Dress for Success
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Romans 13:14
What does it mean to put on the Lord Jesus Christ? Figuratively speaking, it means to dress up with the character of Christ to reveal His glory to the world (Matthew 5:16). It means to know Him so that you become like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). It means to find your security and identity in who you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:12-13).
Paul explained in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” To put on Christ is not a one time deal. Although, as believers, we’ve been given a new nature through the indwelling Spirit, putting on the character of Christ involves being renewed in the knowledge of Christ daily (Romans 12:-3). By being renewed, (Ephesians 4:23), we feed and satisfy our spiritual appetite as opposed to feeding our fleshly desires (Romans 13:14). We can overcome the insatiable desires of the flesh by not making provision for the flesh (i.e. pornography, spending hours on social media), but instead building spiritual muscles in Christ. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4). Apart from drawing our spiritual sustenance from Christ, the Bread of Life, our lives will be controlled by our sinful desires. And giving into our sinful desires will always take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we want to pay.
How do we ensure that we continually dress for success and live out our identity in Christ? As the following poem so aptly illustrates, “Two natures beat within my breast, the one is foul, the other is blessed. The one I love, the other I hate. The one I feed will dominate.” Immerse yourself in the word of God to behold the glory of God. And pray daily as the Psalmist prayed, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your way” (Psalm 119:37). We become what we behold.
Blessings,
Pastor Marco
What does it mean to put on the Lord Jesus Christ? Figuratively speaking, it means to dress up with the character of Christ to reveal His glory to the world (Matthew 5:16). It means to know Him so that you become like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). It means to find your security and identity in who you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:12-13).
Paul explained in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” To put on Christ is not a one time deal. Although, as believers, we’ve been given a new nature through the indwelling Spirit, putting on the character of Christ involves being renewed in the knowledge of Christ daily (Romans 12:-3). By being renewed, (Ephesians 4:23), we feed and satisfy our spiritual appetite as opposed to feeding our fleshly desires (Romans 13:14). We can overcome the insatiable desires of the flesh by not making provision for the flesh (i.e. pornography, spending hours on social media), but instead building spiritual muscles in Christ. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4). Apart from drawing our spiritual sustenance from Christ, the Bread of Life, our lives will be controlled by our sinful desires. And giving into our sinful desires will always take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we want to pay.
How do we ensure that we continually dress for success and live out our identity in Christ? As the following poem so aptly illustrates, “Two natures beat within my breast, the one is foul, the other is blessed. The one I love, the other I hate. The one I feed will dominate.” Immerse yourself in the word of God to behold the glory of God. And pray daily as the Psalmist prayed, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your way” (Psalm 119:37). We become what we behold.
Blessings,
Pastor Marco