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

Last week we saw that sovereign God has a sovereign plan of redemption for
all. It is in and through Jesus Christ. Those who have chosen to receive
Jesus as their Savior have become a new creation in Him; those who have not
chosen to receive are still dead in their trespasses.

Therefore, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones has stated so well, "A Christian is
something before he does anything; and we have to be Christian before we can
act as Christians."
Jesus tells us in John 3:5 "...unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
He goes on to say in verse 6,
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit."

And Jesus also promised that the Father would send to us, His own, a Helper
(the Spirit of Truth) to be with us forever and He will be in us. In Luke
24:49 He tells the disciples,
"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you
are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
When the Holy Spirit came the disciples were clothed with divine power.
(Review Acts Chapter 2 for this divine revelation.)

This new creation is dominated by truth because we have been made a
Christian by the Spirit of Truth's work in each one.

Let's look at Scripture that reveals more of the Holy Spirit's activities in
the Believer. First we see,
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the
law of sin and of death." Romans 8:1-2

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is
life and peace." Romans 8:6

"...Walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; for these are in opposition to one another..." Galatians 5:16-17

We conclude then, having been born of the Spirit, we agree with the
Apostle Paul when he tells the Galatians,
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Galatians 5:25

It is the Spirit of Truth who is leading and guiding each Believer into all
truth. Since Jesus is the 'Truth and the Life' can we go so far as to say
that it is the Spirit of God who is transforming us and conforming us the
image of Christ? For we see in the following,
"And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
Romans 8:27
And His will we see in Romans 8:29,
"For whom He foreknew (Believers), He also predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son..."
And in Romans 12:2,
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good
and acceptable and perfect"

How well do we each know this transforming Spirit of God? He is the One who
reveals Christ Jesus to us. And if it is the Father's will that we be
conformed to the image of His Son then it behooves us to get to know the
Person of the Holy Spirit and become very sensitive to His movement within
in us.

In the precious name of Jesus, let us ask our Heavenly Father to work
mightily in our hearts that we be so attuned to the Holy Spirit that we may
respond to His slighted movement. We know that this is the kind of prayer
that God delights to answer.

May our Mighty God be glorified in all the earth. Amen