by Steven Gledhill for FREEdom from MEdom Project
For someone new to recovery this will be what disciples of Jesus indicated was, and is, a difficult teaching. For someone experienced in a disciplined lifestyle of committed recovery, this is a difficult teaching. On one hand, the Apostle Paul of the Bible declares that we are set free from the power of sin (Romans 6 and Galatians 5). On the other hand, Paul speaks of his personal battle with his flesh controlled by the power of sin (Romans 7). And yet Paul writes that he learned the secret of being content (Philippians 4) while emphasizing how miserable he is in the struggle (Romans 7). Throughout this article, we will examine the paradox between the newly transformed life and the battle with a sin nature that will not leave us alone. Additional Scriptures include Romans 12, John chapters 6 and 15, and Ephesians 5. Strap yourself in for the ride and let’s go.
New Life Paradox, Part 2 should not be read before reading Part 1. Please click on New Life Paradox, Part 1: Forces of Natures at War and read it first for Part 2 to make the most sense.
It is important to reiterate that this article is not intended for those new to the ABC recovery steps. If you are new to Christ-centered recovery, be advised to study the rest of the content on the FFMP site before reading “New Life Paradox”.
We are promised that as we commit to God’s plan for recovery, surrendered to acting on the will of God in our lives, that we are resurrected from the old way of life into the new life, transformed by the almighty power of the living God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet everyday, I sin again and again. I find that I still want what I don’t want to want. (Read that last sentence again)
Union with God
Are you ready to go even deeper? Because that is where Jesus goes as He ventures into the territory of union—bringing the opposing forces of humanity and Spirit together under His control and care.
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:1-14
Jesus has illustrated the relationship He has with the Father, and the relationship we have with God the Father through Jesus Christ. What I love about this passage is that the issue of bearing fruit is dependent only on staying connected to the vine. It appears scary when Jesus says that withered branches bearing no fruit are gathered into a pile and burned. But Jesus prefaces that remark by clearly stating that as we remain connected to the vine, Jesus Christ by relationship, that it is He that will produce fruit in us. Apostle Paul already told us what the fruit is. It is the fruit of the Spirit. It is as we produce love and kindness, peace and joy in our lives, seen by others, and experienced by others whose lives are touched by us that they are compelled to want to know the difference in us. It is only as we remain connected to the vine that we will experience the joy that overflows. Jesus laid down His life for us, His friends. All He commands of us is to stay connected to Him.
If you feel the least bit threatened by the word ‘command’, it does not necessarily mean ‘like a general commanding a soldier’, or ‘a master commanding a slave’. It is the command of a parent to a young impressionable, vulnerable and gullible child. Without the Spirit of God controlling us under the command of God who loves us, we are like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. It is to our advantage that we obey his commands. The commands of God aren’t, “Do this!” and “Do that!”, but rather are, “Let Me do this in you so that you can do that for…” Always know that the motivation of God is love.
Feed on the Savior for Life
In the book of John, chapter 6, John tells the story of how Jesus fed more than five thousand people with some bread and a few fish. Of course everyone who was there was astounded because, 1) Jesus provided them all food when there was originally only enough food for maybe a single family; and 2) because they had grown very hungry and Jesus provided so much food until they were satisfied. Then Jesus had His friends go around and collect the leftovers that people couldn’t eat because they were so full. This is a beautiful illustration of the overflowing bounty of God’s resources.
But then a whole bunch from that crowd followed Jesus to the next location He went to calling for Him to do it again. They wanted to be like their ancestors who received manna (a bread-like food) that fell from heaven. They were into the whole miracle thing that Jesus was doing and wanted more of ‘the show’; especially if it filled their bellies every time. Of course, Jesus had something to say about that.
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” 28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” 52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.” John 6:26-58
Now this lesson is at its deepest point. What does it mean to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus? That’s what the people were asking, and it might be difficult for you to understand. The people with Jesus that day appreciated Jesus, but mostly for their entertainment and sustenance. They did not catch the bigger picture. And to be fair to them, they did not have the Holy Spirit of God to aid their understanding of something deeply spiritual. The bigger picture and the point for you and me is this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, reigning with authority over all the universe, wants to be so one with us that we spiritually feed on Him. The image that comes to mind is that of a baby feeding from its mother’s bosom for survival. The nutrients in the mother’s milk are supplied through her body and blood. The baby must feed on the body and blood of its mother to sustain and flourish with life. There was a time when the only way babies survived infancy was total dependence on the mother in order to live. Jesus is speaking of that kind of dependence on Him as the only means by which we will experience the new life.
As infants get enough food and nutrition from their mother to the extent that they are full, they don’t stay full. They need more food from their mother. They need to be re-energized continually. Look at what Apostle Paul wrote about the need to be filled with the Spirit of God for the New Life experience.
Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:17
My friend Bill Elam (Eleeo Ministries) reminded me that what Paul is writing about is the ongoing process of being filled; that this passage could read, “Be being filled with the Holy Spirit.” The word ‘be’ or ‘being’ here is a passive verb. It is something that happens to us as we feed on the nutrients of God for our new life. As we pursue God, He responds by filling our lives with Himself. This is an astounding precept concerning the truth of the new life. The process of being filled with the Living Water that Jesus spoke about is one that is continual. When the continual process of being filled is realized, Jesus said that rivers of living water flow through us and from us.
“Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'” John 7:38
As the Spirit of God in us lives and produces fruit in us, He is so active in us that not only are we blessed immeasurably, but we in turn bless others as the Spirit of God in us is able to touch others through us. Please, get this. This is an awesome reality about the new life experience.
Transformed Brain, Renewed Mind
It is in the ‘being filled with the Spirit of God’ that our brains are transformed from the dictates of the selfish sinful nature into something profoundly spiritual. The Spirit of God does something miraculous to the automatic function of our brain. He transforms the brain into what He intended and created it to be in the first place before it was infected with sin.
While we cannot transform our own brain, we must move positionally. This requires us to use the members of our human body to the place where God wants us to be. Instead of using the members of our body to satisfy the cravings of our sinful nature, we need to offer them in submission to God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:1-3
The operative verbs in this passage are ‘offer’ and ‘be’. “Offer your bodies” requires our action to physically offer ourselves sacrificially into the New Life experience. ‘Offer’ is an active verb. Instead of using the members of our bodies for earthly gratification that leads to dissatisfaction and discomfort, we submit our eyes and ears, arms and hands, legs and feet, and of course, our mouths, unto the authority of the Spirit of God, to function as directed—even controlled—by the Spirit. We are directed to no longer conform to the selfishly addictive patterns and norms of this world. This is what we do. The call on us is to change externally from the outside in. The command, then, is to stop offering our bodies to the lifestyle behavior of the world, and offer our bodies sacrificially to God, as an action of worship, to be filled by His Spirit.
The other operative verb, ‘be’ is a passive verb when Paul writes, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” When we choose to worship God with our bodies rather than worshiping ourselves, something amazing happens to us. God rearranges the workings of our sin-controlled brain. This is what God does. God changes us internally from the inside out. The word transform in the language of the New Testament, Greek, is ‘metamorphoo’; the same word for metamorphosis; like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly. While the life of the caterpillar in some ways is the same, in other ways the caterpillar had to die from what it was, to experience the new life experience as a butterfly. It is physically transformed, and its way of thinking and how it sees the world changes completely. It goes from the lowly view and of the world, to something much higher and grander than it could have ever imagined.
The Romans 12 passage says affirmatively that this transformative new life experience is the will of God for us and is proven out in our day-to-day lives as we fully submit into it’s brilliance. It’s the design God has for the human experience to be controlled by the Spirit. But we are given the choice each and every day to submit one way or the other. We can feed on the Spirit of God for life, or we can feed on the cravings of the selfish sin nature that brings certain harm, even to the one in relationship with God through Christ.
New Life Reward (If You Want It)
This is the promise of the new life experience, continually filled with the Spirit of God as we feed on Him and are more than satisfied by Him into a life of peace and joy. As we feed on the Spirit of God, continually filled, He is at work in us. He is at work in our thoughts, our feelings, our actions, and is involved in our circumstances. As God works to perfect us, He reshapes us into more than we could have imagined, and takes us to places in life we wouldn’t have even dreamed up to go.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:17-20
When Jesus spoke directly into the life of the Samaritan woman at the well about living water so filled with the peace and joy that satisfies that she would never thirst again, it is this new life experience that He was talking about. She had pursued feelings of happiness and security in her relationships with men, but came up empty every single time. Men, or perhaps more specifically sex, she hoped would validate her in some way, but the outcome was pain and misery; until she met Jesus.
Jesus spoke to the large group of followers who’d witnessed and participated in the feeding of more than five thousand people. When He spoke of the true bread of life so satisfying that they would never hunger again, it is this new life experience that He was talking about. He spoke of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Jesus was speaking about being in relationship with Him as the essential nutrients for life. But none of them understood, and found this new life feeding on Jesus to be an extremely difficult teaching. (Today, there the trend is to be religious about this teaching through the sacrament of communion as initiation into the fullness of Christ, whereas Jesus and the Old Testament prophets said it is a commitment to obedience that parlays into the full experience in relationship with Christ.) Even the twelve disciples that Jesus knew to be His friends were overwhelmed by this teaching, but realized that they had nowhere else to go; no one else to follow. Who else is the giver of life other than Jesus Christ?
At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. John 6:66-68
Where else are you going to go to experience the new life. Who else, or what else, will you turn to in order to experience the good life. Jesus said:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
The meek are those who possess strength; even wild untamed energy, strength, and enthusiasm, but choose to submit all of their energy unto the plan and care of God to be controlled by His Spirit. Righteousness is all that is good and right and just. We are made right in relationship with Christ. Therefore, to yearn for and pursue a life that is good and right, and ultimately best, is to pursue and go after the One who can get us to that place. Do you see that this is what makes sense? It makes the most sense. It makes perfect sense.
You who are parents know that the most that your sons and daughters can do to be in right favor with you, and to get what they want from you—that which only you can provide—is to be in right relationship with you. How do your children be and stay in right relationship with you? They submit themselves whole-heartedly into your care under your authority. If I were saying this in front of a congregation, I’d be asking, “Can I get an Amen?”
Submission is paramount to receiving blessing. Many years ago Bob Dylan wrote, “You gotta serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody.” One way or another you are submitting. Whether it is submission to the desires and cravings of your selfish sin nature, whether it is to the schemes of a cunning evil adversary, or whether it is to the Savior who can save you from yourself and the traps laid out throughout your life, you submit every hour of every day. The key to the transformed experience of the new life is to feed on the Savior that is Jesus Christ.
Let God have His way in your life. Realize, please, that it is to your benefit and advantage to give Him control of your thoughts, your feelings, your relationships, and your circumstances. Give Him your aches and pains. Give Him your guilt and your shame. Let it all go. Give Him the worst of you. But not only that; (get this!) give Him the best of you. Let Him take the worst and the best that you have to give—all of it; and replace it all with His best. I’ll say it again. Let go and give God the worst in you, and the best in you, and let Him replace it all with His best for you. My prayer is that you will want all the blessing God wants and has for you in this life and in the life to come.
Now What?
Be in prayer often throughout each day. Pursue the things God wants to say to you. To do that, read the written Word of God. Read your Bible as often as you can. Be a part of a community of recovering people enjoying the new life experience. Go to church. Not as an act of religion, but because that is usually where you will find a new life community. The church is not the building but the family of fellow believers inside the building, whether the building is a structure with a steeple on top, or a tent, or someones home. If you haven’t already, identify yourself with a church community and get involved. Participate in fellowship opportunities as they present themselves to you. If you are ready (twelfth step), get involved in service of some kind through a church or community ministry. Allow yourself to expand your comfort zone, or to expand beyond your comfort zone. Take the time and the initiative to develop relationships—friendships in your church community. Yes, it is that important.
We need each other. Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves. Someone uncomfortable with that retorted, “Well, then, who’s my neighbor?” Jesus answered, “Your neighbor can be someone you don’t even know who needs you.” Oops. Now we’re even more uncomfortable. It’s not always about whether or not we are reaching out, but being available to have relationship with someone reaching out to us. This is a good thing. The love of God is evident and experienced in the relationships we have with one another. These relationships then affirm that our faith is real and alive and experienced.
While the new life is indeed a paradox with its struggles between the forces of nature within it, it is the source of our joy and our peace, even in times of difficulty and pain. When you remember the horror of enduring pain and struggle in the old life, you can realize the joy to be had whether in plenty or in want; through the good times and the bad.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:2-5
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13
As the saying goes, “God is good, all the time.” And like Apostle Peter said, “Where else are we going to go? Who else gives the words of eternal life?”
Friends, now go and experience the NEW LIFE.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life (referring to the selfish sin nature), and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:1-4
