Confessions of A Made Man
The New Man Has a New Language
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Letter From The Publisher
A personal word from Pastor Derick E. Wilkes concerning this month’s emphasis.
02Leadership Corner
Practical and spiritual leadership insight for those carrying Kingdom assignment.
03Healing Corner
Word-based teaching to help believers receive and walk in divine health.
04Article of the Month
The featured message and teaching focus for this month’s issue.
05Video Message
Watch this month’s featured video teaching and continue with the playlist.
06Giving & Partnership
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Good Day Partners
This month, Holy Spirit has been directing our attention to the relationship between identity, consciousness, and confession. We have been considering the life of Abraham and the powerful words God spoke concerning him: “I have made thee a father of many nations.”
God spoke first.
Abraham heard what God said, believed what God said, and began identifying himself according to what God had spoken. His confession did not make him Abraham. God made him Abraham. His confession became the language of an identity he had received from God.
That same principle gives us something important to consider as believers.
In this month’s edition of PARTNERMONTHLY, we continue our teaching, Confessions of a Made Man, with the focus: The New Man Has a New Language.
Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if any man be in Christ, “he is a new creature.” We are not attempting to confess long enough to become new. Through the new birth, God has already made us new in Christ. And Second Corinthians 5:21 declares that we have been made the righteousness of God in Him.
But while the new birth establishes our identity, our minds must become renewed concerning the man we have been made.
That is why Paul tells us to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and put on the new man. We do not renew our minds to become new creatures. We renew our minds because we are new creatures.
As the Word reveals who we are in Christ, our consciousness begins to change. We begin seeing ourselves according to what God has said rather than according to our past, our circumstances, or the old man.
And as our identification changes, our language begins to change.
The righteousness which is of faith speaks.
So then, confession is more than repeating the right words. It is the voice of a heart that has heard God, believed what He said, and is learning to see itself in harmony with His Word.
We do not confess to manufacture an identity.
We confess because we have received an identity in Christ.
My prayer is that as you read this month’s edition, the Word will continue renewing your mind concerning the person God has made you to be. May you increasingly see yourself as the new creature, think in agreement with the new creature, walk in the consciousness of the new creature, and allow your words to give voice to that identity.
The new birth gave you a new identity.
The Word renews your mind to that identity.
And confession gives that identity a voice.
Be sure to read “Confessions of a Made Man — The New Man Has a New Language” in this month’s edition.
Thank you for continuing to walk with us, stand with us, and believe with us. May this issue strengthen your faith, renew your consciousness of who you are in Christ, and help you continue learning to talk like the man God made.
Congregation of Churches | PartnerMonthly.org
The new birth gave you a new identity. The Word renews your mind to that identity. And confession gives that identity a voice.
Giving Is Not About What I Have to Lose
God is not trying to teach us how to lose. He is teaching us how to obey, give, receive, and trust Him as our Source.
That phrase “of necessity” is significant.
If my entire consciousness in giving is, “What am I going to have to sacrifice? What am I going to have to go without?” then my attention has shifted from God as my Source to what is leaving my hand.
There certainly were believers who gave out of deep poverty. Paul says concerning the Macedonians:
But notice the language: “they were willing of themselves.”
That is different from establishing a doctrine that says God requires believers to deprive themselves in order for their giving to have spiritual value.
If I say, “I was going to use this $100 for a pair of jeans, but the Lord has prompted me to give it.” Fine.
Obey God.
But I don't have to create a theology around the loss of the jeans.
I don't have to say:
“Well, I guess I'm sacrificing my jeans for Jesus.”
No.
I obeyed God.
And the God I obeyed is still my Source.
In fact, the same chapter gives us language for this.
That's powerful in connection with what I’m seeing.
God ministers seed AND bread.
Everything God puts into my life doesn't have to become seed.
And everything I sow doesn't mean I must permanently do without bread.
He is the God of seed for sowing and bread for living.
Don't Postpone an Opportunity
Sometimes the issue isn't that someone refuses to give. They simply keep postponing what God has already prompted them to do.
They intend to obey.
“I'm going to do that.”
“I'll take care of that later.”
“When I get a little more, I'll do it.”
But if God has prompted me and it is presently within my ability to respond, delayed obedience can cause me to walk past an opportunity God placed in front of me.
Paul uses the language of opportunity:
That's worth thinking about.
Because sometimes we're waiting for increase while God is teaching us how to respond to the opportunities already in our hands.
Listen to 2 Corinthians 9:6:
So then, the offering isn't:
“What can I sacrifice today?”
It becomes:
“Lord, what are You prompting me to do?”
And when I recognize it:
I Obey.
Not grudgingly.
Not of necessity.
Not mourning what left my hand.
Not creating a deprivation mentality.
Obey God and continue believing God.
Because my source wasn't what was in my hand in the first place.
That’s All For Now!
Derick E. Wilkes
Congregation of Churches
484-800-3434
The Quickened Word Is Your Point of Contact
When God’s Word becomes alive within you, faith has something definite upon which to rest.
There are moments when you can read a Scripture you have read many times before, yet suddenly it becomes more than words on a page. Something happens inwardly. You see it. You hear it. The Word becomes alive to you.
That is what I mean when I speak of the quickened Word.
Jesus said:
God’s Word is not merely information concerning healing. His Word carries spirit and life. And when that Word becomes alive within you, it can become your point of contact for receiving what Christ has already accomplished.
A point of contact does not create healing. It does not make God heal. It is not the source of healing. Rather, it is the place where your faith makes contact with the reality of what God has said.
Faith Comes by Hearing
Faith has something to hear.
There can be a tremendous difference between knowing that a verse is in the Bible and hearing that Word in your spirit.
You may have known for years that First Peter 2:24 says:
But then one day, “ye were healed” becomes alive to you.
You are no longer merely examining the verse. The verse is speaking to you. You see yourself in what Christ accomplished. You hear the finished work. And that quickened Word becomes a point of contact for your faith.
The Word Brings Life to the Hearer
Proverbs gives us a beautiful picture of this:
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
Notice the language: “those that find them.”
The Word was there, but something happens when you find it. It becomes yours. You see what God is saying. You receive what He is saying. The Word moves from simply being present before your eyes to becoming established within your heart.
And God says that His words are life and health to all their flesh.
Hear and Be Healed
During the earthly ministry of Jesus, people came to hear Him and to be healed.
They came to hear and to be healed. There is a relationship between hearing and receiving.
On this side of the resurrection, however, we are hearing from the finished side of the cross.
We hear: “By whose stripes ye were healed.”
We hear what Christ has accomplished. We hear who we are in Him. We hear that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. We hear the Word until the reality of Christ’s finished work becomes greater within our consciousness than the testimony of the condition.
Then our faith has a point of contact.
Your Point of Contact May Be One Word from God
One quickened word from God can establish your heart.
Abraham had a Word from God. God told him:
Abraham’s faith was not built upon imagination. His persuasion was connected to something God had said.
Likewise, healing faith is not pretending that circumstances do not exist. Faith is becoming persuaded by what God has spoken.
When “by whose stripes ye were healed” becomes alive to you, stay there.
When “they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” becomes alive to you, stay there.
When “the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you” becomes alive to you, stay there.
Do not abandon the Word God has quickened simply because another Scripture sounds more impressive.
Your faith has heard something. Let that Word become your point of contact.
The Point of Contact Is with a Person
Ultimately, our confidence is not in a formula. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ and His finished work.
The quickened Word brings us into conscious contact with the reality of what belongs to us in Him. The Word reveals Him. The Word reveals His accomplishment. The Word reveals His life. And faith responds to what it hears.
You are not trying to manufacture healing by repeating words. You are hearing until the Word produces persuasion.
Then, out of that persuasion, you believe. You think in agreement with what you believe. And you speak from what has become established within you.
I heard God.
I believe what He said.
And I receive what Christ has already provided.
The Quickened Word Is Your Point of Contact
There may be symptoms speaking. There may be a doctor’s report speaking. There may be feelings speaking. But there is another voice to hear.
The words that Jesus speaks are spirit, and they are life.
Keep hearing. Keep attending to His Word. Keep it before your eyes. Keep it in the midst of your heart. And when that Word becomes alive within you, recognize what has happened.
Faith has heard. Faith now has something upon which to stand.
That’s All For Now!
Derick E. Wilkes
Congregation of Churches
484-800-3434
Continue With The Healing Playlist
Watch additional Word-based healing lessons directly inside this issue, or open the full healing lessons page below.
Confessions of a Made Man: The New Man Has a New Language
We have been talking about the confessions of a made man.
We looked at Abraham.
God said to Abram:
God spoke first.
“I have made thee.”
Abram heard what God said.
Abram believed what God said.
And Abram began identifying himself according to what God said.
His confession didn't make him Abraham.
God made him Abraham.
His confession was the language of an identity he had received from God.
And that raises another question:
What happens when God makes a man new?
Because Abraham isn't the only made man in the Bible.
IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST
Look at Second Corinthians 5.
Notice the language.
“He is.”
There is our … is again.
It doesn't say:
If any man be in Christ, … eventually he will become a new creature.
It doesn't say: …
If any man be in Christ, he needs to confess long enough to become a new creature.
It says:
“He is a new creature.” That's identification.
The moment I received Jesus Christ, something happened to me.
I didn't merely join a church.
I didn't merely adopt a new philosophy.
I became new in Christ. Or perhaps, staying with Paul's language:
I am a new creature.
God did something in me that I could not do for myself.
And just a few verses later, Paul tells us something else.
There is that word again.
Made. Jesus was made sin for us, although He knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
God made Abraham something.
And now God has made us something in Christ.
So then, when I say:
“I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” I'm not trying to become righteous.
I'm identifying with what God says He has made me.
I'm talking like a made man.
But now there's another side to this.
If God has made me new inwardly—
does my mind … know what happened to me?
YOU CAN BE NEW AND STILL THINK OLD
Go with me to Ephesians 4.
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Look at the order.
Put off the old man. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man.
Now wait a minute.
Didn't … Second Corinthians … say that if I'm in Christ, I am a new creature?
Yes.
Then why is Paul telling people who are already in Christ … to put on the new man?
Because putting on the new man doesn't make you the new man.
The new birth made you new.
But now your mind must become renewed concerning
the man you've been made.
That's different.
You don't renew your mind to become a new creature.
You renew your mind ……….. because you are a new creature.
The new birth establishes the identity.
The Word renews your consciousness concerning that identity.
DOES YOUR MIND KNOW WHO YOU ARE?
That's an important question.
Does your mind know who you are? Your spirit has experienced the new birth.
God has made you new.
But you have memories.
You have experiences.
You have circumstances.
You have years of thinking about yourself in certain ways.
And now God says:
“Let Me tell you who you are.” You're a new creature.
You've been made righteous.
You've been made alive in Christ.
Now the Word begins renewing the mind.
And as my mind is renewed, I begin seeing myself in harmony with what God has said.
That's putting on the new man.
ABRAM HAD TO SEE ABRAHAM
Now we're right back at Abraham.
God said:
“Your name isn't Abram anymore.”
“Your name shall be Abraham.”
Why?
“For a father of many nations have I made thee.” Abram had to begin seeing Abraham.
His circumstances hadn't caught up yet.
Sarah's womb hadn't caught up yet.
His body hadn't caught up yet.
But God had spoken.
And Abram had received … an identification from God.
That's what happens when the Word renews your mind.
You begin seeing the man …God sees.
You begin identifying with the man God says He has made.
THE NEW MAN IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE
Now look at Colossians.
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”
There it is.
Renewed in knowledge. Knowledge of what?
Knowledge consistent with the One who created the new man.
This new man is being renewed in knowledge “after the image of him that created him.”
So then, the Word begins giving me knowledge concerning my new identity.
And that knowledge begins affecting my consciousness.
I discover:
I'm not who I used to be. I don't have to identify myself according to my past.
I don't have to identify myself according to my circumstances.
I don't have to identify myself according to the old man.
I can identify myself according to the man God made me.
IDENTITY HAS A LANGUAGE
And here's where confession enters the picture.
Identity influences communication. How I see myself will eventually affect how I talk about myself.
That's why Abraham's name was so significant.
Every time that Abram said:
“I'm Abraham,” he was speaking from an identification received from God.
And when the believer says:
“I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” he isn't trying to create righteousness with his words.
He's speaking from an identification received from God.
So then:
Identity gives confession its vocabulary. The old consciousness has a vocabulary.
And the new-man consciousness has a vocabulary.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF FAITH SPEAKS
That's why Romans 10 becomes so powerful.
Wait a minute.
Second Corinthians 5:21 says:
I've been made righteous. And Romans 10 says:
Righteousness talks. So what happens when my mind becomes renewed concerning the fact that I've been made righteous?
I begin talking like the righteous man I've been made. Not to become him.
Because I am him.
My confession begins flowing from my identification.
CONFESSION REVEALS CONSCIOUSNESS
This means confession is deeper than merely repeating words.
You can teach somebody a sentence.
You can tell somebody:
“Say this ten times.”
But what does he believe?
How does he see himself?
What's happening in his consciousness?
Abraham didn't merely … learn a phrase.
Abraham heard from God. And because he heard from God, his identification changed.
So then, the objective isn't merely:
Get the believer to say new things. We want the believer to see himself according to the Word of God.
Because when the mind is renewed concerning identity—the language will follow.
The new man begins sounding like the new man.
THE FIRST GREAT CONFESSION
And isn't it interesting that confession appears right at the doorway of our salvation?
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
There is the heart.
And there is the mouth.
There is believing.
And there is confession.
The Christian life begins with this beautiful relationship between what is believed in the heart and what is expressed with the mouth.
And that relationship doesn't suddenly become irrelevant after salvation.
The believer continues discovering what God has accomplished in Christ.
He hears.
He believes.
His mind is renewed.
His consciousness changes.
And now … his communication begins agreeing with the new identity.
HOLD FAST YOUR PROFESSION
Hebrews takes this language even further.
And:
Why can I hold fast?
Because my confidence isn't ultimately in my ability to speak.
My confidence is in the One who promised.
That's exactly what we saw with Abraham.
I'm not trusting my confession to perform it.
I'm trusting God. My confession is agreement.
My confidence is in God.
PUT ON THE NEW MAN
So perhaps putting on the new man includes something very practical.
Let the Word tell you who you are. Allow that Word to renew your mind.
Allow your consciousness to come into harmony with the new creation.
And then allow your communication to flow from that identity.
Don't merely ask:
“What should I be saying?” Sometimes we need to ask a deeper question:
“Who do I believe I am?” Because if I still identify with the old man, old-man language will continue showing up.
But when I see myself according to the new creation—when I recognize what God has made me—when my mind is renewed concerning my identity— the made man begins talking like the made man.
THE NEW MAN HAS A NEW LANGUAGE
God made me new.
His Word reveals the man He made.
His Word renews my mind concerning that man.
I begin identifying with what God says.
And my confession gives that identification a voice.
So then:
I don't confess to become the new man. I confess because I am the new man. I don't say I'm righteous hoping someday to become righteous.
I've been made righteous. I don't confess to manufacture an identity.
I received my identity in Christ. Now I'm learning to think like the man God made.
I'm learning to see myself like the man God made.
I'm learning to walk like the man God made.
And yes—
I'm learning to talk like the man God made. The new birth gave me a new identity.
The Word renews my mind to that identity.
And confession gives that identity a voice.
THE NEW MAN HAS A NEW LANGUAGE.
These are still— THE CONFESSIONS OF A MADE MAN.
That’s All For Now!
Derick E. Wilkes
Congregation of Churches
484-800-3434
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Video Message
This month’s featured video carries the same spirit as our written article, **Confessions of a Made Man**. Discover how hearing from God establishes identity, renews the mind, and gives faith its voice. We don’t confess to become what God has made us—we speak from the persuasion of who we are in Christ.
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