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Bring Out the True You

Bring Out the True You

What would happen when God brings out the true you? Let me take a look; oh boy, does it look really good and awesome in here.

You ARE light.

Ephesians 5:8 does not stutter or soft-pedal the timeline. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Past tense: darkness. Present tense: light. The verse is like a divine GPS that refuses to lie about your location and a permanent time-stamp upgrade that deleted the old files for good. That is why people are simply wrong—not merely off by a degree, but flat-out incorrect—when they keep confessing in the present, “I am a sinner… I am the worst of sinners.” According to the Word you are light right now. You were darkness once. The same clean break holds for sinner versus saint, darkness versus righteousness. You were once locked in the kingdom of Satan like a prisoner in a blacked-out dungeon. God has already conveyed you into the kingdom of the Son of His love, the doors behind you have slammed shut forever, and the transfer paperwork is already filed, stamped, and celebrated in heaven.

The faithless keep making this mistake because it keeps them sin-focused. Their consciousness stays glued to darkness, sin, and the enemy, no matter how many “God-centered” or “gospel-centered” banners they wave on the outside like cheap parade floats. It is like insisting on wearing the old muddy prison jumpsuit long after the King has already fitted you with royal robes and burned the jumpsuit, or playing the broken vinyl of guilt while the new album of righteousness is already streaming in high definition. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Hebrews 10 exposes the old law’s real failure: it was a constant reminder that cultivated a consciousness of sin—an endless guilt commercial that never stopped running, a dripping faucet that kept the whole house awake all night. Day and night their thoughts, even the subconscious ones, circled how sinful they were like a broken record stuck on the worst track. That is what the law produced. In Christ the whole point is the opposite. You do not carry a consciousness of sin anymore—not even in the quiet corners of your mind. That old identity is past, gone, nailed to the cross and buried under three days of empty-tomb victory.

Now you deliberately cultivate a consciousness of how righteous you are, how full of light you are, how packed with God’s goodness, power, love, and every promise you are. Think of it as rewiring the mental hard drive so the Spirit’s truth becomes the default operating system, flipping the switch from a dusty basement of guilt to a sunlit throne room of favor. When that runs through your mind—even while you sleep, when the nighttime theater used to play the old horror flick—the Holy Spirit is right there saying yes like a proud coach on the sidelines. Because those thoughts line up with the Word, He engraves them deeper, renews your mind, and transforms you. You become what you think by the power of the Spirit.

Thinking “I am a sinner, I am darkness” is not spiritual humility. It is an open invitation, a foothold handed straight to the demonic realm—like leaving the back door unlocked, putting out a welcome mat, and hanging a neon “Demons Welcome” sign. The Bible warns us not to give the devil a place, and that is precisely what a sin-consciousness does. It lets the enemy reinforce the lie until your actions start matching the confession, turning you into an unwilling actor in a script he wrote. Let’s not be faithless. Stop starring in the endless rerun of your pre-cross horror flick. The credits have rolled. The lights are on. You are the light. Walk in the light. You are righteousness. You are full of goodness, full of God’s love, full of the promises of God. Saints, you are the righteousness of God now and forever—so quit the old movie and start living the bright sequel God already filmed.

Bringing out the TRUE YOU.

That bright sequel is exactly what it means to bring out the true you. The true you is not some hidden, struggling, half-saved version still waiting for a future upgrade. The true you is the light you already are. To bring out the true you is to bring out light, righteousness, the mind of Christ, goodness, and the material blessings that flow from the finished work of Jesus. Joel Osteen once said, “God’s not trying to take something from you; He’s trying to get something to you. He wants to bring out the true you. The true you is more blessed, more fulfilled, more successful, more peaceful than you can imagine.” I do not endorse everything Osteen teaches, and the phrasing may not be the most technical or precise way to state the doctrine. Yet the statement itself is perfectly fine. There is nothing truly wrong with it. In fact, saying the doctrine this way is good precisely because it exposes the faithless. They take issue with it the same way they take issue with any clear declaration that the finished atonement delivers present blessings. It is similar to the idea of moralizing. The Bible itself moralizes for the Christian, as Vincent Cheung points out in passages like James 5 and the prophets. The more technical term might be that Scripture teaches us to apply examples to ourselves, but “moralize” works just fine. The same is true here. It is fine to say that when God brings out the true you, He brings out righteousness and blessing.

The faithless push back hard against this. One of them, let’s call him Johnny Billy for convenience, objects that God’s sovereign will ultimately determines life or death, so “giving and taking away” can still mean God removes things you consider blessings that come through Christ’s work. He points to James 4, Peter, and Job, claiming it may not always be God’s will that we live tomorrow. This is obviously stupid. The same book of James says that if a doctor tells you that you have stage-five cancer and will die within days, the prayer of faith will raise the sick. James teaches that we can know what will happen tomorrow when faith is applied to the promises and finished work of Jesus. The same is true for the wisdom James mentions. Even death can be voided by faith. Hezekiah prayed and God gave him fifteen more years. Some passed death outright and went straight to heaven. Johnny Billy insists James is telling us we are still dependent on God’s sovereign will for these things, and that He can give or take them away. No. James says our wisdom for tomorrow and healing that escapes sickness or the death sickness would cause is dependent on our faith, not on some vague, unrevealed sovereign will that contradicts the promises.

As to the give-and-take language, God already did the giving and taking away in the finished atonement of Jesus. God took away our sins, sickness, curses, poverty, and lack and gave them to Jesus, who already suffered for them. And God has already given us righteousness, the blessing of Abraham, riches, healing, the position to use Jesus’ name and get whatever we want, and all spiritual blessings. God will not take away the righteousness He already gave through Jesus. God will not take away the healing He already gave by Jesus’ stripes. God will not take away the gospel of Abraham He already gave me through Jesus becoming my curse. Not only is God truth and logic, but He did these things and through the blood and death of Jesus made it a publicly revealed contract that He will do all the good things He accomplished through His Son to us. Thus it is impossible for God to take away my health when He is in a blood contract that says He will only give me the benefits of Jesus’ atonement, which is health and healing. The Bible tells us who makes us sick, and it is Satan. Sickness is the devil’s middle finger to the atonement of Jesus, and the faithless join in with Satan by flipping off the cross (Acts 10:38).

Johnny Billy also claims that many of the blessings that come with salvation in Christ are promised in the next life, not this one. A glorified body freed from sickness and death is paid for in the atonement, he says, but we are not promised that now and cannot claim a right to it now. This is the classic already-not-yet fallacy that Vincent Cheung has exposed. The Bible’s emphasis is what we have now, not later. The faithless emphasize the opposite. Jesus healing and healing and healing is to show what we have now, not later. Matthew 8:17 tying this into the atonement makes it doubly so. Johnny makes a category error with his term “glorified body.” It is correct that a glorified body will not experience sickness, but that has no logical or categorical relevance to being healed in this life. Since a glorified body cannot be healed—it is already perfect—healing can only categorically be applied to this life. Since healing is in the atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17) and direct promises guarantee healing on the demand of faith (James 5:15), then our unglorified bodies now are promised health and healing on faith.

Johnny Billy notes that Osteen almost certainly means material gain, emotional happiness, and physical health. This is good. Why is that a problem when the atonement not only included forgiveness but Jesus taking my poverty to give me His wealth, and taking my sickness to give me healing? Why do the faithless like Christians to suffer so much? Because they are the ones helping them to suffer. They are the ones who persecute the ones teaching the gospel and then say the gospel causes persecution.

Beyond the negative critique is the point Osteen makes that is right on the money. We are the light now, not later. We are righteous now, not later. We are the mind of Christ now, not later. We are goodness now, not later. We are lovely now, not later. We have all spiritual blessings now, not later. Our inner man was created in the knowledge of Christ when God caused us to be born from above. We have an incorruptible seed in our inner man right now. Thus, to bring out my inner self is to bring out righteousness, goodness, the mind of Christ, an incorruptible inner man already made in the knowledge of Christ. This is me right now. If this is not you right now, you are not saved and are going to burn in hell forever.

The whole point of water baptism is to demonstrate in ritual that the old man is dead and gone. The sinner Oshea is past tense. The righteous Oshea is present tense. At the end of the day the only mind that matters is God’s mind. The only reason I needed to be saved from sins is because in the mind of God He held a record of sins I committed. It does not matter if I acknowledged this record in God’s mind or not. If God thinks it is true, then it is. But the knife cuts both ways. In God’s mind right now, present tense, He only sees a record of perfection and a God-level rightness on my list. God’s thoughts about me are the only thoughts about me that matter and are true. I am righteous because God thinks I am His righteousness. Faith is agreeing with God.

“God, I agree with You. You think I am God’s righteousness, and so I am. You are correct. You think I am light, goodness, and perfect. I agree with You. You are correct. Thank You for giving me Your one and only Son to save me and make this my new reality. You are so good and so loving to me. Thank You.”

In the passage where Paul says we have the mind of Christ, it says the Spirit is in us to show us all the freely given good things God has given us. The finished atonement of Christ is a total salvation for all of life, both spiritual and material. Thus, for God to bring out the true us would mean to bring out how righteous I truly am, as much as how healthy I am, and how rich I am in Christ. I have rivers of living water in me; thus, to bring out the true me would be to bring out rivers of living water out of me. I have the Spirit; thus, to bring out the true me is to bring out the Spirit of God who anoints us to heal the sick, resurrect the dead, and preach the gospel to the poor. To bring out the true me is to bring out the Spirit who alone knows God. I have the blessing of Abraham; I have God as my exceedingly great reward, which in context is mostly about material blessings. Thus, to bring out the true me is to bring out exceedingly great material blessings.

You are the light. The true you is light. Walk in it. Let the Spirit bring out rivers. Let the finished work produce the health, the wealth, the power, the righteousness that already belongs to you. Agree with God’s mind. The old files are deleted. The new operating system is running. Live as the children of light you already are.

A Deep Relationship with the Sun

Imagine someone boldly declaring, “I have a profound, intimate relationship with the sun.” Yet, when you press them on it, they admit they’ve never felt its warmth on their skin or seen its light chase away the shadows. They might even claim to live in perpetual darkness and chill, as if that’s normal. At that point, you’d have to wonder: is this person outright lying, or are they so deluded that they’ve lost touch with basic reality? Because here’s the unvarnished truth—a relationship with the sun isn’t some abstract notion floating in the ether; it’s defined by experiencing its core attributes. Heat and light aren’t optional add-ons; they are the very essence of what the sun provides. Without them, your so-called “relationship” is nothing but empty words, a hollow shell masquerading as connection. You can’t divorce the sun from its radiance and expect the bond to hold. It’s laughable, really—like claiming to be best friends with a fire but never getting warmed by it. It’s like saying you’re tight with a supernova but still shivering in a black hole.

One of the biggest deceptions in the church today is the idea that forgiveness of sins is the “relationship.” Let’s get this straight: forgiveness is the doorway. It is not the house. To be reconciled is to have the relationship restored, but the act of reconciliation is not the relationship itself.

Think about it like this: if you have a falling out with your spouse and you go through a process of reconciliation, that process is what allows you back into the house. But if, after being reconciled, you choose to stand in the doorway for the next twenty years, never coming into the kitchen, never sitting at the table, never sharing a bed, never being one-flesh through hot sex, and never speaking a word, do you have a relationship? No. You have a so-called legal status, but no reality. It’s like having a VIP pass to a concert but spending the whole night in the lobby checking your phone.

Now, transpose that to the ultimate reality: a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you’re going to claim you know Him, walk with Him, have this so-called “deep connection,” then it better manifest in the tangible blessings He promised. To have a relationship with Jesus is to know and experience healing, prosperity, miracles, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That’s not optional; that’s the definition. Just like you can’t divorce the sun from its heat and light, you can’t sever Jesus from the power He unleashes in a believer’s life. Without those, your “relationship” is a sham, a delusion, or worse—a rejection of the very atonement He provided.

Why must this be spelled out to grown adults who claim to follow Christ? It’s as if we’ve collectively forgotten how relationships function. Picture a married couple who constantly reminisce about their wedding day—the vows, the rings, the initial union—but never share meals, conversations, laughter, or pleasurable sex thereafter. They might frame their marriage certificate on the wall and pat themselves on the back for being “reconciled,” but anyone with eyes to see would call it a farce, a non-relationship cloaked in nostalgia. Honestly, that’s not a marriage; that’s a dusty museum exhibit.

The Lord’s Supper, commanded by Jesus in Luke 22:19-20, presupposes that our daily lives aren’t perpetually glued to the cross in morbid fixation; it’s a periodic remembrance amid a vibrant, ongoing communion. 1 Corinthians 11:26 NIV, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” It’s an occasional proclamation woven into the fabric of active fellowship, not a substitute for it.

A true relationship with Jesus Christ overflows with the tangible manifestations of His presence and power. Just as the sun’s relationship inherently delivers heat and light, knowing Jesus means experiencing healing, prosperity, miracles, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. These aren’t extravagant extras for a select few “super saints”; they are the normative expressions of abiding in Him. John 15:7-8 NASB lays it out as a litmus test for genuine discipleship: “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” Notice the progression—abiding leads to asking, which leads to receiving, which glorifies God and confirms your status as a follower. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky mysticism; it’s relationship 101, where His Word takes root in you, and you respond by believing it enough to ask boldly, knowing God will give it to you. Fruit here isn’t limited to character traits; in context, it encompasses the miraculous answers to prayer that demonstrate God’s power at work through you. And let’s be real, who doesn’t love a good fruit basket full of miracles?

Consider healing, for instance. It’s not a rare lottery win but a promised reality for those in covenant with Christ. Isaiah 53:4-5, fulfilled in the New Testament, declares in the NIV: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Matthew 8:17 confirms this as a present-tense provision: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.'” Peter echoes it in Acts 10:38, describing Jesus’ ministry: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” If your “relationship” with Jesus leaves you oppressed by sickness, without the faith to command it gone in His name, then something’s amiss. It’s like standing in the sun’s blaze but insisting you’re freezing—either denial or delusion at play. God doesn’t send illness to teach lessons; Satan oppresses, and Jesus liberates. To claim fellowship without pursuing and receiving this liberation is to shortchange the King who paid dearly for it.

Prosperity follows suit, not as greedy excess but as divine provision flowing from the same atonement. 2 Corinthians 8:9 in the NKJV states: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” This isn’t spiritualized poverty gospel; it’s a true exchange where Christ’s impoverishment secures our abundance. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 outlines blessings of obedience under the old covenant—fruitful fields, overflowing storehouses, victory over enemies—but Galatians 3:13-14 redeems us from the curse, granting access through faith: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us… He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Abraham’s blessing included material wealth (Genesis 13:2), and we’re heirs (Galatians 3:29). If your relationship with Jesus keeps you scraping by, without the boldness to confess and receive provision as per Philippians 4:19—”And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus”—then you’re lingering at the doorway, not feasting at the table. It’s a disgrace to the Host, who invites us to partake freely. Imagine showing up to an all-you-can-eat buffet and just nibbling on crumbs—talk about missing the point!

Miracles and the baptism of the Holy Spirit seal this relational reality. John 14:12: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Greater works? Jesus said these works are you asking God for something and God giving it, and so it means miracles. Asking for miracles and getting them is an expectation for believers empowered by faith and the Spirit.

Acts 1:8 declares: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This power manifests in miracles, as seen in Acts 19:11-12: “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” The baptism of the Spirit, promised in Acts 2:38-39—”Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call”—equips us for this. 1 Corinthians 14:2,18 highlights praying in tongues as edification: “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” Without this immersion and its fruits—miracles, tongues, prophecy—you’re claiming sun-relationship status while huddled in a cave. It’s like having a superpower suit but leaving it in the closet—why even bother?

It’s utterly useless—and frankly, irritating—to keep parroting “have a relationship with Jesus” without spelling out what that entails. It’s like handing someone a map to buried treasure but never telling them to dig. Some folks boil this down to something merely spiritual, mostly about believing and thanking Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. This is insanity on steroids! Forgiveness is the doorway to the relationship, not the relationship itself. Why do I even need to explain this? Reconciliation restores access; it’s the starting line, not the finish. To be reconciled means the barrier of sin is removed so you can enter into fellowship, but staying parked at the cross, always reminiscing about the date of your salvation, is not fellowship—it’s stagnation.

Because Jesus is no longer on the cross, by definition you cannot have a relationship with Jesus if you stay at the cross. Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of Power, pouring out the power of the Spirit and granting our requests asked in His Name. Because an active relationship requires present engagement with a person, you cannot have a relationship with Jesus without boldly approaching the throne of grace to ask and receive good things and miracles. Jesus on the throne is the only Jesus that exists. Jesus on the cross does not exist anymore. You cannot have a relationship with Jesus on the cross. It is impossible.

Think about it: Jesus commands us to do the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19), which presupposes that normally, you’re not fixated on the cross every waking moment. The cross is the entry point, but the relationship is living in the resurrection power. Paul says in Philippians 3:10 (LEB), “to know him and the power of his resurrection.” Knowing Him includes that power—resurrection life flowing through you, manifesting in healings, provisions, signs, and wonders. Don’t just remember the cross; live the upgraded throne positioned life.

Forgiveness is the doorway, but sitting at the King’s table, feasting on the blessings of God with thankfulness—that’s the relationship. To linger at the doorway when the King has invited you in is a disgrace to His hospitality. It’s like showing up to a banquet, standing in the foyer mumbling about how grateful you are for the invitation, but never touching the food. Grab the bread of healing, pour the wine of joy, claim the meat of prosperity—that honors the King! Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT), “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Rest isn’t idleness; it’s ceasing from your own labors to enjoy His provisions. And hey, what level of dumb turns down free divine catering?

If you insist on camping at the doorway of forgiveness, refusing to step in and experience what He’s prepared, don’t be surprised when He says, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). Knowing implies intimacy, shared experiences. He’ll look at you and say, “I never saw you at the table. I don’t remember giving you healing for that sickness, prosperity to break that poverty cycle, power to cast out that demon, miracles to turn your mess into a testimony. I don’t remember you asking, and then Me giving you what you want. I don’t know you because you never claimed what I died to give.” That’s not harsh; that’s biblical reality. In Matthew 25:12, the foolish virgins are shut out with “I don’t know you” because they weren’t prepared to enter the feast. You are not identified as on team Jesus until you enter in and partake of the good things the King has given you.

Let me hammer this home with another angle, drawing from the Staff of God principle I unpacked in my essay. God gave Moses the staff—His own power delegated—but when Moses whined at the Red Sea, God snapped, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water” (Exodus 14:15-16 NLT). The power was already in Moses’ hand; he just had to use it. Same with us: Jesus has given us His authority (Luke 10:19), His Spirit (Acts 1:8), His blessings (Ephesians 1:3). A relationship means wielding that staff—commanding healing, prosperity, miracles—not begging like a pauper. Moses had a staff; we’ve got the ultimate upgrade kit—don’t leave it in the box!

To stay fixated on forgiveness alone, treating it as the sum total, risks hearing those chilling words from Matthew 7:23: “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Jesus won’t recognize those who never ventured beyond the entryway, never sat at His table to receive healing, prosperity, power, and miracles. He prepared these blessings not as optional luxuries but as integral to knowing Him intimately. God is the God and creator of all things. In our relationship to the Creator and Benefactor of all things, He gives and we receive. There is no other way to have a relationship with the God who creates and controls all things. I hate that I must take time to say this, but sickness is given by Satan, not God. Satan and sickness are bad. God and healing are good. Acts 10:38 says sickness is bad, from the devil, not God, and Jesus who is good takes away sickness. Isaiah 54:15 says if bad people attack you, which is a bad thing, God didn’t send them. God is good and so He will give you something good like protection and victory. He gives good things, you receive good things and miracles. That’s how the relationship works. There is no other God but this God; there is no other relationship to have with God but this one. Think of it like this: if a king invites you into his palace after pardoning your debts, and you camp out in the foyer, refusing the banquet, the chambers, the counsel—how long before he questions your loyalty? It’s not just a rejection of the pardon; it is a rejection of the full relationship he offers; it is a rejection of the man himself.

In closing, a deep relationship with Jesus isn’t some ethereal, feel-good notion. It’s heat and light—tangible, life-changing power. If you’re not experiencing it, repent, believe the promises, and step through the doorway to the table. God’s not consulting you on this; He’s already provided it all through the cross. Claim it, live it, honor Him by enjoying it. If you don’t know the heat of the Spirit and the light of answered prayers and miracles, you do not have a relationship with Jesus. There is no other God but this God. There is no other relationship but this one. So, grab your spiritual sunglasses and step into the sunshine—it’s waiting!