A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day
September 16, 2020
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Here are the foundational principles:
1) Man is a three-part being – spirit, soul and body. (Principle 1)
2) Righteousness and holiness are not the same. (Principle 2)
3) There are three groups of people – the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church. (Principle 3)
Let’s look at the second one: Righteousness and holiness are not the same. Simply put, righteousness is what God does for you and holiness is what you do for God. Righteousness is a result of your accepting His work and holiness is a result of Him accepting your works. Let me explain.
Under the New Covenant, anyone who believes that God raised Jesus from the dead and confesses Him as Lord is saved (Romans 10:9). At the moment that a person chooses to believe and confess Him, a supernatural miracle takes place. Old things pass away (sin nature) and all things are made new. This person becomes a new creation (or creature or new person) (2 Corinthians 5:17). Their spirit is born again. At this point, this born-again person is cleansed from all unrighteousness. If they are cleansed from all unrighteousness, how much unrighteousness do they have? None! They are totally cleansed.
At salvation, the Spirit of God moves inside of the new believer to live forever. Everlasting spiritual life begins. The newly-reborn spirit is possessed by the Spirit of God and sealed by the Holy Spirit Himself until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). God is light and no darkness can enter into Him (1 John 1:5). That’s why a Christian cannot be possessed by an unclean spirit. They already have the Spirit of God within them. The reborn Christian’s body becomes the home of the Holy Spirit and He does not share His home with demonic spirits.
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9).
Understanding that man is spirit, soul, and body, we can see how the spirit is cleansed and does not sin, while the flesh (body) is still subject to the temptations and addictions of the world. Paul said a war was taking place between his spirit and his flesh. While our spirit man is righteous, our flesh must be brought into subjection and become holy.
“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:17 NIV).
As a Christian matures through the daily meditation on the Word, holiness is increased. However, you are never any more righteous than the day of your salvation. Righteous is what you are. Holy is what you become. Righteousness is established and is constant. Holiness increases through obedience. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We become holy by obedience that activates the grace of God and empowers us to do His will. Righteousness is a condition of the born-again spirit of man and holiness is the conscious submission of the flesh to the will of God.
