PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
CONSIDER THIS
Have you ever been in a butterfly sanctuary? Hundreds of butterflies are floating in the air above you and around you. Then—if you are very still—one or more may actually land on you.
This remarkable little aviator, this magnificent, airborne wonder with such vibrant, technicolor wings was, just a short time before, a tiny, slow, wingless caterpillar. Happily munching on leaves and possibly wondering what that colorful being hovering above it might be (or so my imagination tells me), that little larva looks virtually nothing like what it will look like after its metamorphosis.
Being in Christ, and Christ being in us, means we are in the process of transformation. Just like that butterfly, we are becoming something that is beyond what we have known before. Our new set of clothing (Gal. 3:27) will be quite remarkable to the world as well.
I have seen some incredible transformations of people who have come to Christ. They shock their friends and family members with their newfound life in Jesus. To stretch the metaphor, entire families of caterpillars have become butterflies—all because one of them put their trust in Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read these words: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
The Spirit of the New Creation, the God who makes all things new (Rev. 21:5) lives in you. This is your experiential reality. This is union with God in Christ.
When we see sin in our lives and grieve over it—that is the Spirit at work. If we didn’t grieve, if we didn’t see our sin as a problem or understand it to be missing the mark of God’s best, then we would never be free of it.
When chains of the heart remain, it is like we are a caterpillar, latched onto the branch. We are a small and spiritually flightless version of the human being we were intended to be.
But those who Christ sets free, are free indeed (John 8:36)!
We are free—to fly.
In union with Jesus, you are a new creation. The old is gone; the new has come. In a way, we are both the butterfly and the caterpillar in the chrysalis at the same time. We are positionally a new creation in Christ. The transformation has happened. We are also experientially in process—we are being changed from glory to glory as we practice the way of Jesus, and rehearse the way of love, each and every day.
In other words, union with Christ means that we are both a new creation and we are a new creation in process. We can get lost in how difficult that process of transformation can be. A chrysalis can become a womb or a tomb for a caterpillar.
In Christ, he makes it a womb of new and everlasting life. This is the resurrection life he promised because he is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25–26). No one can take that reality away from you or me. Jesus is the one who holds the keys of hell and death (Rev. 1:18)—and that means liberty for us all.
Today, Jesus, the resurrection and the life, is in union with your spirit. You have the transforming life of God at work in you. Open yourself to all that Jesus wants to give to you and remove from your life. Transformation takes both—and the goal is worth it.
You are a new creation in Christ.
It’s time to fly.
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am in you and you are in me. The old has gone, and the new is here. I embrace your new creation life at work in me, and I want to be transformed. I don’t want to stay as I am. I want to become like you in all the ways you desire. In Christ Jesus, I pray, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
What points of transformation in your own life, or the life of another, painted a true picture of someone being one thing and then becoming a new creation in Christ? How can you participate in Christ making you new in areas that feel old and stuck in your heart?
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
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3 Responses
I am totally on board with this series of posts on personal transformation into the maturing image of Jesus Christ. I believe that it’s been God the Father’s ultimate plan from before creation to share eternity with a family of humans who reflect His image, and serve as His vice-regents over all creation. This series thus far has made that point, and the process of how this takes place perfectly clear. However, in my opinion what seems to be underplayed so far, seems to be the communal emphasis that is required to make this successful. In other words, in today’s modern churches, it’s all to easy to believe that it’s just me and my Jesus. It’s true that our justification depends on our own choosing to receive Christ in faith, and being baptized into his name; but our sanctification is a process that requires active participation within a faith community. I don’t see this being emphasized enough. Maybe it’s just me.
My impression is that Dan’s focus is appropriate. The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me in intimate ways about my relationship and relationships.
But, you are demonstrating your point – that we need community; more than one voice. I’ve looked forward to seeing your posts and those of others reminding me to think about community. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is using you to answer your concern. Bless you, brother.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Christ gives me
New desires.
He inspires
Me to do
As God requires.
Christ takes His plyers
And He rewires
My identity
So my heart
Never tires
Of the warmth
Of His fire’s
Pure glowing
Within me.