“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Jinu Ninan

“He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
— 2 Peter 1:2

The Christian life is not about improving or reforming our old nature. Rather, it is about the complete removal of our sinful nature, and Christ imparting His divine nature to us, so that we become partakers of it.

The nature we inherited from Adam is utterly corrupt and beyond repair. Paul understood this clearly when he wrote:

Romans 7:18 – “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

As long as the sinful nature remains in us, even if we desire to do good, we cannot carry it out—because we are slaves to sin.

Romans 7:23 – “But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”

But when a man is in Christ, his old nature is not reformed—it is removed. He becomes entirely new, a new creation. That is what Paul says:

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!”

What happened to the old? Paul explains further:

2 Corinthians 5:18 – “The old has passed away.”

Yes—the old man has been crucified with Christ.

Romans 6:6 – “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.”

Because our old sinful nature can never be improved, God assigned it only one place—the cross. When Jesus died, He not only bore our sins, but God also executed judgment upon our sinful nature, our old man, and sin itself.

Romans 8:3 – “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh.”

Therefore, we must know, accept, and believe God’s judgment—and only then can we experience that freedom in our lives.

John 8:32 – “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But God not only removed the sinful nature, He also imparted His divine nature to us.

Where does this divine nature come from? The Word explains:

2 Corinthians 5:18 – “All this is from God.”

Christ’s nature is the complete opposite of our sinful nature. When He dwells in us, His divine life will flow from us. We do not need to try reforming our old Adamic nature—it can only produce evil. Since it cannot be improved, God removed it through the cross and imparted His own divine nature to us.

As Watchman Nee said, “The Christian life is not a changed life; it is an exchanged life.” There is a vast difference between the two.

Think of an old, broken-down car. You may keep repairing it, replacing parts, and fixing it again and again. But if it is completely beyond repair, you finally give up on it. Now imagine someone offers to take that broken car away and exchange it for a brand-new one. Wouldn’t you gladly accept it?

That is what God has done at the cross. He knew our sinful nature could never be fixed. So, He took it away completely and replaced it with the divine nature of Christ.

But for this divine life—the rivers of living water—to flow out from us, we must daily take up the cross and follow the Lord. Just as the branch must abide in the vine, we must abide in Christ. Only then can His life flow through us.

This means we must crucify the flesh daily and walk by the Spirit, not by the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:24 – “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Romans 8:13 – “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Just as you received forgiveness of sins by faith, so too this life is to be lived by faith. Surrender yourself to the Lord to live in you and through you. He not only died for your sins, but also took your old nature to the cross. He rose again to give you His life and make you a partaker of His divine nature.

Believe this truth. Receive it. Rely on Him and abide in Him. Then your dry Christian life will be transformed into a life overflowing with rivers of living water. For this, we must depend on God’s grace.