On page 66 of The Spiritual Man, Watchman Nee says this: "God does not change our flesh; rather, He gives His life to us. Regardless of whether or not a man has been regenerated, his flesh is corrupted just the same."
That reminds me of Philippians 3:8-9:
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
The phrase I want to draw attention to is in v. 9 where Paul says he wants to have "the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." The righteousness of believers both comes from God and is by faith. This means that it exists by faith, which is confidence in the unseen (Hebrews 11:1; Romans 8:25). The holiness of Christ's bride is not yet fully realized (that is, we are not yet holy like God). But, in this life we are progressing toward holiness and glorification, like it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
And, it's clear we're not perfectly righteous in nature yet. This point should be evident without defense: can we really claim perfection for ourselves? Every time I'm impatient with a family member or coworker, I'm reminded and convicted that, like Romans 3 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God."
Thanks be to God who gives his church the Holy Spirit, so that we can know Jesus and love Jesus and follow Jesus!
