Living freed

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by Nicole and Edwina | Living freed

Experiencing liberations to live liberated

Are we instantly free when we become christian?

When becoming christian, we might have thought that we were instantly freed from all the chains and the heavy load of our past that haunted us.

But it’s not that simple!

No problem on God’s side

It’s true that God has a plan for humanity. There’s no doubt that humans are precious to Him, that He cherishes them unconditionally and holds them in high esteem. It’s also true that God is wonderful, full of love, goodness and kindness towards them. And it’s safe to say that He has a personal project for each human being. No problem on God’s side!

So where is the problem?

Genesis 3 teaches us that Adam and Eve made a choice that had a terrible consequence, and of which, the repercussions are still being suffered today! They chose to live separated from God. They lost their authority over the Enemy and his posse and lost the meaning and purpose of life.

What are the consequences of this choice ?

Humanity lost its relationship with God. Relationships between men became marked by comparison, rivalry, disagreement, violence and death. They opened the door to a lot of suffering and lost the sense of fulfilment in life and health.

The Bible calls this disastrous choice “the Fall” or “Sin”. The harmful consequences of this choice are called “sins”… By wanting to becoming free, men became slaves!

Jesus came

Jesus came to the world and gave His life to buy back our freedom! He gave His life so that all humans may be saved from the chains mentioned earlier, so that they live liberated and in a perfect and fulfilling relationship with God, with each other and with themselves. So that they might find the true meaning of life and of their own existence, their purpose.

Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for you and me

Thanks to Jesus’sacrifice, we are now able to receive forgiveness and life in abundance!

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10)

The three dimension of human beings

Human beings are made up of a body, a soul, and a spirit.

Our body allows us to come into contact with the material world. It’s characterized by our five senses, a physical appearance and physical health. Essentially, our bodies are the consciousness of the material world.

The soul is made up of our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions and our willpower. It’s our personality, it’s the consciousness of self.

The spirit is the most hidden part of the human being. It’s the part that allows us to enter into relationship with God. It’s the “organ” of the consciousness of God.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

The consequences of a bad human choice

In reality, after the fall, the human spirit became spiritually dead to everything that comes from God (His actions, His word, His presence, His voice).

Nevertheless, when a human is born again, his spirit is brought back to life. The Holy Spirit comes to live in the spirit of man.

I encourage you to read to following verses from the book of John, Ephesians and Titus.

The human spirit brought back to life

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: wo were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

From the moment we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour, the spirit is brought back to life because it receives the Holy Spirit. In other words, we become a child of God and we enter a wonderful adventure of daily freedom… that takes time!

However, our soul remains in it’s same state, and our body is not renewed either.

Born again: the first step, followed by many more

Once born again, the new christian’s soul enters a phase of transformation that the Bible calls sanctification. This doesn’t mean becoming perfect, but rather to be treated and healed in order to live freed.

The soul’s transformations

In fact, the soul’s transformation starts as a result of multiple consecutive realisations of who God is and who we are. By His Spirit in our own, we become sensitive to what God likes and dislikes.

As it turns out, we are also become more aware of the impact of our own history on our present situation as well as the wounds and “sicknesses” of our soul that need God’s healing.

In the beginning of our christian life, certain things that were terribly destructive to us are brought to light. God wants to free us from these chains.

Needing to live freed

In this way, little by little, God points out subtle things about our character. Those things are like footprints left behind by our past and yet, influence our day to day life.

In His goodness, God wants our healing, and that’s why He, to the extent of what we can bare, brings rays of light. He does this in different ways.

Needing time

In reality, we often need a lot of time to be able to identify what our wounds and hidden “sicknesses” (that cause dysfunction) are. It takes time to admit what they are, and He respects that.

“Yes! I admit that I’m not ok!”

God, in Jesus, by His Spirit, does not intervene until we have admitted our need for healing. It’s only when we recognize that we need His intervention, and accept it, that healing can follow. It’s our first collaboration.

The Holy Spirit working for our good

Let’s never forget that God, by His spirit, is seeking our well-being. He wants to bandage our wounds and heal, restore and free us. Every one of His interventions is so constructive and freeing.

He wants our better-being and well being in every aspect of who we are.