Jesus Christ Has Given You Power Above The Flesh And To Conquer Sin!

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“Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” - ( Philippians 2:6-8).

Sin is a power that destroys us. It is a spiritual disease that robs us of God’s best. In Philippians, Paul reminds us that the power of sin robs us of a good God; a good God who deserves to be worshipped loved, and obeyed.

Paul calls the disease, sin, a power, not a person. It is a spiritual power. Satan is a person. The sin of the world is not a person.

If we are to be truly free from the power of sin, we must consider it a disease rather than a person. A person's right to a sound mind and free will cannot be relinquished.

God gave us a great gift when he gave us the mind. He created us to be intelligent. The problem with sin is that it robs us of a good mind; of free will.

God Has Given Us A Way Of Escape And Victory Over Sin

Sin is something that robs us of God’s best. This is exactly why we need to learn how to overcome sin. Sin robs us of God’s unsurpassed, but God has provided a way for us to overcome sin.

In Philippians 2, Paul states to us that Jesus Christ is Lord, not something we have achieved.

 It’s God’s best, not our own.

Paul had a problem with sin; in fact, it was an obsession. He wanted to know how he could be free from it. He wanted to know more about the freedom he had in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul on this matter has also written to the Church:

The Mind Of Christ.

Have this mind among you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)

Paul’s sin was not his own; it was a disease that came from the devil. Because he had that good mind in Christ Jesus, Paul overcame the power of sin. We are given that mind. We can also overcome sin.

This “mind” is one of the three powers that are given to us in Christ Jesus (Romans 12:3). But we don’t get it naturally. It comes through our new birth in baptism.

We get it through God’s Word. It is something that we must cultivate through a life of prayer, meditation, reading, and obedience to the Word of God.

You Are Transformed In New Birth

In John, Jesus warns us that we’re headed for danger if we don’t train ourselves for it. This means, that if you’re not being trained by the Word of God, you’re heading for eternal peril.

You can’t just go out and have your sin problem solved for you, just as you can’t expect to get a good medical degree by just going to school.

Paul knew he had a problem. He tells us in Romans that he was troubled and worried because of sin. He was going through some dark places. His flesh had turned into an enemy of him. That’s when he wanted to know how to overcome sin.

We’re all subject to sin. It’s something we face each day. This is something that we cannot overcome. God has given us the power to live above sin. We have the power to overcome sin. We must pattern ourselves for this.

When you see a problem, you want to know how to fix it. The same is true for sin. When you see it, you want to know how to overcome it. That’s what we’re going to look at in this article.

God’s Promise Of Freedom From Sin

This has been one of the great mysteries for believers since we came to Christ. As Christians, we hear so much about the forgiveness of our sins. God is forgiving our sins when we consider the New Testament account of the gospel.

We have all been forgiven. what does it mean? How can God exonerate our sins? How does God provide forgiveness to us, if he’s already forgiven our sins?

Let’s consider the scriptures someplace God tells us this in the gospel.

Do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life. (Romans 6:3)

Consequently, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” - (Philippians 2:9-11)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”- (Revelation 21:1-2)

Let us go to Jesus. He offers a solution to the problem of sin. He offers forgiveness and a solution to our problem. Let’s read what he says in the gospel.

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”- Hebrews 4:15-16

“There is one who will judge the living and the dead. At his coming and his kingdom, all who are in heaven and on earth will be judged, according to their deeds”. (24:27)

Then Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”- (John 14:6).

Let us look at each of these in more detail.

The first; is when Jesus tells us we’re buried with him. A part of Christ was buried with us. It’s no coincidence that Jesus’ burial was also his ascension. He left heaven and died, then was buried, then resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Now, as the resurrected Christ, Jesus Christ came into the world on a second act. We became part of his resurrected body when we were baptized.

The Gospel: Jesus Christ

Then Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”- John 14:6. If we want to discover the answer to our sin problem, the answer to our agony and suffering, the answer to our death and grave problem, he says, “I am the way.” Jesus says to us, “I am the way.”

That way is called the gospel, and we know what that means. It’s good news. It’s a message about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus was a Jew, and we are the people of God.

When Jesus said, “I am the way,” he was announcing his death for our sins. The plan of God is for us to die to sin. We are elevated to newness of life via the gospel. He is the way into heaven and the way to a life of forgiveness and righteousness.

Paul tells us in Romans,

“That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”- Romans 10:9.

That’s salvation. That’s what Jesus gives us. It’s not something we get by ourselves. It is a gift from God.

The second, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we want to know the way to salvation, we must follow this way. We follow Jesus. Jesus is the one who comes to God. The solution to our sin problem is through Jesus.

Jesus said, “If you want to know the way to God, the way to heaven, the way to salvation, to the forgiveness of sin, and the power of the atoning blood, follow me. I am the way.”

He said, “No one comes to the Father but through me.”

If you want to know God’s will, his plans, and his purposes for your life, you follow him. You follow His Word. In your life, you must be following the Word of God, reading and studying his Word. You must be following Jesus’ example. You are the example.

The third is, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the way to the Father. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the life in the water baptism of repentance. He is the truth of the gospel. He is the way of forgiveness and righteousness.

That’s the problem of sin. We’re buried with Christ. We are baptized into his death. We've become a part of his rising in order to walk in the newness of life.

In the death of Christ, we have been raised with him into eternal life, where he now resides.

The way to our newness of life is to follow Jesus. The truth of the gospel is to follow Jesus. He is our way to the Father. He is the truth that sets us free. He is the life that leads us into God’s will.

This way is a new way. It’s a way that doesn’t leave us stuck in sin. It’s a way that is free of the past and the consequences of the past. It’s a way that takes us to a new creation, where we walk in the purposes of God.

John goes on to tell us in 1 John 4:6-10,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (v. 6)

If we say, “Jesus is Lord,” then we believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, that we might become children of God and heirs with Christ. (v. 7)

He says, “He’s a righteous one, a holy and just God. He’s not just for the Jews. He loves us. He loves you. He loves me. He loves everybody.”

It is Jesus Christ alone who can forgive anyone’s sin that is why he is your forgiveness. He is the one who offers the newness of life. Jesus is the one who leads us to a new creation where we are sons and daughters of God.

Jesus is the one who leads us to the Father, into God’s plans for our lives. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

This is the way to a new creation and a new life in Jesus Christ. This is how we’re able to know the Father. This is how we’re able to know God.

When Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He meant it. She wasn’t talking about the Holy Spirit, although she was receiving the Holy Spirit when she followed Jesus.

 Jesus was talking about his atoning blood, which she was also receiving through her faith in the gospel. The way to know God is through Jesus Christ, the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” If we want to know God, then Jesus Christ is the way to know God. The gospel is the way to God. Jesus is the way to the newness of life

In John 17:6, Jesus says, “Father, glorify your name.” That’s the same thing he’s saying in the gospel, because he says in the gospel, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The gospel is the truth about our need for Jesus, our need for forgiveness, and our need for righteousness.

It is the gospel about the only way to know God and the only way to be with God.

The gospel is the truth about our sins, our need for forgiveness, our need for salvation, and our need for righteousness.

 The gospel is the message of hope, that Jesus died for our sins, that we can be forgiven, and that we can be set free from the law of sin.

Praise The Lord! For whom the Son set free is free indeed”