Stress is always an inside job. We’re in the process of learning how to put off the old man and put on the new man, the new nature of Jesus.
The subject of the old nature (do we have two natures?) is a controversial subject. Some say we have two natures, and some say we no longer have two natures.
What we must realize is that when our spirit is born from above, we because conscious of the Holy Spirit living inside of us and our spirit is in union with His, which is our true self which no longer wants to sin or yield to the flesh, and if we do yield to the flesh, we feel unclean and clouded, and miserable.
But the mercies of God are new every morning, so that we get a fresh start to either walk with God or live unto ourselves.
But until we surrender absolute control to the Holy Spirit we are going to keep going around the mountain failing the testing of our faith and will experience an up and down, hot and cold, bi-polar Christian life.
When our spirit is truly born from above we do not want to sin because it quenches the fruit of the Spirit in us and we are not happy. We would rather be full of the Spirit enjoying the pleasures of the Spirit, than the passing pleasure of sin, which will eventually destroy our lives. But we still have a choice.
If we walk with God, if we walk in the Spirit the bible says we will not, and the word not- is a double negative which means no- never, it is impossible to fulfill the desire of the flesh because the seed of God dwells in us. The seed, the DNA of God cannot sin. But our flesh can sin. So, we are either yielding to our spirit or yielding to our flesh.
So, concerning two natures I usually say flesh instead of the old nature. But in this message, I am going to use the word old nature or old self which a new believer will be able to understand better.
I study the original language, the Greek and Hebrew. The Greek language is a very precise language, and because we do not speak Greek, I am going to show you how I translate the bible in a verse of scripture and then paraphrase what the Greek is saying.
Romans 6:5 For (reason-because) if we have been(past-perfect tense-something that happened in the past which continues in the present-finished results)planted together( grown along with Christ) in the likeness (to make like) of his death, we shall ( in superaddition) be (future-“middle voice implying our yielding to Holy Spirit”)also resurrection (raised to life): 6 Knowing (present continuous tense-knowing absolutely at all times) this (therefore), that(because) our old (former) man ( human being) is crucified with ( ariost indicative passive-an action that happened in the past that was done for us-to switch off-to bring under control) him, that the body of sin ( the flesh body, the vehicle of sin) might be destroyed(rendered powerless), that henceforth( no further) we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:5 because if we have been on the cross with Christ planted together in the form of death, with the seed of Christ in our spirit growing, being made like Christ. In supernatural addition as we yield to the Holy Spirit in us, we will now exist raised to newness of life.
Romans 6:6 knowing absolutely all the time, because of our co-inclusion with Christ on the cross our former humanness (who we were before our spirit was enlightened, (everything we inherited from Adam’s fallen condition) was switched off and brought under the control of the Holy Spirit so that our human flesh body which was the vehicle of sin might be rendered powerless so that no further should we serve sin.
The old nature is the product of our natural DNA, our environment, upbringing, contact with the worldly system of values and our learned behaviors. We take on board negative experiences and traumatic occasions and treat them as though they are the truth about us for all time.
The old self, until it is replaced in our experience, carries some weight in our personality. It supplies the head noise, the background tape that runs on a loop incessantly in our thinking, until our mind is renewed. All stress is already on that tape. When situations arise that are difficult for us, the button gets pressed and the old messages about ourselves and the fears of life get played, and stress is the result.
The new nature is a product of heaven. It is the divine nature of God planted in our spirit, It is the way that God thinks about us in Christ. He has nothing but approval for us because that’s why he put us into Christ in the first place. So that we could always be accepted in the beloved-Ephesians 1: 6. The Lord has a way of thinking about us that builds us up, empowers us to grow, and causes us to be constantly renewed in the spirit.
We need never lose heart because our outer man (old self) is being killed off, yet our inner man (our true self in Jesus) is being renewed day by day (2Corinthians 4: 16). We are practicing the joyful discipline of being renewed in the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4: 23). That means we are enabling our thinking to come from a source that is full of love for us and wants to see us grow, change, and become more of who Jesus is for us. The new man hears a heart voice, not an old head noise.
We have put on a new self which is renewed in a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him-Colossians 3: 10. The true knowledge is that our head noise belongs to the old man, crucified in Christ. Our new inner voice is in accordance with the image of Jesus. We can only be fully transformed by the renewing of our mind (romans 12: 2).
Stress is caused by the way we see things and the platform from which we view them. When we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6: 11), something must shift in our experience. The new shift can only be made by a new mindset. The mind set on the flesh is death (Romans 8: 6) because it will ignores the new voice of our spirit. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. It produces a reality of Christ within; we become alive to God and all the possibilities that he generates.
Our new nature has a voice that makes us alive to God. If we are to truly hear this inner voice of the spirit, we must differentiate it from all other voices. The voice of the inner man of our spirit will sound exactly like the Holy Spirit! We know what he sounds like because scripture provides us with his voice indicators in Galatians 5: 22-23. His voice is loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, long-suffering, full of kindness, edifying in its goodness, extremely faithful to who we are becoming, and full of the gentleness of spirit. We can always feel the fruit of the Spirit in the voice of our spirit in union with God. The fruit of the Spirit empowers us to move in self-control. That is, our new nature with its new voice takes control over the old self and the stressors it provokes. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
I was talking to a friend who is struggling with some things in his life and he said I hate myself, which self was doing the talking? You have two self’s, the old one and the new one. Which one is doing the talking? Only the old self would say I hate myself.
So, what should we do about that voice? We ignore it. It belongs to someone who is dead in Jesus. Instead of dealing with the old voice, you listen for the new one which will tell you the opposite of the old one.
We don’t counsel the old man: we do not deal with its behavior. If we do, that is the best way to keep it alive. Whatever we focus on we give power to. Instead we reckon that we are dead to it but alive to God in the new man. We replace the old, we don’t remodel it. The fruit of the Spirit allows us to deny the rights of the old man and promote the disposition of the new man in Christ.
There is only one voice to hear. It is the voice of the Holy Spirit whose business it is to make you like Jesus. He talks to you in a way that the father talks to his beloved son. It’s the same voice. It’s full of love and has a sense of joy to it. It is the voice of patient kindness and gentle goodness that lifts our hearts to experience his faithfulness.
All other voices must be put in their place. That is why we have self-control: so that we may know what is the old and new self and make decisions accordingly. There is something wonderful in saying no to the old self and yes to our new self in Jesus. It is deeply satisfying and powerfully renewing.
The Holy Spirit will always (because the old nature is dead) focus our attention on the new man. He will always elevate the true self in Jesus. He does not deal with the old self because Jesus has already done that on the cross. We are free to move about the Kingdom. We are free to explore who we are in Jesus and discover what has been set aside for us to enjoy.
The new man would never choose stress when love, joy, and peace, etc. are all of available for free. The new man would always choose a better thought, a new mindset, a renewal of perspective and a more excellent way to live. Stress is Counter intuitive to the peace and rest of Jesus (Matthew 11: 28-30). It is an immature response from a life that is not enjoying true fellowship as the beloved of God.
Which self are you listening to in your life? What’s your head noise telling you? How would you discern the voice of God in your heart? What is God saying to you about how he sees you and feels about you?