THE POWER OF A NEW AFFECTION

Devotion 1 of 12

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." -- Colossians 3:1-3, NASB

INTRODUCTION Understanding the new covenant

Throughout post-Pentecostal history, the people of God have wrestled with improper concepts of the New Covenant. The propensity to Law within the professed church has been evident from its beginning. The false notion that we gain acceptance with God by living up to a legal code, tenaciously clings to the minds of people. This inclination supposes there has been no basic change in those receiving Christ. The new covenant is thus perceived as one of more information, with a set of more difficult commandments--a new system of law. Those embracing this imagination see the commandments as essential, though illogical. They are not in heartfelt agreement with them, but attempt to keep them to avoid being condemned. Actually, the nature of the Lord's commandments and their own natures are in sharp conflict. As the prophet Isaiah declared, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Constrained by preference

This is not at all the manner of the new covenant. In Christ, we are constrained by preference, not by threat. Love is more powerful than fear, and therefore lies at the heart of our relationship to God through Christ and by the Spirit. "The love of Christ constrains us," writes Paul (2 Cor 5:14); i.e., our insight into the marvelous provisions of grace compels us to do His will. God directs such people with His "eye," rather than with a "bit and bridle" (Psa 32:8-9). The strength of new life in Christ is not abstinence from the cursed thing, although that is involved. Rather, it is the appropriation of the blessing, for which we gladly abandon the cursed and harmful.

Moral change is accomplished because of new preferences and focus

We "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess 5:22), not only because it is wicked, but because we have seen "some better thing" (Heb 11:40). Our hearts have been ravished with God Himself and "the things of God" (1 Cor 1:10-11). To fervently "desire" the good things of God is a more powerful and effectual frame of mind than that of adherence to a code. It is sufficient to produce significant change in those so dominated. There are a number of Psalmic expressions that convey this thought. "Behold, I long for Thy precepts; Revive me through Thy righteousness" (Psa 119:40, NASB). "I long for Thy salvation, O LORD, And Thy law is my delight" (Psa 119:174, NASB). "Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold" (Psa 119:127, NASB). "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" (Psa 42:1-2, NASB). These expressions transcended the times during which they were written. For those in Christ, however, they are the norm. They are the utterances of a heart that has been attracted to higher and nobler things--things this world cannot provide.

-- TOMORROW: FOCUS AND AFFECTION #1 --