Ezekiel 11:19 “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.”
In Ezekiel chapter 11, Ezekiel the prophet is having a vision given by God himself. The Lord is telling him to prophesy many things to the people of Israel. One of the prophecies speaks about receiving three very important elements of a Christian life.
- An Undivided Heart
The prophecy gets fulfilled for people when they receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The heart changes completely. It learns to detest the idols and vile practices and focus only on one true living God. Our consciousness gets sharper, pricking us every time we think of doing something wrong. Our heart belongs only to the Lord Almighty.
- A new spirit
A new spirit is nothing but the holy spirit promised by Jesus to his disciples as written in Acts 1:8 “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”. The Holy Spirit resides in each one of us from the day we receive Jesus as our Savior. He is the third person in the Trinity and has a personality of His own. The Bible identifies the Holy Spirit as an advocate, counselor and a comforter. He is the one who walks with us in this journey of faith and reveals to us God’s word and His plans for our lives.
- A heart of flesh
God promises us the heart of flesh once the Holy Spirit resides within us. There are amazing stories of people who once lived with a stone cold heart that did not give any heed to the lives of people around them. They lacked compassion, joy and empathy, but the moment they believed in the gospel as the truth and gave their hearts to Christ , their lives changed; their disposition changed and they became spiritually alive.
We all live in the prophecy given by Ezekiel if Christ lives in us and as the children of God we ought to spread the good news to those who lack all three elements that God gives so freely to those who receive him.
