Living the New Life – this course has been developed to instruct the sons of God (Christians) on how to live the new life that has been given to us by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ. Understanding and practicing the lessons taught in this course will help you avoid being ‘killed’ by the sinful nature. The danger of this occurring is even more amplified in the economy/markets. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 puts it aptly: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows”
The sons of God have a common enemy that is out to kill them. This enemy is the sinful nature inherent in every human being. It is a battle that is real. It is a battle for the control of your soul. By your soul we mean your mind, will and emotions. You have lost the battle if the sinful nature overpowers you, forcing you to fulfill its desires (lust for sinful pleasures). You win the battle when you resist the pressures of sin to do God’s will in any given situation.
Indeed the sons of God have lost this battle on a number of occasions in the past. The consequence has always been separation from God. By separation we mean loss of access to the attributes of God’s glory to a certain degree. Separation is loss of access to His Nature, Voice, Wisdom, Presence, Purity, Provision and Power, etc.. This is what God refers to as ‘death’ in Genesis 2:17. Some of the occasions in which this battle has been lost are as follows:
(1) Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil by Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-7). Adam was a son of God (Luke 3;38). When they lost the battle, they also lost their God-given home, finances, and support afforded by the garden at Eden.
(2) The murder of Abel by Cain (Genesis 4:1-15). Cain was already a victim of the separation from God committed by Adam and Eve. Just before killing his brother God warned him that sin was crouching at his door. He lost the battle to sin, and yielded his mind, will and emotions to the sinful desire to kill his brother. The consequence for him was even further separation from God. He became a vagabond in the earth.
(3) The descent into polygamy, fornication and adultery (Genesis 6:1-4). Once again the sons of God yielded their minds and emotions to a perspective contrary to the will of God. They decided women were too beautiful to have just one for a lifetime. The consequence was even further separation from God. This time around, the Holy Spirit withdrew from mankind such that physical life expectancy was reduced. God in His mercy moved it up to 120 years. The further you are away from God, the less healthy your physical body becomes!
In Jesus Christ we have eternal life (John 3:16). Eternal life is the quality of life God lives (John 17:3). It lives way above sin. It enjoys access to the Nature, Voice, Wisdom, Presence, Purity, Provision and Power of God. Jesus demonstrated the quality of this life at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-12). In one moment He basically told Mary He could not provide a solution to the wine that had run out. A few moments later He gave instructions to the servants to fill the pots with water and turned it into wine! What happened in the space of a few moments? Simple answer – He ‘knew’ God. That is, He communicated with God in that moment in His heart/mind and God showed Him what to do. Jesus had access to God’s Voice, Wisdom, Presence, Provision and Power. This was eternal life demonstrated!
In this course you will learn how to live the new life we have in Jesus Christ. You will receive strength to live victoriously above sin, while reigning in life just as Jesus did.
We recommend that you take this course after you have taken the ‘Faith to be Perfect’ course. At the end of this course, remember to take the quizzes or assignments (if any) for the course. It will deepen your understanding and also help us monitor your progress.