Chosen, cleansed, clothed and cultivated

We begin our journey with the Lord when we are drawn by him into his love and redemption. He has chosen us as his own and pursued us. We awaken to the truth of the Cross, that in Christ Jesus we are completely cleansed from our former sins, accepted into his family and made into a new creation. 1 John 1:7 tells us that “the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” He forgives everything, giving us a clean heart, and a fresh start.

He also clothes us with Himself. Galatians 3:27 (MSG) says: “Your baptism in Christ was not just waking you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life.” We aren’t just clothed with his righteousness, we have his very life abiding in us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have taken in and “put on” Christ Jesus (Rom. 13:14; Eph. 4:24) and are made new, united with him, belonging to him and having our identity in him. Our hearts begin to reflect his character (Col. 3:12).

Chosen, cleansed and clothed we begin our transformation as he cultivates us to look like Jesus. Colossians 3:10 (ESV) indicates that we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” Cultivated by Christ, we keep being renewed with his life and growing in the maturity of becoming full adults in him. We learn to live out our new identity as the beloved and chosen ones who have been not only been fully cleansed, but clothed with the presence of Christ, and are now in the process of being transformed to look just like Jesus as we turn from the old into the new. And we can be confident the Holy Spirit is always creating the new for us as He lives His life in and through us!