By Reginald Wallis
APPENDIX
DEFINITION OF TERMS
(As understood and defined by Grace Fellowship International)
OLD MAN (Old Nature, Adamic Life, Sin Nature)
The unregenerate spirit or Adamic life prior to salvation (Ro. 6:6; Col. 3:9).
NEW MAN
The regenerate spirit, or new nature, consisting of a new human spirit indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Col. 3:10).
FLESH (SELF, SELF-LIFE)
A position of the non-Christian who is enslaved to the power of sin through the old man. A condition of the Christian where the personality is yielded, voluntarily or involuntarily, to the control of indwelling sin which results in living out of human resources.
FLESH (Alternate Definition)
The soul’s selfish and distorted perceptions, values, identity messages, and coping mechanisms that have been learned independently of God.
SIN
An unholy force or power which, though in me, is not me. Sometimes refers to individual acts of sin (1 Jn. 1:7, 9; Ro. 7:20).
SINS
Falling short of the mark; violations of God’s laws; acts of disobedience (Ro. 3:23; 1 Jn. 3:4).
POSITION and CONDITION
Position: My true standing. I have a position spiritually of being either “in Adam” or “in Christ” (Ro. 5:1).
Condition: My condition or state. This condition may or may not reflect my position. It may or may not reflect the truth (Hb. 5:12-14).
IN THE FLESH
A position of the unregenerate man, who is in Adam.
AFTER THE FLESH
A statement which may characterize the walk of a Christian, who allows sin to control. Or it describes my living as though I am separated from Christ.
ETERNAL LIFE
Christ’s Life. The Life of God which is without beginning or end (1 Jn. 1:1-2; 5:12).
EVERLASTING LIFE
Life that begins with Adam but will have no end (Jn. 6:47).
IDENTIFICATION
Every true believer is identified with Christ, i.e. he or she has been crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, raised with Christ and enthroned with Christ. At first, when he receives salvation by faith at the time of his conversion, he may not in the least be aware of such identification. This means that, perhaps for years or for the rest of his life, the wondrous fruits cannot be appropriated in experience. But as he allows the Holy Spirit to continue revealing Christ to him through the Word, it will dawn on him, possibly helped by the written or spoken ministry of others, that “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20; Ro. 6:1-11; 2 Co. 5:17).
TOTAL COMMITMENT (TOTAL SURRENDER)
A decision of the will, at a point in time, giving God permission to have complete control of one’s life. Reckless abandonment of oneself to God (Hannah W. Smith) (Ro. 12:1-2).
ACCEPTANCE
The state of being received and totally loved, unconditionally, without personal merit, on the basis of the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:6).
SECURITY
A sure persuasion that I have an eternal, unbreakable, spiritual relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 6:37, 39).
CARNAL (FLESHLY)
A position of the non-Christian who is in Adam and a slave to sin through the old man. A condition of the Christian when he lives by his own resources and has yielded his life, knowingly or unknowingly, to indwelling sin.
TRUTH
What God says… regardless of what I think, feel, or experience (Jn. 8:32).
THE CROSS
In Redemption: Christ’s death for us. Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice that purchased the pardon for man’s sin (1 P. 2:24; Is. 53:6).
In Regeneration: Our death with Christ. The believer’s union with Christ involved the “old man” being crucified. Now the believer’s spirit is the “new man” in Christ (Ro. 6:6; Gal. 2:20).
In Consecration: the believer’s “reckoning” on his union with Christ. This results in practical freedom from the authority of sin and empowerment by Christ’s life (Ro. 6:11; 5:10).
In Dedication: the believer’s ongoing denial of self and his acceptance of God’s will and ways (Lk. 9:23).
In Liberation: the believer’s authority over the world system (Gal. 6:14), and demonic forces through Christ’s victory at Calvary (Col. 2:13-15; Jas. 4:7).
