The New Nature in Christ: Understanding Your Spiritual Identity

Introduction

“The moment you accept Jesus Christ as Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says ‘All Things become new.’” Throughout Scripture, we find 30 distinct transformations that occur at the moment of salvation. This document explores the second of these transformations: receiving a new nature in Christ.

Understanding Our New Nature

When we become a new creation in Christ, we also receive a new nature—one that is brand new. This transformation fundamentally changes who we are at our spiritual core.

Common Misconceptions About Our Nature

Misconception 1: The Flesh is Inherently Evil

There is a common misconception that leads believers to think their flesh (humanity/body) is evil, weak, terrible, and corrupt. This deception can prevent us from embracing our humanity and cause us to view ourselves as an enemy.

Misconception 2: Believers Have Two Competing Natures

Some sincere believers suggest we have two natures within us—similar to the literary character Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One nature is godly while the other is sinful. This view portrays believers as having two competing “dogs” within them—one good and one evil—with whichever one we “feed” becoming dominant.

Romans 7 Often Misinterpreted

Many use Romans 7 as conclusive evidence that Christians have a terrible, sinful nature constantly at war with their spiritual nature. However, a careful examination of the context reveals a different understanding.

Understanding Romans 7 in Context

Romans 7:6

“But now we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

This verse establishes that Paul is describing how things used to be—how believers were under the law before Christ. Everything described subsequently refers to this former state.

Romans 7:7-13

“What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

Paul clarifies that the law itself is not sin but reveals sin. He describes how sin used the law to produce coveting and ultimately spiritual death.

Romans 7:14-24

“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

This passage describes the hopelessness and despair of someone bound by sin and unable to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law through their own efforts.

Romans 7:25-8:2

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Paul transitions from describing the former state of bondage to declaring the freedom now available in Christ. The “therefore” in Romans 8:1 marks this crucial transition.

Evidence from Romans 6

Romans 6 establishes that believers:

• Have died with Christ
• Are free from sin
• Are no longer slaves to sin
• Are no longer under sin’s power
• Have a new nature
• Are new in Christ

This directly contradicts the idea that Christians must remain in the bondage described in Romans 7:14-24.

The Truth About Our New Nature

Not a Double Nature

Scripture does not teach that believers have two competing natures. Rather, we have received a single new nature that comes from Christ—pure, righteous, and true.

Romans 8 Provides the Answer

Walking in the Spirit is the answer to the struggle described in Romans 7. Romans 8 states that:

• We are set free from the law of sin and death
• The Spirit of God dwells in us
• We are children of God
• We are heirs and fellow heirs with Christ
• We overwhelmingly conquer through Christ

The Consequences of Walking According to the Flesh

Walking according to the flesh means:

• Setting the mind on fleshly things
• Being hostile to God
• Refusing to subject oneself to God’s law
• Being unable to please God
• Leading to spiritual death

Our True Identity in Christ

Jesus Christ has given us a new nature that empowers us through the Holy Spirit to live in ways that please God. We are no longer bound by sin as described in Romans 7:6—”this is how it used to be.” We are now free because:

• We are dead to the law
• We have the righteousness of God within us
• We possess the very nature of God

Why Do Christians Still Sin?

Christians can still sin, but sin is not our nature or identity. As Bill Johnson paraphrased, “When we sin, we forget who God is and we forget who we are.” Sin is not part of our nature as believers. We are:

• Children of God
• Filled with the Holy Spirit
• Possessors of God’s life
• Set apart for God’s glory

This is why Scripture exhorts us to “put off the old”—because the old self is no longer who we are. We are not to live as we used to because God has given us a new identity and a new nature in Christ.