He Did It All For You (4 page)

You are in the Body of Christ here on earth. If you are in His Body, then you are in Him. You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. In the eyes of God you are holy and blameless, beyond reproach and without rebuke. You, as a believer, are to hold forth the Word of life in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

If you have a working revelation of your redemption in Christ Jesus, there is not one prayer that needs to go unanswered nor any need that has to go unmet. When you see that your inheritance contains a complete redemption from the curse of the Law, you will want to close the door to Satan and to the things of this world. You are redeemed from the curse, so don’t allow it to operate in your affairs.

Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” You need to see yourself in Him, the way the Word says you are.

John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (1 John 3:2). When?
Now!
Paul wrote in Galatians 4:7, “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

God’s Word has the power to give you an inheritance. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” God has already unleashed in your life all the blessings heaven has to offer. They are already yours! But He won’t force them on you. You have to accept your inheritance in Christ Jesus and allow it to be a part of your life before you will be able to walk in it.

Living in Righteousness

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit [or to know], that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation…. For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

When you become a new creature, your spirit is completely re-created. Old things are passed away, all things become new, and all things are of God. You need to realize that you are not a spiritual schizophrenic—half God and half Satan—you are all God. The problem area is not in your spirit but in your mind and body. It is every believer’s responsibility to renew his mind with God’s Word, and then use that Word to control his body. Look at Ephesians 4:20-24:

But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, he explained that they had been delivered from their sinful flesh and re-created in righteousness. It was now their responsibility, as an act of their will, to put on the new man in Christ and stop the works of the flesh. The same principle applies to you and me as believers today. We have been re-created by God in the spirit, but we must take the Word of God and use it to renew our minds and control our flesh.

Just knowing that you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ is not enough. You need to have a full understanding of what righteousness is and what it means to you as an individual believer. Many sincere Christians are living far below their privileges in Christ simply because they do not understand their place as a child of God. Righteousness is one of the most vital areas in the Christian walk. Without a knowledge of righteousness, you will never obtain all that is yours in God.

The word translated
righteousness
literally means “to be in right-standing.” When a person receives Jesus as Lord of his life, he is made righteous. By being brought into right-standing with God, every believer is given certain privileges or rights as God’s child.

Some people confuse righteousness with holiness, but righteousness has nothing to do with the way you act. Holiness is your conduct; righteousness is what you are—the nature of God. You didn’t come into right-standing with God by being good or acting right. It was faith in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work at Calvary that brought you into right-standing with God.

Your position in the Body of Christ can be compared to the position of a citizen of the United States. An American citizen has certain rights outlined in the Constitution called “The Bill of Rights.” Had the American forefathers been using Old English terminology, they would have called it, “the Bill of Righteousness.” As long as you are obedient to the laws of the land, you are a citizen in right-standing with the United States government.

The same principles apply to you as a child of God. Being a believer (being in Christ Jesus) makes you a citizen of the kingdom of God and entitles you to everything in that kingdom. The Bible is your spiritual “bill of righteousness,” outlining all the rights and privileges available to you. Whether or not you partake of your rights is another matter. Ignorance will rob you of the abundant life that is freely available to you.

The best illustration of this is the story of the man who saved for years to be able to buy a boat ticket to America. Once he had saved enough, he bought his ticket and boarded the ship. Since he didn’t have any money left for food, he brought along some crackers and cheese. Every evening at mealtime, he would look into the dining room at the other passengers enjoying their food, then he would return to his cabin and eat his crackers and cheese. The day the ship docked in New York harbor, a steward came to him and said, “Sir, have we offended you in any way? I noticed that you didn’t eat any of your meals in our dining room.” The man answered, “Oh, no! You see, I didn’t have enough money for meals so I ate in my room.” Then the steward said, “But sir, your meals were included in the ticket!”

As Christians, we have an abundance of privileges available to us. They were bought and paid for by Jesus at Calvary. But if we don’t know it, how can we take advantage of them?

In Ephesians 6:10-17, the Apostle Paul is describing the armor of God.
One of the most important pieces of this armor is the breastplate of righteousness
. A breastplate covers the vital parts of a soldier’s body. Your right-standing with God acts as that breastplate. It covers the vital part of a Christian’s identity—his right to the authority provided for him in Jesus Christ. You need to put on your breastplate of righteousness and wear it victoriously. It will bring the force of righteousness into operation on your behalf.

One of your rights in the kingdom is answered prayer. According to 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.” James 5:16 says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” When you pray in faith, you have a right to expect your heavenly Father to answer.

Developing what I call a “righteousness consciousness” will cause you to live an overcoming, victorious life. Jesus was in right-standing with the Father during His earthwalk and the results He obtained were outstanding. As a child of God and with Jesus, you should expect to receive the same results. Jesus Himself said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

Spend time in God’s Word and find out for yourself what rights you have. When you do, righteousness will become an active, powerful force in your life.

Standing in a Position of Authority

One of the hardest things for people to understand and receive is living from a position of authority.

When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, Colossians 1:13 says you were delivered from the power of darkness. The word
power
is literally translated
authority
. You have been delivered from the power, or authority, of darkness and placed into God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God includes both heaven and earth. Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore” (Matthew 28:18-19). That power was given to you as part of your inheritance in Christ Jesus. You have entered into this position of authority because you are in Him.

The Word says that righteousness has come upon all men (Romans 5:18). You may ask, “Then why don’t all men become righteous?” Because in order to receive it, you have to act on righteousness from the position of authority.

On November 2, 1962, I used my authority as a human being and made a choice. I made the decision to receive Jesus as Lord of my life. At that moment, the righteousness that had been upon me came inside me. I was
made
the righteousness of God in Christ. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Because you have made Jesus your Lord, the new birth is now a reality in your spirit. You have been made the righteousness of God in Him. God wants to treat you like that. He wants to treat you as if you had never sinned. He sent Jesus to the cross to bear your sin, to completely wash away the sin that had been in you. Because you are in Jesus, God sees you the same way He sees Jesus. He wants to treat you like He treats Jesus—so let Him!

God’s power is in His Word. He is upholding all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). You need to learn to minister and walk from a position of authority. In His earthwalk, Jesus said such things as, “Be thou made whole. Take up your bed and walk.” Then to a lame man Peter said in Acts 3:6, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” He, too, ministered and spoke from a position of authority.

It’s time for you as a believer to begin to act that way. You have obtained an inheritance, and in that inheritance you have been given all authority. The God of the universe lives inside you! He lives and walks in you. Become God-inside-minded and you will begin to walk in this point of authority.

Keep right on building yourself up in your inheritance. You live in a world that is full of evil influences. Satan wants to see to it that you forget the reality of being born again. When you see in the Word who you are in Christ Jesus, then confess it with all of your heart. Then you will be strong, standing in a point of authority and operating in your inheritance in Him.

Let This Mind Be in You

Philippians 2:5-6 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” You are to think the way Jesus thought. He didn’t think it robbery to be equal with God.

Then verse 8 says, “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” You have to humble yourself. No one else can humble you. You are to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and at the same time, keep in mind that you are a joint heir with Jesus (1 Peter 5:6; Romans 8:17).

Kings and Priests

According to Romans 8:29, Jesus is “the firstborn among many brethren.” Glory to God! Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God. Revelation 1:5-6 describes Jesus as “the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” You have been made a king and a priest unto God because of Jesus and the inheritance that He provided for you.

From the book of Acts to the Revelation of John, Jesus is known as
the first begotten from the dead.
If there is a firstborn, then there has to be a second born, a third born, a fourth born, etc. Every believer is counted as a child of God. We are members of God’s family and heirs to all He has.

Jesus has made you a king and a priest. He has made you the righteousness of God in Him. In Him, you are
the accepted
. In Him, you are
the beloved
. You are His chosen and His elect—a royal priesthood that has been bought with His blood and made His own child.

First John 4:17 says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” As He is, so are you in this world! Because you have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary and received Him as your Lord, you have the power and the authority to walk in the inheritance that He made available to you. But if you don’t know what is yours and what belongs to you, you won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of it. Find out what is included in your inheritance in Christ Jesus and then resist any influence that would try to convince you otherwise.

Luke 12:31-32 says, “Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”—the whole kingdom! When the reality gets down in your heart that you are an heir of Almighty God, that He has given you the whole kingdom and has instructed you to seek first that kingdom, then all the benefits of your inheritance will be added to you and you will grow and develop in God’s Word.

However, you will never receive any portion of your inheritance until you begin to acknowledge it. With your thoughts, your words and your actions, you acknowledge the fact that you are in Christ Jesus, that you have received an inheritance, that you have the right to walk in all the blessings and promises of God’s Word. Acknowledge the things of God and allow the assurance of them to enter into your heart. Then see them become a part of your life in every area.

How have you been approaching God…on the level of a king or a beggar? Are you backing your way into the presence of God, hoping to get a handout?

When you made Jesus your Lord, He made you able to stand in the presence of the Father God as a king and a priest, not as a beggar—as the righteousness of God in Christ, not as a sinner. You have been redeemed out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. You have been redeemed into kingship and priesthood. You are a king and a priest in Christ Jesus!