The Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, for you will be changed into another person. Once these signs occur, do whatever comes to hand, for God is with you.. ––1 Samuel 10:6-7, NCB
Saul was poised. The people had demanded a king, the Lord acquiesced, and the prophet Samuel delivered. When Samuel was preparing Saul for the job, he told him he was being turned into another man. The Message puts it this way:
Before you know it, the Spirit of God will come on you and you’ll be prophesying right along with them. And you’ll be transformed. You’ll be a new person!
A new person. Sounds familiar, right?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ––2 Corinthians 5:17
Here’s the wrinkle … we all know what happened to King Saul. He didn’t obey God and disqualified himself as king. Thankfully, between Saul’s time and now, the entire picture has shifted radically when it comes to this “newness” we find in God. Through Christ, even when we mess up big time—seemingly disqualifying ourselves like Saul—we can be restored. This doesn’t mean we have a free pass to sin, it means that we were forgiven positionally, the moment we accept Him as savior. And because we are hidden with Christ in God, His sacrifice covers us (the fancy word is propitiation).
People often ask, “David messed up big time, so why did Saul get disqualified and David didn’t?” The response we often hear is that David had a heart after God––which is true (but a tad vague). The big difference is that David had intimacy with the Father and understood his position as His beloved child. The key word is genuine relationship—David had it, Saul did not.
As a new creation in Christ, we can celebrate the fact that our position is secure, our future is assured, and that nothing this side of heaven is fatal or final. Man, that’s great news, isn’t it?
