A baby is born and filled with physical life and grows in every way throughout its life into maturity and knowledge. The new birth, a second birth, is a spiritual birth, but it too grows into spiritual maturity and knowledge or is overpowered by the flesh in an internal death struggle.
A born again Christian is a totally new thing being created... The Greek word for this "new creature" is ktisma.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away (dead); behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor.5:17. The "dead works" in a newly created Christian must be totally purged out. "How much more shall the blood of Christ ... purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Heb.9:14. The flesh is hopeless. It cannot be saved until it is resurrected, raptured and glorified.
This spiritual process of "making" Christians from a dual nature (spirit and flesh), into a single new spiritual creature, is a work in progress from the moment of the "new birth" unto the moment of death or rapture. That spiritual process is taking place in every Christian still in a body of flesh. The remaking and perfecting of the "new creature" shall continue right up to the resurrection and rapture of true believers."Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2.
In the meantime, until that great day of resurrection, rapture and full, spiritual glorification, like unto Jesus, let the spirit of God purge out the old dead works and continue his work of grace making us a completely new creature in Christ.
"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man..." Eph. 3:16
"That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph.4:22-24.
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him..." Col.3:9-10
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom.6:6
The Apostle Paul, who wrote that last verse about the "old man" and our "body of sin" continued and expanded upon the thought of the two fold nature of man and how they are at war with each other, in Romans 7 below. In this chapter, Paul uses himself and his life experience of his inner spiritual man battling the old fleshly man to grow in grace and serve God faithfully. This chapter tells the self-righteous they are sinners too. It tells the judgmental Christian that they are as guilty as those they judge. It tells the "sinless" person they are liars. It tells the humble, repentant Christian they are in the will of God. Here is the heart of Paul confessing in absolute honestly the truth about himself... and us.
Romans 7
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
