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Q22. Sanctification


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Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? In what ways is this a process of “working out” our salvation? Why should you expect a person’s life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? What is happening if there is no discernable change?

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  • 4 months later...

Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? He helps us form Godly traits in us and lift or remove the selfish or sinful behaviors and desires we have. He helps us to be more obedient and willing to serve God and others. By gradually showing us through God's word what is and is not good in the sight of God. In what ways is this a process of "working out" our salvation? God shows us over time what our spiritual gifts and abilities are as well as our talents and how and where He wants us to use them to glorify Him and serve others in the church and outside of the church. He shows us where He wants us to give our money and time to. Why should you expect a person's life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? Because it should be able to be seen from the inside out. If they are really saved then they will be more loving, considerate and selfless than before. They will talk, and act differently than they did before they were saved. They will love God, His word, the church and have a love for the lost. What is happening if there is no discernable change? If there is no change then they never really accepted Jesus as their Savior. They never accepted the free gift of salvation. They are still in their sins.

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After we are saved/rescued the Holy Spirit works within us to 'do good works' (Eph 2:10) - also He "makes us more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image" (2 Cor 3:18, NLT) ... from 'one degree of glory to another'

In 'working out our salvation' we are co-operating with God as He prompts & enables us to change... we 'work out' & God is also at work within us

John Wimber phrased it this way 'we work OUT what God has already put IN'

We should expect change because the Spirit is alive & at work to change - in the same way that we expect healthy seeds to produce healthy plants after their type

If - after time - there is no change discernible then it is questionable whether new birth has taken place

God of our Salvation

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On 10/6/2022 at 7:39 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? In what ways is this a process of “working out” our salvation? Why should you expect a person’s life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? What is happening if there is no discernable change?

The Spirit works in us after we are saved,  as He works in us to will and do of His good pleasure.  He helps us to grow as we listen to His voice.

This is a process of working out our salvation as it is making us more like Christ, our sanctification.

A person's life changes when they put their faith in Jesus. He lets us know that we are in the world and not of it.  You see more and more the lies and corruption of this world.  Even little things that we see bother us like a piece of paper on the floor at church, needs to be picked up and tossed in a pail. Getting more into the Word and out of TV or entertaining ourselves.  We make it a point to care about someone with God's love and compassion. The Lord is making us more like Him every day. He is changing us from glory to glory.  We draw out the fruits of the Spirit - Love , joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, kindness, self control, and faithfulness.

If there is no discernable change we have to question whether the person is really born again.

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I don't know how the Spirit works in Christians after they're saved. I know this happens, but I don't know how it happens. One of Oswald Chamber's major themes is that the Spirit forms Christ in us. In Oswald's interpretation, I become less me and more Christ as Christ "takes over" my mind and body.

This is sanctification or the working out of salvation. Dying to self and allowing Christ to take over is not easy. I'm not even sure how it happens. So many times I toss around phrases like "dying to self," without really thinking about what this means. Does the Spirit cause my self-death? Am I responsible for killing the self in me? Something in-between?

I don't think that we should judge whether a person is a Christian (or not) by observing his/her behavior. God takes His time with sanctification. Small changes occur inside before becoming visible to others. Some of these changes aren't even discernable to the Christian as he/she is experiencing them!

Only in retrospect can we see that God has worked in us.

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Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) 
How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? In what ways is this a process of "working out" our salvation? Why should you expect a person's life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? What is happening if there is no discernible change? 
The Holy Spirit works to change our mindset, so that we become more and more like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have received the free gift of eternal life, and now He puts in us the wish and desire to do His will, but at the same time works in us the power to be able to carry out this desire. This is a process of working out our salvation in that together with our Lord we change our reliance on the world and its values, the flesh and its sinful desires, and the devil and his evil schemes. We need help to overcome our sinful, self-centred life we lived. We can expect an initial drastic change in our lives. We have become a new creation, old things have passed away, and all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17). We will notice the Holy Spirit transforming us into the likeness of Christ. There will be visible growth in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). If not we must question our salvation. 
 

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Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17)

How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us?

In what ways is this a process of "working out" our salvation?

Why should you expect a person's life to change when they put their faith in Jesus?

What is happening if there is no discernable change?

The Spirit transforms or renews us.  Those used to using bad language will find that their vocabulary has changed.  The Fruit of the Spirit will start being visible in these lives.

We need to put our salvation into action.  If we truly are saved our lives will reflect it.

The old has passed away, behold all has become new.  There is now a different person behind the "steering-wheel" of that life.  That is why the lives will change.  You have someone else accompanying you into places now, viz., the Holy Spirit;  it is no longer the devil.  

If there is no change then one must truly investigate as to have the keys of that life really been handed over or was it not real salvation.  Do a self-evaluation and then you will see that self is still residing as chief.  Christ was not really given that place.

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The ”Act” of accepting Christ is a new start, not a completed act.  We are but babies in the Spirit at the time of our acceptance of Christ as our savior.  We are at the beginning of a journey that will take all our human life to prepare us for our eternal life. We must show that we can be the “good and faithful servant... faithful with a few things” so that, in eternal life, we can be placed “in charge of many things.”  We can “Come and share [the] master’s happiness.”  [Matthew 25:21]  Since these are our directions from God, the Spirit guides the work we do, helping us by teaching, testing, correcting and applauding us on our journey.

A person’s life will be changed as he (or she) travels along this journey.  We start as sinners; even after accepting Christ, we remain mostly sinners.  We don’t change overnight. There is a goal, a finish line that lies ahead. The “crowns” Paul speaks about, if you will.  But never fear, as long as you stay grounded in your faith, first reading, then learning and finally acting on what you learn in the Word, there will be growth. You will become that faithful servant.

If there is no change in a person, then they have fallen away, losing their grasp on their faith.  Satan has meddled in this person, gaining his attention and drawing him away from his faith. Mostly likely some worldly, carnal god has replaced the one true God.  Hopefully, if this is you, you can get Satan behind you and return to God.  God is always there waiting, sending His grace out in the hope that you will once again grab on. This time grab on tightly.  It’s worth it!

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Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us?

The Holy Spirit in us prompts and energises us to do the right thing at the right time. 

In what ways is this a process of "working out" our salvation?

The above is a process of working out our salvation in the sense that we still have a role to play/ act by deciding to act as prompted and energized by the Spirit.

Why should you expect a person's life to change when they put their faith in Jesus?

We should expect a change in a person’s life after they put their in Jesus because from then onward, the Holy Spirit is available to help the person to change.

What is happening if there is no discernable change?

If there is no discernable change in a person, he may not be doing his own part or role of working for his salvation by loving others, deciding to obey the Spirit prompting to shun all evil and ways of the people of the world etc. 
 

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The Spirit assists us to obey God's commandments and walk in humility, understanding that we did not save ourselves but it is only through grace that we are saved. We therefore have to allow God to work in us.

It is a process because change does not happen overnight. We do not have to condemn ourselves when we see areas of sin but need to trust that God's real work has begun in us. While working it out, God is working too.

God planned before we were even born to do special "good works" in us. He gives us spiritual gifts so that we can continue to work out or salvation with reverence and fear.

We need to understand that God is rich in mercy. We need to allow God to continue working in us until the fruit of the Spirit become evident in our lives. 

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Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? In what ways is this a process of “working out” our salvation? Why should you expect a person’s life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? What is happening if there is no discernable change? 

I would say that the shortest answer is; the Spirit works in us to make us holy. More like Christ!    

The Spirit works in our lives to refine us from our old ways of life. From a life of sin to a life of righteousness . As it says in Ephesians 4:22-24; in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceits, and that you be renewed in spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. 

You should expect a person’s life to change because they are now indwelled by the Holy Spirit. They are now Spirit led. 1Cor 6:19- Do you not know that you body is a temple of the Holy Spirt who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not you own.

It seem like if there is no discernible change in a person’s life after salvation. You would wonder if they were actually saved in the first place. I can attest to the fact that at a time in my life I wanted to be saved, but also didn’t want to let go of some of my old habits. It ends up that I wasn’t saved and it was a number of years later that when I was saved. God determines when I get saved not me. If a person’s life doesn’t change, keep praying the the Lord would be working in their hearts to bring about their salvation.

On the other hand, change in a person’s life can take time to come about.



 

 

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  • After we have made the commitment to believe in Christ and his salvation, the Spirit "will guide us into all the truth" (John 16: 13).  We are not left to our own devices but little by little, knowledge and character will be built within us.
  • When a person puts their faith in Jesus, their outlook on life and their focus on eternity becomes more important.  Rather than sparring with the everyday challenges and the opinions of others, the way of life becomes one which honours God and treats others as a part of that faith.  Love of God and other people around us automatically moves us to want to do activities that please God and that would glorify Him to those around us.
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The Spirit works in us after we are saved to form Christ in is by convicting us of our worldly desires, this is called sanctification, this begins to produce actions in us that reflect our growing faith.

The process of working out our salvation, is displayed in love, peace and harmony in our life toward others, it is our sanctification process in fulfilling that which God has prepared for us.

I would expect a persons life to change when they put their faith in Jesus, because they have put away their own earthly desires to fulfill that which god has prepared for them through the Spirit.

If there i no discernable change in a persons life after coming to Jesus, then they has decided to keep most of their earthly desires and are not fulfilling God's purpose for them, thus they have become numb to the convictions of the Holy Spirit.             

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How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us?

The Holy Spirit enables us to live as for Christ which are called "good works" through sanctification by grace

In what ways is this a process of "working out" our salvation?

Through sanctification from sinful position to repentance to recognition of God and dependent on Him to salvation. Salvation will be seen through the fruits of salvation which include peace, love and Harmony in our "works" which implies deeds in our lives.

Why should you expect a person's life to change when they put their faith in Jesus?

They will depend on Jesus Christ for everything they do. Their checklist will be the standards of the life of Christ or what the word commands  us to do

What is happening if there is no discernable change?

It means we have not opened up to offer of God of his rescue to permeate us so as to cause change. as long as we do not do this, we will remain the same and continue to live in sinful life that is vulnerable to the devil's schemes

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God is at work within His children (sanctification), and we are to yield and work that out into our lives. The Spirit’s presence within me as a believer is constantly at work to develop the character of Christ in me. My responsibility is to submit to His work and starve out my carnal nature so that Christ lives in an ever greater way that is manifested in the way I think, speak, and behave – to outwardly work out the new character He has put within me.

We aren’t called to works for securing our salvation, which is clearly something only God can accomplish. We’re called to the work of living out that salvation in doing the good works God has prepared for all His children as a Body and for each individual child within that Body. It’s a lifelong process that is mostly painful and slow because it's hard to die to self, but a process filled with rich purpose!

Only God can judge the heart, but if there is never discernible outward evidence of this process, then there is no evidence of a genuine faith in Christ that is required to receive the grace of redemption and salvation.  Sadly, such a person is living in deadly deception.

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The Spirit works in us after we are saved to form Christ-like character in us and produce good works. This is in a number of ways the process of working out our salvation because the Spirit changes and influences us to produce the good works of God. When a person put his or her faith in Jesus Christ, the person’s life changes and mirrors that of Jesus Christ. If there is no discernable change, the person is yet to be changed by the Spirit of God.

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  • 2 months later...

The Spirit works in us after we are saved to form Christ in us by convicting us when we get off the path. It will remind us who we belong to by nudging us to do the right thing. They will realize that they are in the world and are part of the world but when the Spirit enters them, they realize that they are messing up. If there is no discernable change then they haven’t received the Spirit.

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  • 1 month later...

Q22. (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12-13; James 2:17) How does the Spirit work in us after we are saved to form Christ in us? In what ways is this a process of “working out” our salvation? Why should you expect a person’s life to change when they put their faith in Jesus? What is happening if there is no discernable change? 

The Spirit works in us after we are saved. How? Good question. I know in my own life I can say God's strength and power are at work within me to sanctify and make me more like Jesus.  When I look back, I am floored that I still look so little like Him.  On the other hand, I am grateful to look like Him at all.  Repentance involves a COMPLETE change of direction. If a person accepts Christ and does not change in any way, I will be wondering if they actually repented. However, as noted in my own life--change is a slow process and hopefully change is bubbling up within the person to overflow outwardly soon.

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