The New Identity and Nature

UV 1792/10000 The New Identity and New Nature
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Daniel 2 v 43

If our foundations are brittle and weak, the whole edifice would be weak and unstable. If our foundational beliefs are of miry clay, whatever be our abilities, it would be of no avail. The statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream eventually collapsed though it had a glorious super structure. Our foundations need to be consistently strong. It cannot be an admixture of strength and weakness, truth and falsehood. In contrast to the image in the dream, John saw the vision of the resurrected Jesus as One with feet of burnished brass, implying that those who build their lives on their faith in Jesus would have a strong rock like foundation. We would be not only be strong but we would also be dynamic. We must avoid mixing up with the ways of the world and stay pure and unadulterated.

Our faith should not be an alloy of the world’s beliefs and practices along with biblical beliefs and practices. It should be pure and strong. Our source of security, our sense of direction, our progress towards fulfilling the purpose the Lord has set for our lives are derived from our faith in Jesus. In the Book of Revelation, it is written that we would be given a new name and a stone. The new name is a new identity that we gain that stands for integrity of our faith and action. The white stone stands for purity and strength. In the dream, the rock that breaks the feet of clay is a stone that is not cut with human hands but it grows into a mountain and fills the whole earth. This is apparently a reference to Jesus since He was not born by human will or of human descent. Empires and kingdoms and Unions like the European Union may come and go but the name of Jesus continues to grow in influence across the globe. We who believe share His identity as sons and daughters of God, priests and kings, co-heirs of the kingdom of God, chosen vessels, peacemakers, fire torches in clay jars, treasures of the Lord in vessels of clay, warriors of the Lord, soldiers of God, aroma of Christ, ambassadors of God to the world, salt and light, sharp sledgehammer of the Lord, servants of God and slaves of righteousness.

Clay cannot cleave to iron as their chemical bonding does not permit it. But since we are made in the image of God, we can cleave to Christ. We need to cleave to Him and leave the world. When we do so, we are bonded to Him and our artificial bondages in this world are broken. We will be overcomers and not be overcome by the world. We should celebrate our new identity in Christ, our new nature in Him.

Prateep V Philip