The New Reality

One of the most amazing things about God was the way He redefined reality with words. God looked into chaos and spoke the hopeful words of creation. He looked into the chaos of our sin and declared us righteous in Christ. By speaking those words, coupled with our belief in them, He reconstituted our reality. If He had declared us lost He would have spoken truth, but He spoke a greater truth by recreating us with His words. 

—Martin Luther, Reformer – Sunday Sermon (1500s)

In the Bible, God promises new life in Christ. It’s the kind of life Jesus talks about in John 10:10 (NKJV) when He says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Other versions of the Bible talk about a rich, satisfying life, one filled with reason and fulfillment. This life has an eternal quality. It is a life marked by more. However, we don’t have to look far to realize many are not yet experiencing abundant life. We distance ourselves from the people and testimonies in the Bible, telling ourselves things were different when it was written. We believe the characters were superior, or that they had an unusual connection to God, so He treated them specially. Many believers are not experiencing spiritual riches like love, joy, and peace. Our lives can be just as riddled by restlessness, sin, and anxiety as the rest of the world. We are bothered by what we see on social media, concerned about violence in the news, and uncertain about the future of our nation. 

When we believe God for new life in Christ, the Spirit opens our eyes and ears and awakens us to new realities. We become alive as the Lord stirs our senses to realize things of the spiritual realm. This is meant to enhance our life on earth, giving us awareness of greater purpose and power. As we believe God’s perspective communicated through the Bible and the Holy Spirit, we begin to experience life in a whole new way. Because we see, hear, sense, and recognize God’s work in the earth, following Him becomes natural. We see the enemy’s work, recognize it as a distraction, and are no longer bound by his authority. We walk in the power and authority of Christ causing us to rise above the fallen condition of the world. We begin to recognize God’s supernatural involvement in our life and in this world.

We have the opportunity to come into agreement with God. Our old self has been crucified, we are no longer bound by the sinful nature, and we now have abundant life available in Christ. We have an option, a new way of life that comes from the Holy Spirit’s presence within. Our new reality is in God’s kingdom filled with the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.