We Are Not Our Own

Remember, in every situation of our life we actually belong to a higher power. Our natural way of thinking is that we are alone and no one really understands or cares about anything in our life. A worldly person may be right but this cannot be true for a person of real faith. Paul says to us; Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. 1 Cor 6:19-20 (NLT). We have been purchased twice although we do not think of it this way. The first time when God created us as his own and the second time was when Christ was sacrificed on the cross so that the Spirit could come to live in us. If we built something with our own hands and then were to purchase it a second time, we would certainly feel that it belonged to us. This paper will attempt to show how unreasonable it is for Christians to live for themselves. Because we belong to God, his Word is clearly asking us to spend our complete life serving Him.

The world around us has been developed over the years to impart a powerful attraction to our natural senses. In fact, it is impossible for any natural person to resist every worldly appeal that is offered to them during their life. The denying of earthly desires is our main obstacle to the righteous life God desires. When we include the denying of self-will, which is also impossible, there is certainly no way to please God. Fortunately, the Spirit can provide the power to overcome every impossible thing in our life. You are now a slave of Christ. God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world. 1 Cor 7:22-23 (NLT) In this verse Paul includes a warning about the world that is not in the first verse. We must not allow ourselves to be enslaved by the world for any reason because a Christian has been purchased again by their original owner. Because we are born in sin, the world owns us for a while but if we ask God to redeem us the world no longer has the legal right to ask us to be part of its plans.

Jesus first began his ministry with an outline of the way people should live their lives here on earth. This is one small part of that sermon; “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Matt 6:24-27 (NLT) Because a true Christian does not belong to himself, our owner will take care of all life’s problems. This wonderful truth is difficult for us to accept in our everyday life. This new life of doing God’s will is going to bring reproach and unpopularity into our life at times. Truly, Christians do not belong to themselves and we must always follow the leading of the Spirit.

 God accomplishes his care of us by sending his Spirit to live inside of us. As we recognize that we belong to Him rather than ourselves, He begins to change our natural ways. Many modern Church members do not understand the power that is intended to guide their lives. The best passage explaining this power is located in the first part of Romans chapter eight. Let’s look at some highlights. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you. Romans 8:2 (NLT) Even a beginner Christian understands that being free from the power of sin is salvation 101. Having knowledge that the power in us is greater by far, than the power of sin is good but we must act it out in our lives. In this next verse we see; The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. Romans 8:11 (NLT) It is hard to imagine but the same power that brought Jesus back to life is living in us. He is called the life-giving Spirit.

We are never forced in to a relationship with God. It is a privilege that we are allowed to become a child of God. This is why it is so important for us to make the correct decisions for God. For example; But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. Romans 8:13 (NLT) We like to blame anything else for our sins but very plainly it is “YOU” that are instructed to put sin to death. Yes, the power comes from God when we are successful at killing sin out of our life. This is why allowing the Spirit to operate on our behalf is absolutely necessary when we want to please God.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8:14 (NLT) God’s children must not direct their own paths. Our nature without the leading of the Spirit is a recipe for disaster. The worst part is that we will deceive ourselves into believing that we are doing so well when we are not listening at all. 

In fact, the Word of God says that without the leading of the Spirit we will never see God. The Scripture says; (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Romans 8:9 (NLT) This is why many people will not accept the teaching of the Spirit; they want to continue believing that anyone acknowledging the Savior is eternally saved and everything else in the Bible is simply a suggestion. Obviously, if the Spirit is living in someone they will want to live a life of service to God. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. Romans 8:5 (NLT) When we please the Holy Spirit, it automatically pleases Jesus and the Father. It’s great that we can please all three at one time. There are many church people today that are planning and living their life to fulfill their own goals. These fence riders are usually spiritually unfulfilled.

When we are adopted into God’s family it means that by the Spirit we can become one with the trinity. No part of God is withheld from his commitment to humans. You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 (NLT) We cannot fully grasp the idea that the Almighty is offering us a chance to belong to his family. Our adoption  means we are welcome in His house and to everything He owns. Living our life for Him is not much of a price to pay. In fact, once a person gives the Spirit control of our life, our commitment seems to be a wonderful privilege. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:17 (NLT) Suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ is the life a Christian must be ready to accept. Is this the life that we are living every day, knowing that we belong to another?

Above All Else

When we look at our life there is always “one thing” that will be above everything else. People may not even know what their life is about in many cases. Even having to think about the most important thing in their life is offensive to many people. The fact that we do not want to think or know what our life is about will make no difference on judgment day. What our life was about will be explained to us in detail. The best way to focus our life is to get ourselves right with the Creator. Here is an example of an important man and what he wanted his life to be about.  O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live. Psalms 63:1-4 (NLT) King David felt that the love of God was above everything else in his life. The amazing thing is that the more we desire God as number one, the more he makes it possible.

This is the reason that the Lord said he really loved David in spite of the times David failed to act Godly. If we want to serve God we must have a relationship with him. We should know the name of God and what He is like. The Scriptures instruct us to love Him so it is important that we respond to our Creator in the correct way.  I want you to show (Me) love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 (NLT) God has always been worthy of our sacrifices because He is our Creator and without Him we cannot even take a breath. But in this verse God says that He wants us to know Him above anything else in our lives. There are no other Gods that have ever made such a request. They are all hiding something from their followers but our God wants us to know everything about Him. What a huge difference this makes in the relationship we can have with God. The first part of this verse says “I want you to show love” to Me. There is no way to ignore God and not have to answer for a bad attitude. He wants us and we must want Him.

God has always reached out to help people who desire him to be first in their lives. In the old days names had great meaning. We don’t fully understand how important a name was but we do know that in the beginning of our history it was very important. The first time you met someone their name would tell many things about who they were. As God reached out to humans he gave his name as an introduction.  And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’ —but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. Ex 6:2-3 (NLT) Here we see God telling something about himself that Moses needed to know. In Abraham’s time the people were being introduced to the “Almighty” who had created everything including each individual. But when Moses was in big trouble, attempting to rescue the Israelites from Egypt he prayed and God gave his personal name so Moses could serve Him better. The additional meaning contained in the name Yahweh is interpreted as “the God who provides redemption for His people.” This greatly reassured Moses.

One of our problems today is that many people decide to put God above all else but they want to do it in their own way. They look at the covenant God has provided for our salvation and they pick and choose the things they want and then ignore the things they don’t want. This will never work. God’s gospel plan was designed to bring people into his likeness while forming one body that works in unison. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, he did it as one great body of people. Some of them complained and were lost. God intends to deliver Christians as one great body and those that do not conform will be left behind. Above all else we must keep our lives true to the covenant of our salvation and fellowship. Jesus Christ is our new covenant and we know a lot about him simply by learning his many names. Here are some examples, Advocate, Bread of life, Eternal Judge, King, Lord of all, Master, Redeemer, True Vine and etc. In fact, Jesus is referred to by more than 200 names in the New Testament.

We have a wonderful God who not only created us but then later revealed that he would rescue every one of His people who loved him. It makes sense that God said “I want you to show love” to Me because he first showed love to us. Today the people of this world can only know God as the “I AM” but if they approach God asking His help He will reveal the redemption plan to them. When we do love God, He expects us to honor the covenant that applies to us. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Deut 7:9-10 (NLT) We have a loving and faithful God who wants to rescue us from the destruction that we deserve. Our God is the great “I AM” and he wants to provide for our redemption through the Savior Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit as Lord of our daily life.

Above all else, seek God in the way he has provided.