Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel was a powerful Jewish prophet who lived in the 6th century, B.C., before the time of Jesus; however, even then he was given a life-changing prophecy concerning the New Covenant that Jesus would establish. In the days of Ezekiel, the Israelites were waiting for the Messiah to come, in the line of King David, and set them free from their enemies.
However, God saw their need to be saved from the enemy, within, to be a greater priority. When Jesus came, as the promised Jewish Messiah and King of David, He didn’t first fight an earthly battle and conquer the natural enemies of Israel. Instead, he came to win a spiritual battle and conquer our hearts. Jesus first came as the sacrificial Lamb of God to start a new covenant relationship with not only the Jewish people, but with all the people in the world (Matthew 28:18-20).
As a result, today, when someone believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are given the promise of Ezekiel, which is, “a new heart and spirit.” The biblical understanding of the “heart” is the same as for the “soul,” which is man’s “mind, will and emotions.” Man’s spirit is his “life force and connection to the spiritual world.” Man’s spiritual soul is what God breathed into Adam, at creation, to make him in His own image (Genesis 1:27; 2:7). God promised Ezekiel, over 600 years before Jesus, that He would give a new mind, will and emotions, at spiritual rebirth, to all who believe in Jesus (John 3:3-8). A.B. Simpson wrote, “May God so fill us today with the heart of Christ that we may glow with the divine fire of holy desire.”
Jesus told His disciples about this promise to come, in Luke 22:20 at the Last Supper, when He gave out the wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Jesus was declaring to His disciples that His blood would be shed on the cross was the fulfillment of the promise given to Ezekiel. So, the moment you put your full trust in Jesus, He made your spirit and soul brand new. A wise man once said, “All indwelling sin is washed away when Christ’s blood cleanses you within.”
You were born naughty by nature because of Adam and Eve, but you were born again in divine nature because of Jesus (2 Peter 1:4)!
Jesus took out your heart of stone and gave you a new heart of flesh. He gave you a spiritual rebirth so you could be born again and no longer be separated from Him because of your sin.
REFLECTION
Do you believe your heart and spirit are new?
ACTION
- Remind yourself, today, that your heart and spirit are new in Christ Jesus.
- Repent of any excuses you have made to remain in your old ways.
- Thank Jesus for His blood that was shed on the cross for you.
