What Does God Change In A New Creature?

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The passage specifies some things that God works in His new creatures. The first work that He mentions in the passage is to change their will into agreement with His will. He makes it their good pleasure to do His will rather than their own. He changes what gives them pleasure. He changes what they enjoy. I have known many who claim to be Christians but their will has not been changed. Many of them try to do the works of God without first having their will changed. That is totally useless.

Hebrews 13:20-21: Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

It is obvious that good works are outward and that the thing that is of first importance to God is what He does INWARDLY when He make new creatures that causes them to do the good works.

Romans 12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The word bodies in verse 1 definition: as a sound whole. It means the whole body and everything in it. Presenting one*s body without presenting one*s heart to the Lord is a hollow and meaningless gesture.

Some questions: Do you enjoy new and different things since you became a Christian? Do you do good works without enjoying them? Is the enjoyment of doing good works a sufficient reward to continue doing them? Are you doing them to be saved or because you are saved? Christians enjoy their lives more than unbelievers precisely BECAUSE they want what God wants, do what God wants and therefore enjoy doing it.

I once overheard an unbeliever in a debate who was trying to justify some wrong behavior: I*ll do what I want! Someone could have accurately said: That may be but you won*t enjoy it.

Care to discuss What Does God Change In A New Creature? with Ron?

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