Pam Padgett - teacher
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: ...
Before we were born again each of us were going in ways of destruction.
We planned for and went in ways of the flesh and of the world.
But when we were born again, we became new creatures and the Holy Spirit
living in us started leading us in ways of God, ways of life. We began to desire to please God whereas we previously wanted only to please ourselves.
By
the Holy Spirit living in us, we began to be changed by each word
given to us by God.
And we no longer fit in with those of the world, but are set in the body of Christ, fit together to function as God has chosen for us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
All of
this is by the grace of God because HE chose us to be His children. We could not change ourselves, but we are changed by the power of God by His grace.
grace:
- unmerited favor of God toward us
- favor not earned but given as a gift