In this 12-week series, “IN CHRIST V1.” Michelle teaches how to operate and live from our position IN CHRIST! When a person is saved, God does more than a simple remodel of that person! We are born again with God’s life and nature! Follow along to the audio or video teaching of “From Death to Life” with these study notes. Then, utilize the questions to help you internalize the truth you have learned.
1. Jesus is the first one to speak of the new birth.
In the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus explained vital truths about being born again.
John 3:1-8
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Born again is also translated in the original language as “born from above.”
- Jesus explained in verse 3 that without the new birth, a person could not see or perceive the things of God.
- Jesus taught in verse 5 that the new birth is the entrance to the Kingdom of God or the entry point to begin operating in God’s Kingdom.
- In verse 6, Jesus emphasized the difference between the natural man and the spiritual man in relation to the new birth.
There is a need for every person to pass from death to life by believing in Jesus
and His provision for our sins.
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
2. Before salvation, man was spiritually dead with a sinful nature. We were dead in trespasseses and sins with the nature of the children of wrath.
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
- The new birth brings spiritual life and a change of nature. Because the believer is spiritually alive and no longer dominated by a sinful nature, their relationship with God changes.
Quickened=made alive
2 Peter 1:4
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
3. Our Being in Adam
Adam was created with God’s spiritual supply of life.
Genesis 2:7
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Adam and Eve were alive with the life of God and able to communicate, fellowship, and function as God’s family without fear or condemnation.
Their death was a two-part death:
Genesis 2:17
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
- The phrase “…thou shalt surely die…” in the original language is “… in dying you shall die….” Adam and Eve died spiritually the moment they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 5:5 says that Adam lived physically until he was 930 years old.
- We refer to spiritual death as the “fall of man.” Man fell from a condition of spiritual life to a condition of spiritual death.
- Spiritual death is a condition of the spirit where a person is disconnected or separated from the life of God.
In Adam, death passed to all men like a spiritual, genetic condition that entered the lineage.
Romans 5:12 (AMPC)
12 Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned.
***
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Wages = payment
4. In Jesus Christ, spiritual life is passed to all who believe in Him. Jesus died in our place, as our substitute, so we can live spiritually sound and united to God in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
- The words be in are actually one word in the original text that shows a fixed, definite position or location.
- The Holy Spirit uses this and similar phrases such as, in Him or in Whom, over 130 times in the New Testament to describe the life we have as a believer.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMPC)
17 Therefore, if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
***
John 15:5
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We have been engrafted into Christ. He is the vine, and we are the branches.
This is a living connection. We are disconnected from the previous spiritual source and connected to His life like a branch is connected to the vine.
We are the fruit-bearing part of Jesus Christ.
Learn more in this program!
All of the outlines and questions are in a study guide available on our website. You can also order CD, DVD, or the flash drive set of this series. IN CHRIST VOLUME 1
Every believer will benefit by being established in their position IN CHRIST. As a matter of fact, our progress in the kingdom of God and our victory in the affairs of life will be limited until we learn to operate from this position.
But we can only identify our place IN CHRIST with the light of God’s Word. The Bible reveals the righteousness we have been made IN CHRIST Jesus, the sonship we have been granted, the victory Jesus obtained for us, and so much more. In this 12-week series, Michelle Steele covers these foundational principles in detail, strengthening us to walk in the light of our being IN CHRIST.
You can find this along with other resources, such as Michelle’s book, Redeemed and Righteous by Nature — a companion teaching to this series.
Study Questions
1. Describe the importance of knowing the change that occurs when a person is born again. What difficulties does a person encounter when they don’t know they have been made spiritually alive?
2. Explain the term spiritual death. When did Adam and Eve experience spiritual death?
3. What does it mean to be in Christ?
4. Describe the difference between your life before Christ and the life you live now from your position in Him.
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