You're a New Creation, So Why Don't You Feel Like It? - Andrew Wommack - Charis Daily - S. 18 Ep. 2

Summary

Andrew Wommack argues that Christians may struggle to feel like “new creations” because they judge themselves mainly by their bodies, thoughts, emotions, and behavior, rather than understanding their spiritual identity in Christ.

Main Ideas

• Carnality is living by the senses. Wommack explains that “carnal” does not necessarily mean especially sinful or immoral. It can mean relying only on what one sees, feels, thinks, and experiences physically. A morally upright person can still be carnal in this sense.
• His testimony led him to rethink how God sees him. Wommack says he once believed God’s love and answers to prayer depended on how well he behaved. After an encounter with God’s holiness in 1968, he became aware of his own self-righteousness and came to see that God’s love is based on grace, not personal merit. He struggled to understand how God could love him despite his flaws.
• People consist of spirit, soul, and body. He describes:
  • Body: The physical self, still subject to weakness, sickness, and death.
  • Soul: The mental and emotional self, which can be renewed but remains imperfect in this life.
  • Spirit: The inner person that, in his interpretation, is made new when someone is born again.
• “New creation” refers to the spirit. Wommack says 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes a completed change in a believer’s spirit—not the immediate perfection of their body, thoughts, or emotions. Those other areas may change over time, but they are not instantly transformed at conversion.
• A believer’s identity is grounded in what God has made them in Christ. Wommack teaches that the born-again spirit is already new and complete in Christ. Christians, he says, should not make their flaws or past experiences the foundation of their identity.
• Spiritual identity is the basis for change, not the reward for it. Rather than trying to earn God’s acceptance by improving their behavior, believers should recognize who they are in Christ. Wommack says actions and emotional life can then change as a result of that identity—“fruit,” rather than the “root,” of the relationship with God.

Practical Approach

• Distinguish between the spirit, soul, and body instead of treating thoughts, feelings, and physical experiences as the whole self.
• When a Bible passage says believers are new, whole, or able to act through Christ, consider whether it is describing their spiritual identity, rather than their present feelings or behavior.
• Do not assume that imperfect thoughts, emotions, or physical conditions mean the spirit has not been made new.
• Focus on what Scripture says about the believer’s identity in Christ, and act on that understanding even when feelings or physical sensations do not confirm it.
• Let behavioral and emotional change follow from that identity rather than trying to establish worthiness through self-effort. As an example, Wommack says a believer may pray for the sick because of what they understand Scripture to say, rather than waiting to feel a special sensation.

Wommack concludes that understanding this distinction transformed his reading of Scripture. He also notes that further teaching and a booklet on identity in Christ are available through Charis.

Speakers and Sources

• Speaker: Andrew Wommack.
• Other teachers: Charis Bible College instructors are mentioned as participating in the broader series, but none speaks in this excerpt.
• Biblical passages cited or referenced: Romans 8; Isaiah 64:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 15 and 13; John 4:24 and 14:12; Ephesians 2:10 and 4:24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Proverbs 23:7.