Scripture Reference:
Romans 7:6 But now we have been delivered from the law having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
* note: the content of the following teaching is not my own, it is taken from excellent teaching by Gavin Porter from a series called God's Vision God's Mission. You can access the full teaching on YouTube by following this link: It is finished!
Reading Guide for Mom and Dad:
We serve in Newness of Spirit and not in the Oldness of the Letter. What does this mean?
In this exchange/transfer in the Finished Work of the Cross, we see that we've gone from the Old to the New. All things have been made new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
When we entered into a marriage covenant, the two became one and we find ourselves IN Christ. We are now IN Christ. Before the Cross, we were still IN Adam. The Old has passed away, the Last Adam (Jesus) died and He rose the Second Man. Now we are IN Christ a New Creation IN HIM.
It says in verse 17 "Behold all things have become NEW."
It is interesting how many examples there are in the Bible of "Old" and "New".
Luke 5:36 Then He spoke a parable to them; "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.
We mustn't mix old and new. If you mix it then you will get a tear. It is a completely NEW creation. It is not a patched-up Old Creation.
Luke 5:37-38 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one having drunk old wine immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better'.
"Imagine this Picture: The Bible says God is the Potter and we are the clay. Imagine right there, in the beginning, God created man out of the dust of the earth. He formed man into a clay pot. (this is just a picture) Then God filled man with the Breath of Life. Adam - the dust image, filled with the Spirit. But Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and as they ate, sin and death entered in. Now that pot cracked. When the pot cracked they lost the Spirit of Life. When they Lost the Spirit they became this empty vessel - dust. The Image of God is lost. From that moment on all of Adam's offspring was born in Adam's image. Everyone cracked vessels. Until Jesus comes. Jesus is perfect, He has no sin, He has no cracks and He is full of the Holy Spirit - overflowing. He who is without sin became sin for us. Jesus goes to the cross, and on the Cross, Jesus takes all sin onto Himself. He becomes sin for us. It says in Isaiah 52 he was marred beyond recognition.
When Jesus went to the cross He was so wounded that you couldn't even recognize Him as a human being. He was so twisted for our sins. At a certain point, He said: "Father in Your hands I commit My Spirit".
He has the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of God, inside of Him - it is impossible for Jesus to just die, you can't just kill Him. (How many times did they try to kill Him and He just walked through the crowd?) At a certain point, after He took all the sin unto Himself, He laid down His own life. He became obedient unto death and He breathed out the Spirit and died.
But then He rose again from the dead. And when He rose He appeared to His disciples. They've become NEW BOTTLES - their sins have been left at the Cross. They don't realize it yet though.
Jesus says to them: "Peace be unto you" and He breathes on them and He says: "Receive the Holy Spirit". He breathes the Spirit into them.
And then Jesus says to them: "Whosever sins you retain will be retained and whoever sins you forgive will be forgiven". He is telling the disciples to go out and to tell the World that their sins are forgiven, and if you don't tell them they're not going to know. So you have to go and tell them: "Their sins are forgiven".
And as they go out they receive the NEW WINE poured into the NEW BOTTLES.
He couldn't pour the NEW WINE into the cracked/old bottles but He could pour the NEW WINE(Spirit) into the NEW BOTTLES(New Creation in Christ). A New Creation in Christ can contain the New Wine!"
The above picture: Taken from the teaching: It is Finished! by Gavin Porter
Acts 2:12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?" Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine."
They thought they were drunk but they're full of the New Wine of the Spirit.
Joel 2:28 talks about how God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
When Jesus was ministering in authority in Mark 1 the people said "what NEW DOCTRINE is this?" because He speaks with authority.
Mark 1: 27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority, He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.
We have a NEW DOCTRINE, we have NEW WINE. It says these signs will follow those who believe Mark 16:16 - they will speak with NEW TONGUES.
Mark 16:16 And these signs will follow those who believe; In My Name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
In the book of Revelation, it says He will give us a NEW NAME, there is a NEW JERUSALEM, a NEW HEAVEN, a NEW EARTH.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Everything has become NEW. The Old Covenant passed away and a New Covenant was established. There were the Old Commandments: Jesus fulfilled the Law, and now we have a New Commandment: Love one another. Jesus didn't take away the Law, but He took us out from under the Law. So He fulfilled the Law so that when we are IN Him, we also fulfill the Law. So the Law is fulfilled with the Finished Work of the Cross.
Ephesians 4:17-24 it talks about the NEW MAN, in the King James translation the heading reads: Old Man and the New (KJ)
Ephesians 4:17-24 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus; that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
We have to put off the OLD MAN and put on the NEW MAN and if you read through this passage from verse 17 you will see it is talking about the Gentiles having the "vanity of the mind", renewing the spirit of your mind, it has a lot to do with your MIND.
Conversation Starters with the little ones:
What do you think is a " New creation"?
How does one renew the way you think?
Let's look at all our pictures: lesson 1-24.
Name one new idea that you learned.
Play a fun game:
Use the visual aids that you printed out from each lesson as visual cues.
Ask an easy question about the picture or let them explain the concept in their own words. Bonus points for any Bible verses they can recall regarding the specific picture. We use tokens for every correct answer.
Use the tokens for a fun reward:
Examples could be:
3 tokens for 10 minutes extra screen time
5 tokens for Mom to do one of your chores
10 tokens for a movie night privilege
Remember to keep it fun and playful. You can even create teams.
(It can be any reward that you feel comfortable within your own family)
Teach them to Rule and Multiply:
Get up early before sunrise! Have the tea and hot chocolate ready for your little ones.
Go outside and watch the sunrise with them. Tell them that God's mercies are new every morning. Watch their faces as they see the sunbeams touch the horizon. These are your precious gifts. How blessed we are, to be overwhelmed with His love every morning. To have a Good Father who loves us, takes us by the hand and leads us in His Way.
Kettle Prayer suggestions:
Lord Jesus, put a new heart into my little ones. Fill them with Your Spirit and renew their minds, hearts, and understanding. Amen
You are welcome to download this visual aid for your personal use:
I've included this resource for older children (ages 13 years and up):
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