Reign in Life 2

We know from John 1 that Jesus IS the Word and that the Word IS God.

Romans 5:17 says:

'For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will REIGN IN LIFE THROUGH THE ONE, JESUS CHRIST.'

Do the math. If Jesus is the Word, and we reign in life through Jesus, it stands to reason that we reign in life through the Word!

The Word is how we reign. In Proverbs 8 Wisdom tells us that "By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly."

And God's Word IS Wisdom!

Consider this:

'For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His Beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

'For by Him ALL THINGS were created, both IN THE HEAVENS and ON EARTH, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, whether THRONES or DOMINIONS or RULERS or AUTHORITIES—ALL THINGS have been created through Him and for Him.

'He is before all things, and in Him ALL THINGS hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the FIRSTBORN from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

'For it was the Father's good pleasure for ALL THE FULLNESS to dwell in Him, and through Him to RECONCILE ALL THINGS to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether THINGS ON EARTH or THINGS IN HEAVEN.' [Colossians 1:13-20]

Okay...all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by and for Him. Colossians 2:15 tells us, however, that Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of His triumph over them.

Why would He disarm something that belonged to Him? Because someone had taken possession of those thrones illegally, and Jesus cast Him out!

Luke 4—Satan tells Jesus that kingdoms and authorities were delivered to him...by whom? By Adam...Jesus took them back, as the Last Adam and Firstborn of Many Brethren.

Ephesians 12 says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

These are the guerrilla remnants of a defeated enemy! They will try to hold their position until we—the Body of Christ—get rid of them!

Already Seated
We are already seated in Christ Jesus in heavenly places...where exactly is He seated?

'...at HIS RIGHT HAND in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, NOT ONLY IN THIS AGE BUT ALSO IN THE ONE TO COME.

'And He put ALL THINGS in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the FULLNESS OF HIM WHO FILLS ALL IN ALL.' [Ephesians 1:20-23]

Back to How
It is clear that we are to reign in life. Revelations 5:10 says:

"You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."

But it has not always been clear how we are to reign...

We are to reign THROUGH the One, Jesus Christ, the WORD!

The Greek word dia in Romans 5:17 is translated in the NASB as 'through.' So it reads '...reign through the One...'

But it is also translated as with, in, by, by means of, on account of.

So that passage could be read as '...reign in life BY the Word...' or '...reign in life IN the Word...' or '...reign in life WITH the Word...'

And we know we are already IN HIM.

Put the Word in your mouth and reign in life.

Think about it.