Birth, not behavior, determines one’s identity. In Christ, we experience a new birth in the spirit. It marks us as God’s children. John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.”
We are spirits. This is the real us. The state and condition of our spirits never changes. We have souls. This is where we have thoughts, emotions, choices, and will. We live in bodies. This is our physical packaging. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) Genesis 2:7 says, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”
We ask why we still sin even after we received Jesus. Why do we still show weakness when faced with temptation? The truth is once you have received Jesus and the Good News of salvation, it can never be forfeited. The Bible’s promises can be true for our spirit even if we don’t yet feel or experience them in our souls or our bodies. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.” Our spirits have been saved. It is a done deal. We just need to trust in God’s finished work of grace. Our souls are being saved. We are works in progress. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it”. We just need to trust in God’s ongoing work of grace. Our bodies will eventually be saved. We just need to trust in God’s upcoming work of grace. Receive & recognize your newborn spirit. Acknowledge that you are a new creation. And keep submitting your soul to your spirit.