There are three major areas of disfigurement in our personality.

The first area of disfigurement is our love of the things of the world and our dependence on the world for survival and security. When we speak of the world we do not mean the earth and its peoples. We mean the satanic influence on the spirit of the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life.

The earth and its peoples are our inheritance. But the spirit that pervades the world system is from Satan.

The true Christian chooses to turn away from the wicked world system and to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He makes this choice with his will. He sets himself to find his joy, his peace, his love, his survival, his security, in God and the things of Christ.

When we are baptized in water we are announcing that we have left the spirit of the world and are entering the Kingdom of God. Our adamic nature has been placed on the cross with Christ and we have been resurrected with Christ and have ascended with Him to the right hand of the Father.

Every day, day after day, year after year, we affirm our death with Christ and our resurrection with Christ. We seize this dual position by faith and God makes it a reality in our life. Our body is subjected to various chastenings and our inward nature grows strong in the Lord.

Deliverance from worldliness is an important aspect of the Christian salvation.

Such deliverance is put into effect as God helps us. But God helps us only as our will directs us to choose to seek the Kingdom of God rather than the things of the world.

Then we come to the lusts of sin that dwell in us, particularly in our flesh as Paul says. These appetites and passions were not created in us. They originate in the spirit realm, just as is true of the spirit of worldliness. They exist in the world of demons and find expression in the flesh of humans, including Christians.

Again, our will must direct us to choose to put these actions to death through the Spirit of God. As we denounce and renounce these sinful behaviors God forgives us and the Spirit of God defeats their power over us. The bondages of sin are not removed all at once but little by little as we choose to turn away from sin and live in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.

So we see that the key is our will. Our will determines the choices we make. If we choose to turn away from the spirit of the world and from the sins of our flesh, the mighty Spirit of God assists us, the blood of Jesus Christ keeping us without condemnation while we are being transformed.

If we choose to neglect God's salvation, even as a Christian, if we do not turn away from the spirit of the world and the sins of our flesh, then Satan maintains his control over us. We do not become a new creation. The Divine salvation no longer is operating in us.

To be continued.