When God looks at you as a Christian, He sees your born-again spirit that is as righteous and holy as Jesus. Think of this as God looking in your ‘I AMness’ mirror and seeing you as He recreated you: righteous and holy. But too often we are looking at our ‘I AM imposter,’ the mirror of mistakes, labels, and lies. But we are commanded to:
Lay aside the old self [the ‘I AM imposter’] . . . be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self [my ‘I AMness’], which in the likeness of God has been created in righteous and holiness of the truth.” (Eph. 4:22–24, brackets added)
Let’s unpack Ephesians 4:24 a little more: . . . and put on the new [not existing before] self [anthropos = new kind or race of man] which in the likeness of God had been created [made out of nothing physical] in righteousness and holiness.
You are now a member of a new anthropos or kind of people—the saints race, or the church race. You are part of a newly created people who did not exist before—a new superior kind of mankind now seated at the right hand of the Father. As a member of the saints race of people, you are superior to the first man, Adam. While Adam was created in innocence, you have been created in righteousness! And while Adam had authority and dominion over the earth, you have authority in both heaven and earth.
Your mortal body is here on earth, but your born-again spirit is seated with Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father. It is a mystery and a paradox that we can be functioning in our natural bodies here on earth while at the same time our spirit is seated and functioning from the right hand of God in heavenly places in Christ.
Unfortunately, you (or should I say we) will attempt to bring the old data (wrong self-image, culture, values) from our “old self” over and impose it upon the “new self,” and it simply does not work. You must completely put off the old self and reprogram your soul with the “new anthropos” or “new self” of your born-again spirit.
God’s spiritual mirror, His Word, perfectly reflects your born-again spirit, the real you, which is how God the Father sees you.
Activation prayer:
I believe and declare that I am putting off the old self and its image based on mistakes, labels from others, and lies from the enemy. I am now a member of a new anthropos or race of people—the saints race! I am part of a newly created superior kind of person seated at the right hand of the Father. I am created in righteousness and seated at the right hand of the Father, and now have authority in both heaven and earth! I will not impose my old data onto my new self. I am reprogramming my soul with my new self in my born-again spirit. In Jesus Name, amen.