DAVID OYEDEPO JNR

This New Life…

Foundations for
Spiritual Growth and Development
DAVID OYEDEPO JNR

This New Life…

Foundations for
Spiritual Growth and Development
 Chapter 1

Salvation: Birth of a New Life

 
“Being born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever”

1 Peter 1:23
Friend, welcome to this new life!
 
There is something profound that takes place
when a man, woman, boy or girl hears the word
of God and comes to the point of trusting in
Jesus. That word goes into the heart of the
individual and the birth of a new life in that
person literally takes place.

This is what the bible describes as being born

again. When Nicodemus, a Pharisee met with
Jesus, seeking to understand how He was able
to command such results, Jesus explained that
those kingdom proofs were the product of a
different life in Christ – John 3:1-3.

He made it clear that the only way to see these

proofs was to be born again – John 3:3. This
new birth surely does not refer to entering into
your mother’s womb again, it refers to being
born of the Spirit – John 3:4-7.

Jesus was making it clear to Nicodemus that

being born of a woman makes you born of
flesh, but there is a second birth that needs to
take place where you are born of the Holy
Spirit.
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If you go back to the start of the life of Jesus,
you will discover that He was born of the Holy
Spirit – Lk. 1:35. So Jesus Himself was called
the son of God because He was literally born
of the Holy Spirit. His mother represented the
birth of the flesh, while the Holy Spirit
represented the birth of the Spirit.

There is no doubt that we are born of a

woman, so we are all born of the flesh. But to
be born of the Spirit, we require a second
experience of birth. This is why it is called
being born again.

This new life is born at the point of salvation.

We escape the limitations of our fleshly lives
when we are born again – 2 Peter 1:3-4. This is
why salvation is referred to as the way of
escape – Hebrews 2:3.

These is something incredibly new that takes

place when we surrender to Jesus in salvation.
The bible shows us that a new life is born in
us. This new life is referred to as a treasure in
our earthly vessels – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7.

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We carry something divine within this earthly
vessel. There is a saying that “what you see is
what you get.” This is a saying that does not
apply to the believer, because for a born-again
child of God there is far more that meets the
eye. There is a different kind of life within him
or her.

How does this new life begin?

As I stated earlier, salvation is an experience of
a second birth, however that second birth
begins with a word. That word is an
incorruptible seed – 1 Peter 1:23. When an
individual comes across the word, there is a
response that needs to take place within them.
Let’s see it play out in the scripture below:
 
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
holy Spirit of promise,” - Ephesians 1:13

Believe the word (Receive it as the Truth)

The first reaction that is necessary is that the
word must be received as truth. There are
many who receive the word of God as
though it is the word of men so it does not
profit them – 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
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The word received must be believed as the
word of God and not man’s words. This is such
a challenge in our skeptical world where we are
trained to always question or query every word
we hear. But the word preached will never
profit us until it is met with faith in the heart of
the hearer – Hebrews 4:2.

We must come to a point where we believe the

word, trusting in Jesus Himself. It is about Jesus
as a person, being believed. That is why until
you believe that He is, you cannot draw nigh
unto Him – Hebrews 11:6.

The question is, do you believe in Jesus?

Do you believe that He came to the earth as
the only begotten son of God?
Do you believe He died for the sins of the
world?
Do you believe that He rose on the third day?
Do you believe that this sacrifice was for you
and me?

If your response is yes without a doubt, then

the first reaction is complete.

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Confess Your Faith with your Mouth

The second reaction is that you must confess

with your mouth – Romans 10:9-10. The bible
makes it clear that the first reaction aligns us
with the righteousness of Christ, but this
second step is where salvation actually occurs.
It is calling on the name of the Lord that
brings salvation – Romans. 10:13.

So this confession of our faith in Jesus is the

only way to access salvation. This is why we are
told that there is no other name through which
men can be saved except through Jesus – Acts
4:12! This means that until this is done, you
cannot claim to be saved. Faith will always
demand a vocal expression to deliver on our
behalf – 2 Corinthians 4:13.

These are to two steps that must be taken. If

you truly believe in Jesus as outlined in the
first step but are yet to declare your faith for
salvation to take place, you have an
opportunity now. I want to say these words
after me:

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“Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God. I
know you came to the earth to die for my sins. I
believe that after, three days, you rose from the dead
for my salvation. Today, I surrender my life to you
as my Lord and Savior. From this day, I will serve
you all the days of my life. Thank you, Lord, for
saving me in Jesus name. Amen!”

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 Chapter 2

Water Baptism: Immersion

into a New Life

“Therefore we are buried with

him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life”

Romans 6:4
One of the foundations of an adventure with
God is water baptism. Jesus made it clear that
we are to believe and be baptized for a full
salvation experience – Mark 16:16. God is
comprehensive in His provision for our
experience of the new life He has ordained for
us.

We find this clearly indicated in the anchor

scripture for this chapter. God made it clear that
the process of baptism is symbolic of a number
of vital spiritual truths that must find expression
in a true Christian life. Some of these are as
follows:

Being Buried with Jesus in Death

Jesus explained the fact that there is a death that
every true disciple must be willing to die to be a
true follower or disciple – Matthew 16:14. You
can’t cling to your current life and enjoy the
virtues of eternal life – John 12:23-26. Paul in
other portions of scripture, explained that he
was crucified with Christ so that the life of
Christ will find expression through Him –
Galatians 2:20.

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That death culminates in a burial with Christ. It
is important to note that this is not a literal
death, but a surrender of personal life on the
altar of Christ. That is a surrender that is
demonstrated when you are immersed in the
water at baptism.

Being Raised up from the Dead

We also see here that water baptism is to
culminate in our raising from death to walk in
the newness of life. This means that when we
are immersed, we are buried, but when we are
raised, we are ushered into the new life Jesus
came to give us – 1 John 5:12.

This is the eternal life that we are given access

to through salvation. However, baptism is a
physical act with the spiritual connotation of
empowering us to walk in this new life and all it
demands. This new life is a faith life, but it
requires that this process is followed to enjoy it
– Colossians 2:12.

These are fundamental things we must

understand to be baptized in faith.

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We must realize that it is not a meaningless
process, but a spiritual one, with great benefits
to our spiritual adventure.I remember the
testimony of a brother who had been struggling
with certain habits that were not Christlike in
his life.

These habits included masturbation. He had

tried all he could but to no avail. At a point he
realized his need to be baptized, so he partook
of it. When he did, those habits instantly ended.

He was empowered to walk in the new life Jesus

had offered. If you are yet to be baptized in
water by immersion, I implore you to do so and
begin to enjoy the newness of life Jesus has to
offer.

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 Chapter 3

The Holy Spirit: The

Fountain of the New Life

“Then Peter said unto them,

Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost”
Acts 2:38
The Holy Spirit is referred to in the scripture
above as the gift of God. This is profound
because the bible shows us a number of things
about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In fact,
the scriptures show us that He is the earnest of
our inheritance – Ephesians 1:13-14.
 
“The Spirit is the [a]guarantee [the first
installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our
inheritance until the redemption of God’s
own [purchased] possession [His believers], to
the praise of His glory.” - Ephesians 1:14
(Amplified Version)

The word earnest has the following

applications:
 
The Pledge of our Inheritance
The Holy Spirit is the promise of God to
everyone that is a child of God – Galatians 3:13-
14. This is why He is referred to as the Spirit of
Adoption – Romans 8:15. This means that it is
through the Holy Spirit that we are adopted as
children of God. This means that our initial
experience with the Holy Spirit is at salvation.
He secures us for our inheritance in Christ.
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He imprints the DNA of God on the spirit of
the redeemed.This is why He is also called the
Spirit of Sonship – Galatians 4:6-7. He is the
one who creates a connection between us and
God. You see, without the Holy Spirit, you can
have religion yet lack a genuine intimate
relationship with God.

This is why He is the pledge of our inheritance;

He qualifies us for an inheritance with God by
making us His children. So, the salvation
experience involves the Spirit of God coming
into the life of the redeemed. This is what
makes us saved.

The First Installment of our Inheritance

The Holy Spirit is also referred to as the first
installment of our inheritance. This is because
He is released by God to us to ensure that all
God has provided for us is accessible to us. He
is the security of our inheritance. In this
instance, we are referring to His ministry of
help for the life of the believer.

He helps us in a number of ways.

He teaches us – John 16:13-16.

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He enables us to serve Him in advancing the
kingdom of God – Acts 1:8; He helps our prayer
life – Romans 8:26-27 and many more.
However, this is beyond just the experience of
salvation.

This aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit

requires a second experience: the baptism of
the Holy Spirit. This baptism of the Holy Spirit
is evidenced by speaking in tongues – Acts 2:1-
6/10:44. This is the gauge that gives us the
indication that we have been baptized in the
Holy Spirit.

To be baptized in the Holy Spirit, you simply

need to recognize that Jesus is the One who
baptizes with the Holy Spirit – Matthew
3:11-12. In fact, Jesus told the apostles to wait in
Jerusalem because He was going to send the
Holy Spirit to them – Luke 24:49.

We must understand that the Holy Spirit is sent

by Jesus. So, if you can look to Jesus for the
baptism of the Holy Spirit as you did for
salvation, you will be baptized in the Holy
Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

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Once your eyes are set on Jesus as the baptizer,
you must remember a simple statement in the
first baptism with the Holy Spirit seen in the
scriptures: “…speak … as the Spirit gave them
utterance” – Acts 2:4.

You see, one must understand that there is a

faith component to this experience – Galatians
3:14. That faith demands that as we look to
Jesus and ask for this baptism in faith, once we
begin speaking, the Holy Spirit will give
utterance.

The difference here is that when you speak in a

human language, your mind determines your
utterance, but when you speak with other
tongues, the Holy Spirit is the one giving
utterance.

Therefore, you do not pre-determine what you

say. The Holy Spirit gives the utterance, but
you have the responsibility to speak in faith
trusting Him. He will not speak for you. You
must speak for yourself. Don’t forget, it is when
you open your mouth that He fills it – Psalm
81:10.

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One of the errors I have seen people make over
the years is that they expect the Holy Spirit to
speak for them. That’s not the scriptural
pattern. He enables you to speak, but you must
do the speaking. Once you ask in faith, you
must be absolutely convinced that He has been
given to you as He promised – Mark 11:24.

Jesus said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to

give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?” - Luke 11:13.

We have an assurance, so be confident when

you ask as His child. If you have not yet had this
experience, please pray the following prayer in
faith after me and after that, simply speak in
faith trusting Him for utterance. Do not allow
your mind to interfere with your spirit.

Trust in Jesus absolutely as you do this:

“Father, I believe that Jesus is the baptizer

in the Holy Spirit. I also believe that it is an
experience available for every child of God. You have
said you will not withhold the Holy Spirit from
anyone who asks.
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Therefore, Jesus, I ask of you that You baptize me
with the Holy Spirit now. Thank you for answering
my prayer in Jesus Name!”

If you have done this, simply begin in faith,

trusting God for utterance as you do.

The Foretaste of Our Inheritance

The third description is that the Holy Spirit is
a foretaste of our inheritance. Remember that
at redemption, we are promised the riches of
His grace – Ephesians 2:8.  These are realities
of heaven which we should experience on the
earth – Hebrews 6:4. While we are in the world,
we are to escape the limitations of the world –
2 Peter 1:4.

In fact, we are told that we are to expect the

demonstration of the powers of the world to
come – Hebrews 6:5. This refers to subduing
natural laws. but this experience requires
increasing measures of the Holy Spirit
unleashed to us. Jesus had the Holy Spirit
without measure and therefore, His
manifestations were without measure – John
3:34.

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We must keep increasing our measures in the
Holy Spirit. This requires that we have
desperation to grow in His power – Isaiah 44:3.
It also demands that we engage in spiritual
exercises of prayer, fasting and the study
of the word – Matthew 17:21, Luke 9:28, 43,
Luke 4:17-21.

It also requires that we develop the spiritual

discipline of subduing the flesh and
conforming to the image of Christ so as to
reflect more of His glory – 2 Corinthians 3:18,
Romans 8:13, Galatians 2:20, 6:14.

As you do these things, keep desiring and

demanding more of the Holy Spirit to be
poured out and you will see His power on the
increase in your life.

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 Chapter 4

The Word: Diet for the New

Life

“But he answered and said, it is

written, Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God”
Matthew 4:4
One of the important things for any new
believer to discover is the necessity of the word
of God. The scripture above makes it clear that
the word of God is a vital force for sustaining
the new life that God has given you at
salvation. What food is to natural life, the word
is to spiritual life. So, there can be no spiritual
life without the word of God. In fact, we are
first told that we must desire the milk of the
word in our infancy through which we can
grow – 1 Peter 2:2.

This means there can be no spiritual growth

without the word of God. Furthermore, the
bible tells us that the solid food of the word
belongs to those that have developed
themselves to distinguish good and evil –
Hebrews 5:15. This means there cannot be
spiritual development without the word of
God.

In summary, the word is the sustainer of our

spiritual life, the sponsor of our spiritual
growth, and the instrument for our spiritual
development. This means no effective
Christian can emerge without the word of God.

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This is why the word of God must become the
central focus of any individual that will emerge
as a faithful and fruitful believer. For the word
of God to effectively deliver in your life, you
must do the following:

Listen to it daily
The first duty you have with the word of God, is
the duty of hearing. It is in hearing the word of
God that faith begins to build up – Romans
10:17. We have a solemn responsibility given to
us by God to hear Him daily – Matthew 4:4.

Mary in the bible left everything to listen to the

word of God, and Jesus said she had chosen the
good path – Luke 10:42. The word of God must
be a priority in the life of the believer. Be
committed to attending church services,
listening to recorded messages, or audio bibles,
among other things.

Study it daily
The second responsibility is study. The bible
instructs that we study to have proofs in our
walk with God – 2 Timothy 2:15. The bible
speaks about a group of noble Christians called
the Bereans.
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They received (or heard) the word eagerly and
went back to search the scriptures daily to
confirm what they heard – Acts 17:11. They
were noble because of their commitment to
study. The honour of our Christian walk
becomes apparent when we commit ourselves
to the study of the word. You may also use
books on specific subjects, devotionals, or other
such materials for this purpose.

Meditate on it daily
The third duty we have with the word of God is
meditation. We are instructed to meditate on
the word of God day and night – Joshua 1:8. In
fact we are told that the word of God must
dwell richly within us – Colossians 3:16. This
means we must fill our hearts with the word of
God, by thinking on it.

The purpose of meditation is to understand

application. This means we must think through
how the word applies to the various situations
of our lives.

Obey it daily
The fourth duty we have with the word is
obedience.

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Being a hearer and not a doer of the word of
God is self-deception – James 1:22. The blessing
in the word of God cannot be accessed without
doing what it commands – James 1:25. We must
become committed to the dictates of the word
of God, by doing them. In fact, Jesus said, there
is no point claiming Him as Lord without doing
what He says – Luke 6:46. Take time to follow
these duties with the word of God and watch as
you begin to grow.

I must admonish you however, never to forget

to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you every time
you come before the word of God. It is so
loaded that the natural mind cannot fully
comprehend it – Romans 11:33, but praise God,
the Holy Spirit who is our teacher can unveil
the most difficult things to us – 1 John 2:27.

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 Chapter 5

Prayer: Facilitator of the

New Life

“And he spake a parable unto

them to this end, that men ought
always to pray, and not to faint;”
Luke 18:1
One of the most primitive expressions of faith
is prayer. It is so fundamental that the apostles
said they would give themselves to prayer and
the ministry of the word – Acts 6:4. Jesus
admonished the disciples to watch and pray so
as not to fall prey to the temptation of the
enemy – Matthew 26:41. One of the most
discernable expressions of genuine faith is
prayer.
 
What is prayer?
Prayer is communion with God. Jesus taught
us that we as children must learn to come to
God as a Father and pray to Him – Matthew
6:9-13. In fact, we are told that when a person
becomes born again and the Spirit of God
enters his or her spirit, there is filial cry of
‘Abba father’ – Galatians 4:6-7.

This prayer communion is supposed to be the

lifestyle of the believer. This is why Jesus
taught us to pray always and never give up –
Luke 18:1.

The Faith Component

For prayer to be effective, it must be backed
with faith – Mark 11:24.

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Faith here has to do with confidence that what
is requested is being delivered. This kind of
assurance can only come from a promise made.
This is why we are told that our prayer
confidence only comes when we know we have
asked according to His promise – 1 John 5:14-15.

This is why taking in the word is so important

as discussed in the earlier chapter – Romans
10:17. When your faith is in place, you approach
God with confidence and therefore you can
secure His help – Hebrews 4:16.

Praying in the Spirit

As we saw in the earlier chapter on the Holy
Spirit, one of the evidences of our second
experience with the Holy Spirit is speaking
with other tongues – Acts 2:4. The purpose for
this new language is for effective
communication. No wonder Paul admonishes
the church to pray all kinds of prayers in the
Spirit – Ephesians 6:18.

He specifically says of himself that he prays

both in the Spirit and in the understanding – 1
Corinthians 14:15.
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The reason why this is so important for us as
believers is that in doing so, the Holy Spirit
takes over the prayer process by giving us
utterance on how best to pray on the subject we
are presenting to God – Romans 8:26-27. This is
profound. When you are praying in the Spirit,
your mind is unfruitful, but your spirit man is
peaking mysteries to God – 1 Corinthians 14:14.

This is why the experience of the baptism in the

Holy Ghost we discussed earlier is so important.
If you have not had the experience yet, go to
Chapter 3 and follow the instructions. Also,
most churches have a foundation class where
this is taught. You may take advantage of such
opportunities where they exist. Make it a habit
to speak to God about anything or anyone.

When you pray concerning things not directly

related to you, it is called intercession. In such
prayers, you are usually standing on behalf of
someone else. Otherwise, you can pray for
yourself based on the promises you find in the
word of God. Take advantage of this awesome
platform to commune with your heavenly
Father, the creator of the Universe.

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 Chapter 6

Fellowship: The Strengthener

of the New Life
 

“Not forsaking the assembling of

ourselves together, as the
manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so
much the more, as ye see the day
approaching”
Hebrews 10:25
One of the vital keys for developing a robust
spiritual life is fellowship. In the scripture we
are admonished that we must not forsake the
gathering together of the saints. This refers to
corporate fellowship. While a number of the
things we have discussed has to do with
personal responsibilities, we cannot ignore the
place of corporate gatherings.

In fact, such gatherings are key to experiencing

proofs of Christ in our individual lives – 1 John
1:1-3. Furthermore, we discover that the only
way for a Christian to go from strength to
strength is through fellowship – Psalm 84:7.

This means without fellowship, you will be

losing strength and spiritual stamina. The
consequence of absence of strength is exposure
to defeat – Proverbs 24:10.

How does fellowship strengthen the believer?

 
Fellowship leads to spiritual growth
Spiritual growth is the product of spiritual
understanding – Colossians 1:9, and spiritual
understanding is enhanced with fellowship.
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Just being being in church brings you into the
realm of illumination – Psalm 73:17. This means
there are things you will never understand until
you are in fellowship. In fact, the appointed
pastors to whom God has sent you, are armed
with the wisdom and understanding with which
you are to be fed – Jeremiah 3:15-16.

Fellowship leads to sanctification

The scriptures make it clear that if we do not
want to be corrupted, we must come out from
those who are corrupted – 2 Corinthians 6:16-17.
In fact we are told that as we fellowship
together, we fellowship with God and the blood
of Jesus cleanses us from all sin – 1 John
1:7.

The reason is that when we come to corporate

fellowship, we are interacting with heavenly
personalities, and the blood of sprinkling
reaches out to us for our cleansing and
sanctification – Hebrews 12:22-24.

Fellowship enhances answers to prayer

There is a corporate power base that answers
to us when we are in fellowship – Matthew 18:19.

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The early church understood this so they had
the habit of returning to their company or
fellowship – Acts 4:23. In fact the starting point
of the early church was corporate prayer –
Acts 1:14. It is the believer’s stronghold.
Ultimately, we are recognizing that there is a
prayer advantage to corporate fellowship.

Fellowship provides the privilege for

stewardship
One of the things we must discover is that
God is seeking serving sons – Malachi 1:6. This
means it’s not enough to become a child of
God, but we must seek opportunities to serve.
In fact, the highway to blessings is
commitment to stewardship – Malachi 3:17-18.
The beauty of this
is that you get to build capacity to serve by the
example of others.

Therefore, we must take the opportunity to be

in fellowship at the various levels. The
scriptures identify fellowship in the temple
(the church), and from house to house (house
fellowship) – Acts 2:47. Take advantage of these
opportunities for your ultimate profiting.
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This means you must locate a church to belong
to. If your church runs a house fellowship
system, then take advantage of it also. But make
it a point to remain consistent in corporate
fellowship. It has untold advantages!

Once again, friend, I welcome you to this new

life and I pray that all the benefits therein will
begin to find expression in your life in Jesus
Name.
 
Congratulations!

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Oyedepo Jnr on

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