Two Natures: Old & New
Do you remember how great you felt about your new life in Christ when you became a Christian?
And do you remember how quickly Satan used your old nature to try to get back into your life? A slip here. A wrong thought there. Suddenly you realized you were having to struggle with temptations you thought being saved would forever remove from your life.
As long as you live, your old nature will be locked in conflict with your new nature. This week’s theme is:
Two Natures: Old and New
You’ll learn the secret to winning the victory in your inner conflict with sin. Satan will try to show you how to fake it. He’ll try to convince you that it’s much easier to simply pretend. But that’s no victory. That’s surrender to the old nature. The real victory is in surrendering complete control of your will, thoughts, and decisions to the indwelling Christ. That’s what you’ll learn about this week.
DAY 1
You Belong to Your Choice
Read Romans 8:10-11 and Galatians 2:20; 5:13-18.
Did you know you now have two natures rather than one? From the time you were born, you had an old nature. From the time of your new birth, you’ve also had a new nature. Your old nature seeks to exalt self; your new nature seeks to let God’s love flow through you.
You’ll never finish learning everything the Scriptures teach about these two natures. Because you’ve already lived with the old nature for quite a while, you don’t need to learn about it first. Instead, you’ll begin this week’s study learning about your new nature.
Think of your old nature like the law of gravity. This law is always in effect, pulling you downward. The law of gravity keeps you from flying or floating above the earth for even a few seconds.
Think of your new nature like lift, the force that acts on the wings of an airplane to make it rise from the earth as it moves through the air. That law isn’t always in effect. It works only if the conditions are met that cause it to work. In the same way, while your old nature is always working trying to pull you down, your new nature works only when you’re doing the things that allow it to work. When the new nature functions in your life, it causes God’s love to flow through you and assures you of constant victory over sin. However, the minute you don’t allow the new nature to function in your life, the old nature, like the law of gravity, begins pulling you down.
Review your Scripture-reading assignment for today to see what the Bible says about your two natures.
Notice that a certain key word appears twice in Galatians 5:13-14. You’ve already studied this word more than once in your Survival Kit. The word tells how your new nature functions in your life.
Record that word here.
Yes, your new nature functions in love. But not your old nature!
According to Galatians 5:15, what are some signs that the old nature is in control? Record them here.
In verse 15 Paul was describing wild animals that bite and hurt one another. Seeing people—especially Christians—act that way is terrible. Paul explained in verse 17 how such a thing can happen:
The flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
GALATIANS 5:17
Make two changes in the verse I just quoted. Replace the words “the flesh” with “your old nature.” Replace the words “the Spirit” with “your new nature.” Read the verse aloud as you’ve changed it.
You decide which nature will be in control of your life. So your choice determines which nature will control your life and which nature will be prevented from controlling your life.
You must meet a certain condition if the law of the new nature is to be in control in your life. That condition is stated in Galatians 5:16. Different translations express that condition with slightly different words:
• “Walk by the Spirit” (CSB, ESV, NIV).
• “Walk in the Spirit” (KJV).
• “Let the Spirit direct your lives” (GNT).
Record in your own words how you would explain the condition that must be met for the new nature to be in control. Later you’ll have a chance to change or add to what you’ve recorded.
Did you express that the condition is walking by the Spirit or letting the Spirit direct your life?
By the way, Galatians 5:16,22-23 is your Scripture-memory assignment for this week. Cut out the card from the back of the book and begin memorizing these verses today.
Before you became a Christian, the spirit of the old nature directed your life. Your thoughts, motives, impulses, desires, and actions expressed that nature. Walking in the Spirit is being controlled by the Holy Spirit and living out the will of God rather than the desires of the flesh.
Look back at the various translations of Galatians 5:16. What do you notice about the word Spirit in each translation?
Yes! When you became a Christian, Christ broke the old nature’s rule over your life. He gave you a new nature. The indwelling Christ controls your life through His Holy Spirit. The old nature sought to exalt self; the new nature seeks to cause the love of God to flow through you.
Read Romans 8:10-11.
Select any of the following statements that describe your condition now that Christ lives in you.
☐
I’m alive.
☐
I can now live a sinless life.
☐
My spirit is experiencing the life of Christ.
☐
I’m now right with God.
You should have selected all of the statements except the second.
Don’t think of your new nature as “it.” Galatians 2:20 tells you who (not what) your new nature is. Read the verse to discover who your new nature is. Record that person’s name here.
Christ lives within you.
What an awesome statement! And you “live by faith in the Son of God.”
What would you say if someone asked you to explain what it means to “live by faith in the Son of God”? Record a short sentence here.
Now contact two Christian friends and compare your statement to the ways they would answer the question.
The indwelling Christ can control your life only when you choose to let Him do so. You must decide to surrender yourself completely to Him. In making that decision, you belong to your choice. You become Christ’s and not your own.
Do you remember that the thumb on the hand drawing represents the number 1? The thumb helps you remember the first key to your survival: “One Body”—the fact that you’re a part of the body of Christ and the way you relate to it.
The index finger represents the number 2. What truth does that finger help you remember? Record it here.
Jesus Christ is your new nature.
Jesus resides in you, and He has brought the full presence of God’s Holy Spirit to live within you. All the power of God is in you because Christ is that power. He has come to cause you to know the victory that God’s power makes certain.
Today as you live your life, remember that you belong to your choice. Choose the new nature of Christ as your Lord today. See all He can do to release His love in and through you. Pray now and commit this day to His purposes for you.
And do you remember how quickly Satan used your old nature to try to get back into your life? A slip here. A wrong thought there. Suddenly you realized you were having to struggle with temptations you thought being saved would forever remove from your life.
As long as you live, your old nature will be locked in conflict with your new nature. This week’s theme is:
Two Natures: Old and New
You’ll learn the secret to winning the victory in your inner conflict with sin. Satan will try to show you how to fake it. He’ll try to convince you that it’s much easier to simply pretend. But that’s no victory. That’s surrender to the old nature. The real victory is in surrendering complete control of your will, thoughts, and decisions to the indwelling Christ. That’s what you’ll learn about this week.
DAY 1
You Belong to Your Choice
Read Romans 8:10-11 and Galatians 2:20; 5:13-18.
Did you know you now have two natures rather than one? From the time you were born, you had an old nature. From the time of your new birth, you’ve also had a new nature. Your old nature seeks to exalt self; your new nature seeks to let God’s love flow through you.
You’ll never finish learning everything the Scriptures teach about these two natures. Because you’ve already lived with the old nature for quite a while, you don’t need to learn about it first. Instead, you’ll begin this week’s study learning about your new nature.
Think of your old nature like the law of gravity. This law is always in effect, pulling you downward. The law of gravity keeps you from flying or floating above the earth for even a few seconds.
Think of your new nature like lift, the force that acts on the wings of an airplane to make it rise from the earth as it moves through the air. That law isn’t always in effect. It works only if the conditions are met that cause it to work. In the same way, while your old nature is always working trying to pull you down, your new nature works only when you’re doing the things that allow it to work. When the new nature functions in your life, it causes God’s love to flow through you and assures you of constant victory over sin. However, the minute you don’t allow the new nature to function in your life, the old nature, like the law of gravity, begins pulling you down.
Review your Scripture-reading assignment for today to see what the Bible says about your two natures.
Notice that a certain key word appears twice in Galatians 5:13-14. You’ve already studied this word more than once in your Survival Kit. The word tells how your new nature functions in your life.
Record that word here.
Yes, your new nature functions in love. But not your old nature!
According to Galatians 5:15, what are some signs that the old nature is in control? Record them here.
In verse 15 Paul was describing wild animals that bite and hurt one another. Seeing people—especially Christians—act that way is terrible. Paul explained in verse 17 how such a thing can happen:
The flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
GALATIANS 5:17
Make two changes in the verse I just quoted. Replace the words “the flesh” with “your old nature.” Replace the words “the Spirit” with “your new nature.” Read the verse aloud as you’ve changed it.
You decide which nature will be in control of your life. So your choice determines which nature will control your life and which nature will be prevented from controlling your life.
You must meet a certain condition if the law of the new nature is to be in control in your life. That condition is stated in Galatians 5:16. Different translations express that condition with slightly different words:
• “Walk by the Spirit” (CSB, ESV, NIV).
• “Walk in the Spirit” (KJV).
• “Let the Spirit direct your lives” (GNT).
Record in your own words how you would explain the condition that must be met for the new nature to be in control. Later you’ll have a chance to change or add to what you’ve recorded.
Did you express that the condition is walking by the Spirit or letting the Spirit direct your life?
By the way, Galatians 5:16,22-23 is your Scripture-memory assignment for this week. Cut out the card from the back of the book and begin memorizing these verses today.
Before you became a Christian, the spirit of the old nature directed your life. Your thoughts, motives, impulses, desires, and actions expressed that nature. Walking in the Spirit is being controlled by the Holy Spirit and living out the will of God rather than the desires of the flesh.
Look back at the various translations of Galatians 5:16. What do you notice about the word Spirit in each translation?
Yes! When you became a Christian, Christ broke the old nature’s rule over your life. He gave you a new nature. The indwelling Christ controls your life through His Holy Spirit. The old nature sought to exalt self; the new nature seeks to cause the love of God to flow through you.
Read Romans 8:10-11.
Select any of the following statements that describe your condition now that Christ lives in you.
☐
I’m alive.
☐
I can now live a sinless life.
☐
My spirit is experiencing the life of Christ.
☐
I’m now right with God.
You should have selected all of the statements except the second.
Don’t think of your new nature as “it.” Galatians 2:20 tells you who (not what) your new nature is. Read the verse to discover who your new nature is. Record that person’s name here.
Christ lives within you.
What an awesome statement! And you “live by faith in the Son of God.”
What would you say if someone asked you to explain what it means to “live by faith in the Son of God”? Record a short sentence here.
Now contact two Christian friends and compare your statement to the ways they would answer the question.
The indwelling Christ can control your life only when you choose to let Him do so. You must decide to surrender yourself completely to Him. In making that decision, you belong to your choice. You become Christ’s and not your own.
Do you remember that the thumb on the hand drawing represents the number 1? The thumb helps you remember the first key to your survival: “One Body”—the fact that you’re a part of the body of Christ and the way you relate to it.
The index finger represents the number 2. What truth does that finger help you remember? Record it here.
Jesus Christ is your new nature.
Jesus resides in you, and He has brought the full presence of God’s Holy Spirit to live within you. All the power of God is in you because Christ is that power. He has come to cause you to know the victory that God’s power makes certain.
Today as you live your life, remember that you belong to your choice. Choose the new nature of Christ as your Lord today. See all He can do to release His love in and through you. Pray now and commit this day to His purposes for you.