01/10/2026
By: Deborah M. Zottor (Sis)
Christians have been urged not to stop at the experience of salvation but to continually yield themselves to the Holy Spirit for the transformation of their minds, character and conduct. Speaking during the Mid-week Service of PIWC Winneba, Pastor Joseph Owusu-Boateng led the church in a study of the Book of Ephesians, with emphasis on sanctification, spiritual growth and the relationship between the old man and the new man. Key scriptures included Ephesians 1:1–23, Ephesians 2:8–10 and Ephesians 4:22–24.
Beginning with Ephesians chapter one, Pastor Owusu-Boateng drew attention to the spiritual blessings believers have received in Christ and God's call for His people to be holy. He explained that the believer's salvation is accompanied by the presence of the Holy Spirit, who serves as a seal and guarantee of the believer's inheritance.
Pastor Owusu-Boateng noted that the Holy Spirit helps the Christian remain on the path of faith and guides the believer in the journey with God. Drawing from Ephesians 1:15–23, he further explained that being born again should be followed by continuous spiritual growth. Paul therefore prayed for the Ephesian church to receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they could grow in their knowledge of God.
Turning to Ephesians 4:22–24, Pastor Owusu-Boateng explained the distinction between the old man and the new man, stressing that regeneration must be followed by transformation. According to him, people come to Christ with existing worldviews, values, beliefs and patterns of thinking. Although they have received salvation, these old ways of thinking do not automatically disappear. The believer must therefore allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to renew the mind.
Pastor Owusu-Boateng cautioned that without this transformation, the Church risks producing Christians who are saved but not transformed, which can negatively affect their witness to the world.
“What is needed after regeneration is transformation,” he stressed. Pastor Owusu-Boateng explained that sanctification occurs as the new man increasingly subdues the old man. The extent of this transformation, he noted, is closely connected to the believer's willingness to yield to the power and work of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Owusu-Boateng emphasised that sanctification is not an event but a process. Christians should therefore not lose hope when they struggle with weaknesses they have previously renounced. Using the illustration of a child learning to walk, he explained that a child may occasionally fall, but as the child grows, the falling should reduce. In the same way, spiritual growth should progressively produce victory over sinful habits.
Sanctification, he added, requires daily yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. There are no holidays in the process of spiritual transformation, as believers must continually surrender themselves to God's work in their lives.
He outlined several outcomes of sanctification, including victory over sin, spiritual maturity, self-discipline and self-control. Sanctification also gives visible expression to the reality of salvation because the changes in a believer's character and conduct demonstrate the transforming power of Christ.
Pastor Owusu-Boateng further described sanctification as that which unveils the beauty of the indwelling Spirit of God. Using the illustration of the fragrance of perfume on a person's body, he explained that the presence of the Holy Spirit should become noticeable through the character of the believer. The Holy Spirit has a character, he noted, and this is expressed through the fruit of the Spirit. As Christians continually yield themselves to Him, the beauty and character of Jesus should increasingly become visible in their lives.
Explaining the old man, Pastor Owusu-Boateng referred to the Greek expression palaios anthropos, describing it as the person before the regeneration experience, including the former worldview, values, reasoning and sinful tendencies. Drawing from Romans 7:15–20, he explained that the tendency towards sin remains present even after a person becomes born again. Because believers have lived with the old nature and its patterns for many years, responding to its suggestions may sometimes appear easier.
Pastor Owusu-Boateng further referenced 1 Corinthians 3:3, explaining that the old man is associated with fleshly desires and continually wars against the desires of the Spirit. It constantly suggests actions and attitudes that contradict what God desires for the believer.
However, Pastor Owusu-Boateng stressed that the new man has the power to overrule the old man, but the believer must willingly allow the new man to exercise dominion. This, he explained, is why Ephesians instructs Christians to put off the old man and put on the new man.
He concluded by praying that Christians would continually yield themselves to the Holy Spirit, experience genuine transformation and show forth the beauty of Jesus everywhere through their character and conduct.
| | |
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
> Powered By:
> Media Ministry
