Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
Text: Ephesians 4:23-24
GOD’S FIRST ACT OF CREATING MAN
There are some who believe that man evolved from lower primitive forms of life. It is thrilling to believe that God created man. The following text brings such a sense of warmth and dignity to mankind.
So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created him;
male and female, He created them.
GENESIS 1:27
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being.
GENESIS 2:7
1. In His own image
What a wondrous thought this is- that we bear the image of God, in our being!
2. The breath of life
The word “breath” may also be translated “spirit”. God first gave to man a material body. But there was something else that was needed. He needed to have “a spirit”. It is this spirit that God has given to man that makes him different from all other living creatures.
GOD’S SECOND ACT OF CREATION
The second act of creation is quite different, in the following ways:-
1. It is with reference to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
a) It is therefore “restrictive”.
b) It is limited to those who have placed their faith in Christ’s redemptive death.
2. It is with reference to the spirit rather than to the body
a) In true righteousness
This was God’s focus in the second act of creation. Because sin had so badly marred the first creative act of God, a second piece of work had to be done. The new nature that God has given to man is capable of “true righteousness”. The believer is not only declared righteous through Christ. He has been given a nature that is capable of being cultivated in practical and personal righteousness.
b) In holiness
This word is very closely related to “righteousness”. Holiness is a beautiful word that describes how we express our faith in daily life.