The Heart
By Ryan Bridgeo
Avery County
Often, people read the Old Testament and they don’t translate it through the cross. They read it as if it carried the same meaning today as they did back then. But there has been a change. The resurrection of Jesus changed everything. Failure to understand these changes can keep us in bondage. For example, Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Now is this the condition of our born-again hearts or spirits today? Can our hearts be trusted? Or are they still desperately wicked?
Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel prophesied about a day coming when hearts would change from stone to flesh; from hard to soft. The question is, has that day already happened? Or is this talking about once we get to heaven? In this lesson, I want to show you that this day has already taken place.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Praise God, the old heart of stone is gone, and we have been given a new heart, a new spirit. Galatians 4:6 tells us, “Because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” And Romans 8:14 says, “The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.” Now, where is the Spirit of His Son? In our hearts, right? So, the Sons of God are led from their hearts. Then how could our hearts still be deceitful and wicked if Jesus Himself lived there? They can’t be. They have been made new.
Let’s look at another example. David said in Psalm 51:10-11 (KJV), “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me.” These verses were true for King David, but they are not applicable in the same way for us today. There has been a change in the New Testament. There has been a change because of the cross. Now I just showed you that our hearts/spirits have been changed and made new when we were born again. If Jesus himself is living in our hearts, wouldn’t that mean they are clean? I have heard people say, ” God doesn’t live in a dirty vessel”, and you know what, they are correct. God cleaned the house and gave us a new spirit that is absolutely clean. Recreated in Christ Jesus. In fact, Ephesians 4:24 says, that our spirits were recreated righteous and truly holy. Hebrews 12:23 says that our spirits are righteous and made perfect. Hebrews 10:14 says they are perfected forever. We no longer need to pray for God to create in us a clean heart because He has already done it. It is perfected forever.
The first half of verse 11 says, “Cast me not away from thy presence.” Well, John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” Praise God, He is not going to cast us out of His presence today. That is one of the reasons why He came, so we could live with Him forever.
The second half of the verse says, “And take not thy holy spirit from me.” Well, John 14:16 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever.” If the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, is going to be with us forever, how could he leave? Forever is forever, meaning without a break. You see, there has been a change. Today, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead because our sins have been taken away, because our spirits have been recreated righteous and truly Holy, He won’t leave us. In fact, Hebrews 13:5 says, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Today, it isn’t appropriate for us to pray those kinds of prayers because Jesus has already solved the heart problem by giving us a new one. A new, born-again heart that was recreated in Christ Jesus.
Years ago, I was praying, and the Lord spoke to me. He said, “To the pure, all things are pure.” (Titus 1:5) I quickly responded, “Yes Lord, I know that verse.” Then He said it again, “To the pure, all things are pure.” But He added, “I see you pure.” This shocked me. I was still seeing myself after my flesh, after my failures, and shortcomings. But God didn’t see me that way. He is pure and to the pure all things are pure. So, He sees me pure. He sees you pure. He sees us pure, because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. In fact, 1 John 3:3 says, “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Think about this. Everyone who has placed their hope in Jesus for their salvation is NOW pure and just as pure as Jesus is. How can this be? It is true because there has been a change. God took out the heart of stone and gave us a new heart that was recreated pure, righteous, and holy. He gave us a new spirit that was born again, recreated in Him. A new heart that has been made perfect forever through the sacrifice of Himself. Praise God, that is what our new hearts look like today because we are in Him.
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Ryan Bridgeo is the Pastor of Plumtree Church in Avery County, NC. If you would like to know more or how you might become involved in this ministry please reach out to Pastor Ryan at pastor@plumtreechurch.com or call 828-765-6919.
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