are the earth and all things belonging to it.

The soul integrates the spiritual mind and the fleshly mind to make the final decisions that govern a person’s will and actions.

Before humanity fell into sin and disobedience to God, it was through the spirit that people engaged with God, had fellowship with Him, possessed knowledge of Him, and received life from Him. As a result, the soul experienced emotions and made decisions aligned with God’s will, empowered to express love, holiness, and righteousness through daily living.

After humanity sinned and was separated from God, the spirit no longer continued to receive knowledge from God or life from Him. This is called spiritual death. Those who do not love and obey God lack the guidance and power of the spiritual mind that comes from Him, and thus, they live according to the perceptions of the flesh and a spiritual mind corrupted by demons.

In the human mind after sin, there still remains knowledge from God about His existence and His commandments. This knowledge is inherited through the generations of humanity and is called conscience. However, because people no longer receive life from God, they lack the power to live according to His commandments. For example, according to their conscience, people know they should honor their parents, but they do not have the strength to do so. When facing difficulties in life, they may neglect their parents to care for themselves.

Over time, the descendants of humanity have become increasingly distant from God. Many have been led astray by demons into philosophical and religious systems that deny God, encouraging people to cultivate their own righteousness, worship false gods, and idols. Some religions even call on people to strive to become God themselves.

Even within the Church of the Lord, there are those who believe in and follow superstitious movements like Yoga, Falun Gong, and others—movements that teach mystical practices, which we believe the Lord Jesus referred to as “the deep things of Satan” (Revelation 2:24).

Many others live solely to satisfy every desire of the flesh, disregarding their conscience. As a result, the human conscience has become increasingly hardened, leading people to commit countless evil deeds—acts that oppose the commandments of the God.

But the God loves the world He created, especially mankind. Therefore, at the appointed time, He provided salvation for humanity. This is the salvation from all the penalties of sin, the salvation from being enslaved to sin. This salvation was completed through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, taking upon Himself the punishment for sin on behalf of mankind. Anyone who truly repents of their sins, that is, who sincerely abandons violating the God’s commandments and fully believes in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ completed the atoning death for mankind, anyone who believed in the God and wholeheartedly kept His commandments was granted the promise of salvation that would come through the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though they did not yet know who Christ was, and He had not yet come into the world during their lifetime, because of their faith in God, they received salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. The penalty for all their sins was borne by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

After the Lord Jesus Christ completed the atoning death for mankind, each person needs to truly repent of their sins and wholeheartedly believe in His atoning death in order to be saved.

Being saved means that the God forgives all sins, that the Lord Jesus Christ cleanses the sinful nature, and that the Holy Spirit gives the vitality from God to live a new life according to the Word of God, demonstrating God’s love, holiness, and righteousness. This is the rebirth of a person, being made anew by God.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in the heavens for you, who by the power of God are being guarded through faith for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5).

The person who is made anew, who is reborn, is the one called by the Bible as the “new man.” The “new man” includes the spirit, which is restored to fellowship with God; the soul, which is cleansed from the desire for sin; and the flesh, which is sanctified to become the Temple of God and an instrument for doing good works for the Lord.

The spirit is restored to fellowship with God, having communion with Him, receiving new knowledge and vitality from God. The soul is cleansed of the desire for sin, so its nature becomes like God’s in love, holiness, and righteousness. The flesh is sanctified, set apart for the God, and therefore has the power to avoid sin and can do good works according to the God’s will.

The “new man” is like God in love, holiness, and righteousness. The “new man” has a spiritual mind that understands and delights in the God’s commandments and the Word of God; it has the ability to suppress the sinful desires of the flesh.

However, the flesh has not yet died, so it still has sinful desires. Our flesh is the “old man” with sinful desires. When a person yields to the sinful desires of the flesh, they commit sin.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are: adultery, fornication, immorality, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envies, murders, drinking bouts, revelries, and the like; which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21).

As long as we are still living in this current fleshly body, we must continue to make use of the power the Holy Spirit has given us to make it submit. For our flesh, the “old man” has desires that are contrary to the spiritual body with the mind that has been reborn as the “new man.”

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these things oppose each other, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17).

Therefore, God’s people must always live according to the knowledge of the spirit:

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18).

Being led by the spirit means living according to the knowledge and emotions that come from God in the spirit.

The Word of God teaches clearly:

“For you have put off the old man, as regards the former behavior, having been corrupted according to the deceitful lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: wrath, anger, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old man with his practices, and have put on the new man who is renewed in full knowledge according to the image of Him who created it.” (Colossians 3:8-10).

The “new man” has been given by the God to those who truly repent of their sins and fully believe in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ. But each person must “put on the new man” for themselves. This is “purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

Regrettably, many people who have accepted the God’s salvation and have been made anew do not “put on the new man,” but instead continue to live the life of the “old man,” which is a life that yields to the sinful desires of the flesh.

There are many reasons why a person who is already God’s people does not “put on the new man.”

1. They continue to live according to the ways of the world, not transforming their lifestyle according to the renewal of the mind: “And do not fashion yourselves after this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and well pleasing and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

2. They do not live according to the understanding of the spirit but still fulfill the desires of the flesh: “I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall by no means fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). “Walk in the spirit” means live according to the spiritual mind.

3. They still love the world and the things of the world more than they love God: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Because everything that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).

4. Lacking self-discipline, not knowing how to follow the example of the Apostle Paul: “But I treat my body roughly, and I bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

5. Not clearly understanding the value and purpose of salvation: “And He died for all, so that they who live should live no longer for themselves, but for the One who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15).

However, the main reason why a person does not “put on the new man” is because they do not have a longing for the Word of God. They lack the habit of reading and meditating on God’s Word day and night, carefully following it, and therefore lack understanding and do not act wisely (Joshua 1:8). Such a person does not receive God’s blessings. They must struggle in material life or resort to unrighteous means to make a living. Meanwhile, those who seek God’s Word are always provided with what they need in life (Matthew 6:33).

As God’s people, if they do not “put on the new man,” they will fall into the following situations:

1. Weak faith, leading to a weak spiritual life, unable to overcome temptation and trials (Hebrews 5:11-14).

2. A life without peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

3. Causing others to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:9).

4. Being chastened by the Lord (Hebrews 12:6).

5. Having no reward in heaven (1 Corinthians 3:15).

The “putting on of the new man” is the determination to live a new life according to the Word of God, to please the Lord, and to receive God’s sanctification each day in life. Sanctification through the Word of God can only happen when a person delights in the Word of God, reads it, meditates on it day and night, and carefully follows it.

Dear Church,

On this first day of the Lunar New Year 2025, let us all make a determination to fully utilize the almighty power that God has given us, to live faithfully, and to make our fleshly body obey us until the day Christ appears to bring the Church into heaven.

May the Word of God sanctify us and strengthen us. May we all stand firm in faith and remain faithful to the Lord until the day Christ returns. May the love, grace, and fellowship of the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, cover all of you. Amen!

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
01/29/2025

Notes:

[1] https://preachingfromthebible.net/067-the-end-of-the-world-and-the-year-2027/

[2] https://preachingfromthebible.net/the-day-of-the-lords-death-and-the-day-of-the-lords-resurrection/

About Using “*God” or “the God” and “holy spirit”

Wherever the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of the Bible uses a definite article with a noun to denote GOD, we translate it into English as “*God” or “the God” to refer to God the Father. We understand that “God,” without a definite article, was used as a collective noun for all and any of the three Persons of the Godhead. And “God,” with a definite article, was used to refer to God the Father.

In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the term “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) without the definite article “the” (το) is used to denote the power of God, which is given by God the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit” (το πνευματι το αγιω) is God, and “holy spirit” (πνευματι αγιω) is the power that comes from God.