Creator, Father, King #284

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

WHY IS IT THAT, in Disney movies, it always seems so easy to get what you want or transform into the person you’ve always wanted to be?

• Want to marry a prince? Just kiss a frog.
• Want your marionette puppet to become a real boy? Just wish upon a star.
• Want to go from being a ragamuffin servant to the belle of the ball? Just find your fairy godmother, and—Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!—it’s done.

Maybe that’s why they’re called fairy tales. Real life, though, is never that simple.

Becoming someone new doesn’t happen with a kiss, a wish, or the wave of a magic wand. In fact, becoming a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV), as we discussed in yesterday’s devotion, doesn’t involve magic at all. It’s a wonderful process that God lovingly initiates and carries through to completion in every Christian’s life. And he graciously calls us to actively be involved.

What’s It Mean?

Understanding God’s central role in our regeneration and sanctification process—becoming a “new creation” in Christ—is crucial. Without God’s gracious, saving initiative on our behalf, we’d still be lost in our sins.

However, we do play an important role in our sanctification. God doesn’t “help those who help themselves,” as the popular (but mistaken) saying goes, as if he’s some sort of heavenly therapist. But he does expect us to take action, not sit around and wait for him to do all the work.

That’s why Scripture uses strong, active verbs in Colossians 3 when it says, “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (verse 5) and “Put on your new nature, and be renewed” (today’s verse). Likewise, Ephesians 4 says, “Throw off your old sinful nature” (verse 22) and “put on your new nature” (verse 24, emphasis added).

Godly character doesn’t just magically happen. It transpires over a lifetime, with much prayer, reliance on God’s Word, and dependence on his Spirit.

Then—with a far better finale than any Disney movie could offer—God provides a gloriously happy ending: “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

Amen!

Now What?

Look up Colossians 3:5-17 and Ephesians 4:17-32 to find out what to “put off” and “put on” as you transition from your sinful nature to being a new creation in Christ.

Did You Know?

Philippians 2:12-13 also talks about the sanctification process.