How we got here

Occasionally I like to remind myself how I got here.

So I trace my steps from my godless birth in Adam  to my intimate eternal relationship with Jesus Christ that I enjoy every day. I had little to do with creating the intimate relationship. In fact God did it all.  my entire participation in his process amounted to accepting the gifts he freely gave me.

We all have a similar biography.  Read Ephesians chapter 2 and you’ll discover that Paul seems to have captured our story there.

From death to life

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

We were dead in our trespasses and sins but God crucifed his only son on the cross so you and I could be free from the life of sinners forever.

Our old self crucified

⁰ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ on the cross so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” That does not mean we will never sin again. It means that forever we are free from the control of sin foreveFor if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!r. Sin no longer has power you control our lives. So God takes away our old self,our old life of sin away from us.

He freely gives his life to us

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the life of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10

Now He lives his life through us

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13

Grace = Rest!

What Is The “Exchanged Life”?

In a few words, it means we have made the decision to exchange our life for the life of Jesus living in us, through us and as us to bring glory to God.

The term “exchanged life” is taken from Isaiah 40:31.

“. . .but those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”

The term “exchanged life” is directly related to the believer’s discovery of a new identity in Christ. The believer is a new creation; one born of God.

“. . .if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

” . . . God made me a new man! God has made me a new man!

I became aware of my exchanged life and my new identity in Christ in August, 2000. You can read my account of that day, August 11, 2000.   Click here.

Here’s just a taste of what my Exchanged Life means to me:

• God loves me with an everlasting love that will never change
• God accepts me exactly as I am.
• I received everything I needed to be who God wants me to be the moment I accepted Jesus as my Savior
• Being an authentic follower of Jesus is not a subject I need to learn, it’s a life I want to live
• I won’t become a “better” follower the longer I’m saved
• I can’t learn to be a “better” follower by sitting in a classroom or sitting in a seminar
  • I can grow in grace only as I learn to love God more
• I serve Him because I love Him, not because I think I need to
• I am an authentic follower of Jesus and I don’t call myself a Christian
• I don’t have to do anything to gain God’s approval or acceptance
• I have an eternal inheritance and will spend eternity with God
• God only sees me through the blood of Jesus
  • As a result, I am a saint, not a sinner
  • God sees me as holy and righteous
    • Not for what I do or don’t do, but for what Christ did
• My identity does not depend on things I do, but on who I am in Jesus
• Jesus wants to live his life in me, through me and as me
• I have been crucified with Christ
• I am a totally new creation since Jesus came to make his home in me
• The Holy Spirit teaches me God’s truth and convicts me when I sin
• The Holy Spirit warns me when I am headed for disobedience before I get there
• I only have one nature. Jesus and Satan can not both dwell in the same body
• I still sin, but I know my sins are already forgiven