Eternal You

We have such a limited view of spiritual reality...a sort of spiritual tunnel vision, if you will. Yes, man was separated from God by his own doing, but Jesus came that we might be reunited with Him. That's the story of the Gospel!

'For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.' [Romans 8:28,30]

He foreknew us! Ephesians 1:4 says '...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.'

Chosen before the foundation of the world! Foreknown! That's more then seeing us through the ages and predicting that we would come to Him...He knew us, before the foundation of the world! We existed then, we exist now, we exist forever on Mt. Zion. [Hebrews 12:22-24]

These are amazing, quantum thoughts, straight from the heart of God! 2 Timothy 1:9 says that His purpose and grace was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity...not for all eternity, but from all eternity! 1 Peter 1:1,2 puts it this way '...who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father...'

He knew us from old; therefore, we existed from old. In Christ, from before the foundation of the world. We are with Him in Revelations and from before the foundation of the world....we are eternal beings, living for a time in these earthen vessels.

In fact, the Greek word for 'eternal' is aionios—without beginning and end, THAT WHICH ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE, never to cease, everlasting. Not just forward, as we tend to think, but backward, too. All things now, now, now. 

Read the book of Ecclesiastes. That which will be, has been.

Or Hebrews 4...God has RESTED FROM HIS WORKS.

Brain cramp.

Who Knew? 
If these things are true, and since they are straight from the Word, they must be, why do we have such limited knowledge? It seems as if we are awake to only a small portion of our lives, eternity, the reality of God and who we are in Christ.

I think this must be what the Holy Spirit was saying in Ephesians 5:13, 14...'But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

When we allow the light of God's Word to shine into our thinking, the realities of the Kingdom are revealed. We can lay aside all preconceived notions and limitations and finally step into our calling—to reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus.

It's Time 
It's time to lay aside our darkened thinking, to renew our minds to the realities of God's will for us. Time to step into His glorious light and realize that we live in two realms of existence...ambassadors in the earth, citizens of Heaven, one Spirit with the Lord. Living here while seated in heavenly places in Christ. Foreknown from the foundation of the earth, with Him at the final trumpet of Revelations. Eternal, one with Him, full of His glory.

And to really bake your brain...

'By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because AS HE IS, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.' [1 John 4:17]

Yes, you read it right. Not only are we living in eternity, now, in the earth and in heavenly places, but we are LIKE HIM, as He is, now, IN THIS WORLD.

Hallelujah!!

Visual Prayer

We are told to have faith in God using our hearts to believe and our mouths to speak.

"Have faith in God.

"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." [Mark 11:22-24]

This is one of Jesus' most quoted passages, but how do you actually do it? What does it really mean to believe you receive?

Seeing the Unseen
Believing you receive is seeing your request as already accomplished from the minute you ask. By using your God-given gift of imagination, you can see the unseen—the promises of God as already fulfilled in your life. If God said it, you can have it...so go ahead and see it as yours!

The world calls this visualization and many successful people credit its use for their amazing accomplishments. Athletes, musicians and business people alike testify to the power of visualizing their accomplishments as the key to their success—many studies have been done to document the impact of visualization on outcomes of various types.

But what is it, really, and how does it relate to the Christian's desire to live by faith?

Imagination is an innate, God-built-in capability that all men and women have. Children do it naturally, but as we grow we are taught to 'be realistic.' We are told to 'grow up' and 'get real,' and rationality is touted as the only reasonable approach to life.

Unfortunately, rationality limits us to our natural abilities. We can only go as far as we are smart, or beautiful, or talented, or rich, or educated, or strong. Our success is checked by how fast we can run or who we know.

But this is man's way, not God's way and is at the very heart of humanism. God's way is supernatural, spiritual, quantum and infinitely abundant.

The Key
Our imagination is the key to seeing into this other, miraculous realm of abundant blessing.

I think part of the reason that we lay aside this marvelous gift is that we see our children doing it. We see them at play, becoming the play, and we encourage their imagination as part of the learning process. But what we don't understand is that it was not given to us to pretend we are Batman when we are 7...that is simply the training wheels stage of our development!

It is given to us to see the unseen—to believe we receive when we pray. It is the key to using our faith to access the things freely given to us by God. I Corinthians 2:12 says 'Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God...'

We know these things—these all things—by the Spirit of God! They are in the spiritual realm, and we access them by faith—by believing in our hearts and speaking with our mouths.

But how do we believe in our hearts? How do we believe we receive?

Be the Ball
It is this amazing ability—the ability to see the unseen, to imagine—that is the key. When we are praying—talking with our Father—we can train ourselves to see the answer from the request. Seeing the end from the beginning, based on the promises of God. Watching it unfold, feeling the joy of accomplishment, living and being in the state of answered prayer from the place of prayer...this is having faith in God and in His Word.

Granted, it may not be easy at first, particularly if you have prided yourself in your own rationality. We tend to get caught up in the 'hows'...how can it be, how will it ever happen, etc. But here's a secret...the Holy Spirit is there, within you, to help you! That's what I Corinthians 2:12 is saying—you don't have to do it alone! In fact, you, as a reborn man or woman, have not only the natural gift of imagination but the supernatural power and help of the indwelling Holy Spirit!

So maybe the first thing you believe is your ability to pray visually. To see yourself at prayer, seeing the unseen, receiving what you desire or need, in accordance with the word of God.

Remember...all the promises of God are 'yes' in Christ! [2 Corinthians 1:20]

Possibilities
This is how "All things are possible to him who believes" [Mark 9:23] takes on real meaning in our lives. Yes, we glibly quote this, usually to others who are struggling, or to ourselves when we face obstacles. But how many are really living examples of this magnificent promise? Unfortunately, to see real people living this way, we need to look to those in the world who have mastered the art of visualization to accomplish great feats. Why is that? Why is that we, spiritual offspring of The Most High God, have to look outside the Kingdom to see people living the promises that belong to us?

I don't really think it is a coincidence. The Church has been hoodwinked, once again, into giving up her power, both collectively and individually. We're beaten down by rationality and political correctness, made to feel stupid when we attempt to live by our faith, jeered at as simple-minded and archaic. Yet these same accusers tout New Age techniques, chief among these being the power of visualization, the channeling of spirits and the quantum theories of parallel universes, the observer effect and the manifestation of physical things! Hello...?? Sound familiar?

The Holy Spirit, writing through Paul, instructs us to lay aside every encumbrance that entangles us [Hebrews 12:1]...to lay aside the old self and be renewed in the spirit of our minds—to put on the new self, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth [Ephesians 4:22-24]. In another passage, He writes 'For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."' [Ephesians 5:14]

In other words, wake up and smell the coffee! Stop being robbed! See the possibilities—all of the 'all things' possibilities—of Kingdom living! Stop listening to the world! Train yourselves to pray visually, believing you receive when you pray. Use the tools you were born with, supernaturally enhanced by the Holy Spirit, to receive the things—the 'all things'—given to you by your Father.

Joy
Jesus explained that joy is the result of answered prayer.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you...These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." [John 15: 7,11]

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." [John 16:24]

'Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.' [Romans 15:13]

David said 'In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.' [Psalm 16:11]

Joy is the result of answered prayer—and your prayer is already answered, in Christ. When you can see that, and experience the feeling of the prayer already answered, imagine your joyful response to its manifestation in the natural, you have believed you received. Speak it, thank God for it...it is done!

[Related posts Believe You Receive, Believe You Receive 2], The Quantum Table, The Quantum Table 2, Let's Pretend, Pull Back the Curtain, Pragma, Quantum Possibilities]

Fear—The Deadly Enemy

I've been re-reading some of the posts on this blog...there's some great stuff here, full of hope and faith.

What stops the wonderful intention of God to bless us in our lives?

I think doubt and unbelief are probably at the root of the problem. Remember, Jesus almost always said to the people He delivered, "Your faith has made you well" or "Be it done to you according to your faith."

But when you take a good look at what's behind doubt and unbelief, you almost always find fear.

And fear is the real problem.

Righteousness 
Isaiah 54:14 tells us "In righteousness you will be established; you will be FAR FROM OPPRESSION, for you WILL NOT FEAR; and from TERROR, for it WILL NOT COME NEAR YOU."

We know, from many New Testament scriptures, that we've been made the righteousness of God in Christ and that we were created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. We're call saints, which in the Greek means most holy ones. And we're one Spirit with the Lord.

According to God [and He's the only one that matters] we are righteous. Even Abraham, that scoundrel, was considered righteous because of his faith in God!

We may not feel righteous because, in the flesh, we're not perfect. Maybe we've just finished screaming at the kids or kicking the cat. Maybe we've just listened to a sermon that has told us what sinners we are.

But in the Spirit, we've been perfected in love! One Spirit with the Lord—crucified with Him, buried in baptism, raised up and seated together with Him in heavenly places! [Ephesians 2, Galatians 2, Colossians 2]

Hallelujah!

So we see that our righteousness is not the problem. Jesus becamerighteousness to us! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

Oppression 
Yet many of us feel oppressed and defeated—joyless, trapped, alone.

Back to Isaiah 54. "...you will be FAR FROM OPPRESSION, for you WILL NOT FEAR; and from TERROR, for it WILL NOT COME NEAR YOU."

Oppression comes from fear! Fear, which we know from Job 4 and 2 Timothy 1, is a spirit. This is a Bible fact, not conjecture from a small group of wackos! [Read Fear]

Now, the interesting thing about this verse is the phrase '...for YOU WILL NOT FEAR...' If you recall, another thing Jesus almost always said to those He was about to deliver was "Fear not."

It seems, from the verse in Isaiah 54 and from Jesus' own ministry that 1) our fear—our response to the spirit of fear—is optional, our choice; and 2) both fear and faith have a direct outcome on whether or not we receive our requests.

So if you're feeling oppressed, you're probably in fear about something. That fear is the root of doubt, which turns quickly into unbelief. And since faith is how we access the blessings that God has already provided, this is a real problem.

Love 
The Holy Spirit, writing through John, has some interesting things to say about the connection between love and fear.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. [1 John 4:15-18]

Okay, so let's put it all together. Fear is a spirit as well as an internal response to that spirit, and it brings oppression. I John 4:18 says it involves punishment.

Fear, like faith, is an attractive force—Job said "For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me." [Job 3:25] And we all know what happened to him!

That's why fear brings oppression—it attracts that which is feared!

According to Jesus, fear is a choice. According to Jesus speaking through John, fear is cast out by perfect love. And love is perfected in us if we abide in God and He abides in us!

Deceiver 
So where's the problem? In our spirits, we are One with Him, seated in Him in heavenly places, with authority over all the power of the enemy. Love is perfected in our reborn spirits and we have the power not to fear.

The problem is deception. Christians, for the most part, reject any part the imagination plays in our lives. We point to New Agers and say because they believe in the power of imagination, it must be wrong.

But they got it from us! I've already written lots on that topic...suffice it to say that we use it every day and it is a powerful component of faith. Satan knows this—he also knows that he has no power over us. So he uses our own power against us.

How? By deceiving us. By showing us pictures of bad stuff happening, by whispering in our ears and telling us it's not going to work for us this time. [Job 4:12]

Agreement 
The concept of agreement is an important one in the Bible. Adam agreed with Satan instead of God and fell. The people agreed to build the tower at Babel and God said "...now nothing they purpose to do will be impossible for them."

God said that! Nothing will be impossible to those who purpose and speak in agreement! And He was talking about mere men, not those reborn of His Spirit!

Jesus said if two agree about anything it would be done for them by His Father!

Faith is agreeing with God. Agreeing that His Word is true and settled forever...already accomplished. Faith believes that what God says is finished, settled, true and available for us in the earth.

Ditto for fear, but in reverse. Fear believes that the deceptions and lies of the enemy are truer than God's word, a kind of inevitable reality. Fear is faith in evil—faith in being abandoned or neglected by God, faith that His Word isn't for us today, faith in the lie that He sends sickness and poverty to teach us something. Fear is faith in His being a capricious tyrant...good to some and awful to others. Whatever will be will be, God is sovereign.

Yikes.

Yes, God is sovereign, and what He decided to do with His sovereignty is to give us the power to reign in life through the One Christ Jesus! He gave us the power to talk to mountains and trees and storms and fish...to heal sick bodies and raise the dead!

He's sovereign, that's true...and His plan is for us is to be His Body in the earth, to be kings and priests and to reign on the earth! [Revelations 5:10]

Agreement is key to walking by faith and defeating fear. Agree with God, even if it's not what you learned in Sunday School, even if your pastor and church friends think you're blaspheming. Agree with Him in your imagination—see yourself blessed, healed, rich, joyful and protected by angels. See the angels ministering to you like they did to Jesus because you are an heir of salvation! [Hebrews 1:13,14; Matthew 4:11]

Agree with His forever settled word in your heart and in your mouth and enter into His rest. Then and only then can you 'fear not' and be far from oppression

Related Posts 
Fear 
What Are The Giants Saying To You 
The Purpose of Fear 
The Purpose of Fear 2 
The Purpose of Fear 3 
The Purpose of Fear 4 
Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled 
Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled 2

One Spirit With The Lord

We are one Spirit with the Lord, we have the mind of Christ, we are clothed with Him in baptism, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are joint-heirs with Jesus. These are all scriptural facts.

Jesus said in John 14:23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."

Then, in verse 26, He explains how this will be done: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." He brings the word to our remembrance, so that we can keep it.

In other words, if we love Jesus and keep His word, we become the abiding place for the Trinity!

Ephesians 3:16-21 describes this in greater detail—the Father strengthens us with power in our inner man through His Spirit—this power is from His riches in glory. This power enables Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and allows us to be rooted and grounded in love.

Referring to John 14, this must mean that the Holy Spirit empowers us to love God and to keep the word. We will then come to a place where we can know, in all dimensions, the love of Christ, and be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Verse 20 reiterates how this is to be done—through the power that works within us! And verse 16 states that this power comes from the rich treasury of His glory [AMP] through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit living within us is the Spirit of God joined to our recreated, reborn spirit—we are an expression of the Godhead in flesh form, just as Jesus was!

And the whole Body of Christ comprises the fullness of God! Therefore we are together a living organism, designed to work together as the fullness of God in the earth, enforcing satan's defeat and putting him under our feet.

More Than We Ask Or Think
Verse 20 says that The Father can do more than we can ask or think...infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts hopes or dreams [AMP] through this power that works within us! Verse 21 tells us why He will do this—that the Father may be glorified in the Church [which is the Body of] and in Christ Jesus.

When we begin to walk in unity, in victory, enforcing satan's defeat through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will be glorified. He is not glorified through strife and defeat!

Ephesians 3:10-12 tells us the purpose of the church clearly:

'...in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.'

Ephesians 6:12 explains that our struggle is against these very rulers and powers in the heavenly places—however, in chapter 2 verse 6, it is emphatically stated that we are seated with Jesus in heavenly places. Ephesians 1:21,22 describe that as being

'...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 fulness of Him who fills all in all.'

Ruling Class
So it is clear that we were created before the foundations of the world to be the instrument to destroy satan. We do this in union with God, empowered by His Spirit, seated in a position of authority and conquest. We are to exercise that authority over the defeated enemy, thus putting him under the feet of Jesus [under our feet, because we are seated with Him, and are His body].

Psalm 110:1-3 prophesies this very scenario—Jesus ruling from and through Zion! Ephesians 1:10 states that we were chosen '...with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth.'

We are to administrate the conquest of satan and his army in heavenly places and here on the earth! Knowing this is essential to victorious living—I John 5:4 says 'For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.' Since we know from Hebrew 11:1 that faith is '...the assurance [the confirmation, the title-deed] of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.' [AMP] Wow!

We must believe that these things are true, that they are ours, and that faith in the spiritual reality of reigning in life through Christ is what brings about our victory! I John 4:4 says 'You are from God, little children, and have [past tense, meaning already] overcome them [evil spirits] because greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world.' Double wow!

Who We Are
Individually, we are also the temple of the Holy Spirit—one Spirit with the Lord, with the mind of Christ, clothed with Him in baptism, the temple of the Holy Spirit—joint-heirs with Jesus. John 14:23 is written for individual believers, while Ephesians 3 is written to the Body as a whole.

But for the Body to function properly, individual believers must first be walking in the fulness of God and in the victory of Jesus, or Body unity and victory will never be a reality. Just as our physical bodies are given life through the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead, so it is with the Body of Christ [Body of the Anointed].

I John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world' and refers to the risen Jesus—we have died and been raised with Him and have already been recreated! Verse 16 of that same chapter states '...God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.'

Colossians 2:9,10 says 'For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority' We are in Him, and He is us, both individually and collectively as the Body of Christ.

Once we begin to understand, individually and collectively, that victory for us and for Him in the world has been God's plan from the start, we can have confidence in our position in Jesus. In Genesis 22:17, God tells Abraham that his seed will possess the gate of their enemies—in Galatians 3:16,He explains that the 'seed' is singular, not referring to the many natural offspring of Abraham, but to Jesus and His Body. Verse 29 reinforces that thought: 'And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.'

We are each one the singular seed of Abraham, because we have been '...created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.' [Ephesians 2:10] Our work is to possess the gates of our enemies—to do victory on satan individually and collectively until he is completely under the feet of Jesus.

Then the end will come.

It Is Finished
However, we must understand this: these things are already accomplished. Jesus' defeat of satan was complete—we are taking back the natural world from him in the name of that defeat, and it will happen because God said it would.

We have already inherited the world—the last will and testament of Jesus says so. David was prophesying future events when he said '...the humble will inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.' [Psalm 37:11]

When we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us. [I Peter 5:6] True spiritual humility is not grovelling in the dirt before God—He created us in His image, as creatures of dominion. True humility is simply the act of doing what Adam did not—believing God and obeying Him—choosing His ways over our own or over the devil's!

And in doing that, we are exalted to be joint-heirs with Jesus, children of the Most High God, seated at His right hand in Christ Jesus, reigning in life through Him. Hallelujah!

One Spirit With The Lord

We are one Spirit with the Lord, we have the mind of Christ, we are clothed with Him in baptism, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are joint-heirs with Jesus. These are all scriptural facts.

Jesus said in John 14:23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."

Then, in verse 26, He explains how this will be done: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." He brings the word to our remembrance, so that we can keep it.

In other words, if we love Jesus and keep His word, we become the abiding place for the Trinity!

Ephesians 3:16-21 describes this in greater detail—the Father strengthens us with power in our inner man through His Spirit—this power is from His riches in glory. This power enables Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith, and allows us to be rooted and grounded in love.

Referring to John 14, this must mean that the Holy Spirit empowers us to love God and to keep the word. We will then come to a place where we can know, in all dimensions, the love of Christ, and be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Verse 20 reiterates how this is to be done—through the power that works within us! And verse 16 states that this power comes from the rich treasury of His glory [AMP] through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit living within us is the Spirit of God joined to our recreated, reborn spirit—we are an expression of the Godhead in flesh form, just as Jesus was!

And the whole Body of Christ comprises the fullness of God! Therefore we are together a living organism, designed to work together as the fullness of God in the earth, enforcing satan's defeat and putting him under our feet.

More Than We Ask Or Think
Verse 20 says that The Father can do more than we can ask or think...infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts hopes or dreams [AMP] through this power that works within us! Verse 21 tells us why He will do this—that the Father may be glorified in the Church [which is the Body of] and in Christ Jesus.

When we begin to walk in unity, in victory, enforcing satan's defeat through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will be glorified. He is not glorified through strife and defeat!

Ephesians 3:10-12 tells us the purpose of the church clearly:

'...in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.'

Ephesians 6:12 explains that our struggle is against these very rulers and powers in the heavenly places—however, in chapter 2 verse 6, it is emphatically stated that we are seated with Jesus in heavenly places. Ephesians 1:21,22 describe that as being

'...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 fulness of Him who fills all in all.'

Ruling Class
So it is clear that we were created before the foundations of the world to be the instrument to destroy satan. We do this in union with God, empowered by His Spirit, seated in a position of authority and conquest. We are to exercise that authority over the defeated enemy, thus putting him under the feet of Jesus [under our feet, because we are seated with Him, and are His body].

Psalm 110:1-3 prophesies this very scenario—Jesus ruling from and through Zion! Ephesians 1:10 states that we were chosen '...with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth.'

We are to administrate the conquest of satan and his army in heavenly places and here on the earth! Knowing this is essential to victorious living—I John 5:4 says 'For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.' Since we know from Hebrew 11:1 that faith is '...the assurance [the confirmation, the title-deed] of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.' [AMP] Wow!

We must believe that these things are true, that they are ours, and that faith in the spiritual reality of reigning in life through Christ is what brings about our victory! I John 4:4 says 'You are from God, little children, and have [past tense, meaning already] overcome them [evil spirits] because greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world.' Double wow!

Who We Are
Individually, we are also the temple of the Holy Spirit—one Spirit with the Lord, with the mind of Christ, clothed with Him in baptism, the temple of the Holy Spirit—joint-heirs with Jesus. John 14:23 is written for individual believers, while Ephesians 3 is written to the Body as a whole.

But for the Body to function properly, individual believers must first be walking in the fulness of God and in the victory of Jesus, or Body unity and victory will never be a reality. Just as our physical bodies are given life through the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead, so it is with the Body of Christ [Body of the Anointed].

I John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world' and refers to the risen Jesus—we have died and been raised with Him and have already been recreated! Verse 16 of that same chapter states '...God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.'

Colossians 2:9,10 says 'For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority' We are in Him, and He is us, both individually and collectively as the Body of Christ.

Once we begin to understand, individually and collectively, that victory for us and for Him in the world has been God's plan from the start, we can have confidence in our position in Jesus. In Genesis 22:17, God tells Abraham that his seed will possess the gate of their enemies—in Galatians 3:16,He explains that the 'seed' is singular, not referring to the many natural offspring of Abraham, but to Jesus and His Body. Verse 29 reinforces that thought: 'And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.'

We are each one the singular seed of Abraham, because we have been '...created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.' [Ephesians 2:10] Our work is to possess the gates of our enemies—to do victory on satan individually and collectively until he is completely under the feet of Jesus.

Then the end will come.

It Is Finished
However, we must understand this: these things are already accomplished. Jesus' defeat of satan was complete—we are taking back the natural world from him in the name of that defeat, and it will happen because God said it would.

We have already inherited the world—the last will and testament of Jesus says so. David was prophesying future events when he said '...the humble will inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.' [Psalm 37:11]

When we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us. [I Peter 5:6] True spiritual humility is not grovelling in the dirt before God—He created us in His image, as creatures of dominion. True humility is simply the act of doing what Adam did not—believing God and obeying Him—choosing His ways over our own or over the devil's!

And in doing that, we are exalted to be joint-heirs with Jesus, children of the Most High God, seated at His right hand in Christ Jesus, reigning in life through Him. Hallelujah!

Partakers of the Divine Nature

We've all heard lots of teaching about 2 Peter 2:3-4, most of it good—there's really no bad way to translate this passage. Read if for yourself:

'Grace and peace by multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His Divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him Who called us by [to] His own glory and excellence. For by [Through which] these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.'

In fact, there's so much here that it's hard to know where to start!

Grace 
Grace, or charis [Gr] means good will, lovingkindness, favor. We usually hear it taught as 'unmerited favor,' meaning that, before we are reborn into the family of God, it is unmerited.

After, of course, we are One Spirit with the Lord, the Body of Christ. And He deserves everything.

Peace
Peace, or eirene [Gr] means many things. From a personal nature, these are the most relevant...security, safety, prosperity, felicity.

Remember—Peter was a Hebrew, which meant that the word 'peace' to him meant shalom [Heb]. As we've seen in earlier articles, shalom means the following:

• completeness
• soundness
• welfare
• peace
• completeness
• safety
• soundness (in body) 
• welfare
• health
• prosperity
• quiet
• tranquillity
• contentment
• friendship of human relationships with God, especially in covenant relationship
• peace (from war)

It is unlikely that Peter thought in Greek. When he said 'peace' he was thinking in Hebrew, no matter how many languages his writings were translated from/into. 

Multiply
Plethuno [Gr], meaning to increase, or multiply.

So far, this is pretty wonderful! God's good will, lovingkindness and favor, and His shalom peace—completeness, soundness in every area of life—increasing in our lives!

How do we access all of this wonderfulness? In the [true] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

Read on...

His Divine Power
'Seeing that HIS Divine power...

Let's stop here for a minute. Power, or dunamis [Gr], means miracle-working power, strength, ability, even the the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth, or power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts. This is BIG power, the power of God Himself! Colossians 1:11 says that we've been strengthened with ALL very miracle-working power! 

And this Divine power '...has granted [past tense] to us everything pertaining to life and godliness...'

Everything, or pas [Gr], meaning each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything.

Life—zoe [Gr]—the life of God, or the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God.

How has this marvelous wonder been granted to us? '...through the true knowledge of Him who called us by [to] His own glory and excellence.'

Glory
These wonders have already been granted to us, and we access them through the knowledge of Him Who called us to His own glory and excellence! We're called to glory, and not just any glory...His OWN glory!

Sounds great...what exactly is the glory of God?

The Greek word is doxa, which means a lot of things...

• opinion, judgment, view
• opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone
• in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory
• splendour, brightness, of the moon, sun, stars; magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace
• majesty
• a thing belonging to God
• the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity
• a thing belonging to Christ
• the kingly majesty of the Messiah
• the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ
• the majesty of the angels as apparent in their exterior brightness
• a most glorious condition, most exalted state, of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth
• the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven

And of course, all of the things that glory means are too wonderful for us to comprehend with our minds. These things must be perceived with our reborn spirits, which are one with the Lord. Called to glory...

But wait, we haven't even gotten to the good part yet!

Precious and Magnificent Promises
'For by [literally through which...which what? Through these--His own glory and excellence, or virtue] He has granted to us His PRECIOUS and MAGNIFICENT PROMISES so that by them [the promises] you may become partakers of the Divine nature...' [2 Peter 1:4]

He has granted us, THROUGH HIS OWN GLORY AND EXCELLENCE, precious and magnificent promises, by which we become partakers of the Divine nature.

PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE! Yes, you read it correctly, right from the scripture. Through the wonderful promises He has already granted us, we become partakers of the Divine nature.

Called to His glory—His Divine power has granted us a way to partake of His Divine nature—through the knowledge of Him and through His Divine promises.

What promises? Pick one...they're all magnificent and precious, and they all belong to us! 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us 'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the GLORY of God through us.' And, good news for us...there are no curses attached to these promises, as there were in the Old Covenant. Jesus bore all of the curse of the law for us! [see Galatians 3]

[A small digression...Amen is a great word. Transliterated directly from the Hebrew into Greek, it probably had no real Greek meaning of it's own until it was used in the New Testament. Paul, in this instance, was a Hebrew speaker and scholar, and would have surely thought 'Amen' in the Hebrew sense, which means 'so be it.' So be it...it is done.]

It's True...
Yes, we're partakers of the Divine nature—not a sin nature, barely excused from hell, but one Spirit with the Lord! We died with Christ and were made alive with Him: He is the only Spirit in these earthen vessels, and He has come with the through the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. [John 14:16-24]

Get over all the old false doctrines that explain how worthless we are. We were purchased, redeemed, with a great price, recreated in the very image and nature of God.

See it, confess it. It's who you are in Christ.

Read One Spirit with the Lord

Partakers of the Divine Nature

We've all heard lots of teaching about 2 Peter 2:3-4, most of it good—there's really no bad way to translate this passage. Read if for yourself:

'Grace and peace by multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His Divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him Who called us by [to] His own glory and excellence. For by [Through which] these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.'

In fact, there's so much here that it's hard to know where to start!

Grace 
Grace, or charis [Gr] means good will, lovingkindness, favor. We usually hear it taught as 'unmerited favor,' meaning that, before we are reborn into the family of God, it is unmerited.

After, of course, we are One Spirit with the Lord, the Body of Christ. And He deserves everything.

Peace
Peace, or eirene [Gr] means many things. From a personal nature, these are the most relevant...security, safety, prosperity, felicity.

Remember—Peter was a Hebrew, which meant that the word 'peace' to him meant shalom [Heb]. As we've seen in earlier articles, shalom means the following:

• completeness
• soundness
• welfare
• peace
• completeness
• safety
• soundness (in body) 
• welfare
• health
• prosperity
• quiet
• tranquillity
• contentment
• friendship of human relationships with God, especially in covenant relationship
• peace (from war)

It is unlikely that Peter thought in Greek. When he said 'peace' he was thinking in Hebrew, no matter how many languages his writings were translated from/into. 

Multiply
Plethuno [Gr], meaning to increase, or multiply.

So far, this is pretty wonderful! God's good will, lovingkindness and favor, and His shalom peace—completeness, soundness in every area of life—increasing in our lives!

How do we access all of this wonderfulness? In the [true] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!

Read on...

His Divine Power
'Seeing that HIS Divine power...

Let's stop here for a minute. Power, or dunamis [Gr], means miracle-working power, strength, ability, even the the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth, or power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts. This is BIG power, the power of God Himself! Colossians 1:11 says that we've been strengthened with ALL very miracle-working power! 

And this Divine power '...has granted [past tense] to us everything pertaining to life and godliness...'

Everything, or pas [Gr], meaning each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything.

Life—zoe [Gr]—the life of God, or the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God.

How has this marvelous wonder been granted to us? '...through the true knowledge of Him who called us by [to] His own glory and excellence.'

Glory
These wonders have already been granted to us, and we access them through the knowledge of Him Who called us to His own glory and excellence! We're called to glory, and not just any glory...His OWN glory!

Sounds great...what exactly is the glory of God?

The Greek word is doxa, which means a lot of things...

• opinion, judgment, view
• opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone
• in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory
• splendour, brightness, of the moon, sun, stars; magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace
• majesty
• a thing belonging to God
• the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler, majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity
• a thing belonging to Christ
• the kingly majesty of the Messiah
• the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellency of Christ
• the majesty of the angels as apparent in their exterior brightness
• a most glorious condition, most exalted state, of that condition with God the Father in heaven to which Christ was raised after he had achieved his work on earth
• the glorious condition of blessedness into which is appointed and promised that true Christians shall enter after their Saviour's return from heaven

And of course, all of the things that glory means are too wonderful for us to comprehend with our minds. These things must be perceived with our reborn spirits, which are one with the Lord. Called to glory...

But wait, we haven't even gotten to the good part yet!

Precious and Magnificent Promises
'For by [literally through which...which what? Through these--His own glory and excellence, or virtue] He has granted to us His PRECIOUS and MAGNIFICENT PROMISES so that by them [the promises] you may become partakers of the Divine nature...' [2 Peter 1:4]

He has granted us, THROUGH HIS OWN GLORY AND EXCELLENCE, precious and magnificent promises, by which we become partakers of the Divine nature.

PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE! Yes, you read it correctly, right from the scripture. Through the wonderful promises He has already granted us, we become partakers of the Divine nature.

Called to His glory—His Divine power has granted us a way to partake of His Divine nature—through the knowledge of Him and through His Divine promises.

What promises? Pick one...they're all magnificent and precious, and they all belong to us! 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us 'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the GLORY of God through us.' And, good news for us...there are no curses attached to these promises, as there were in the Old Covenant. Jesus bore all of the curse of the law for us! [see Galatians 3]

[A small digression...Amen is a great word. Transliterated directly from the Hebrew into Greek, it probably had no real Greek meaning of it's own until it was used in the New Testament. Paul, in this instance, was a Hebrew speaker and scholar, and would have surely thought 'Amen' in the Hebrew sense, which means 'so be it.' So be it...it is done.]

It's True...
Yes, we're partakers of the Divine nature—not a sin nature, barely excused from hell, but one Spirit with the Lord! We died with Christ and were made alive with Him: He is the only Spirit in these earthen vessels, and He has come with the through the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. [John 14:16-24]

Get over all the old false doctrines that explain how worthless we are. We were purchased, redeemed, with a great price, recreated in the very image and nature of God.

See it, confess it. It's who you are in Christ.

Read One Spirit with the Lord

Enter His Rest Today

Read Hebrews 3, 4

Hebrews 3 and 4 have a lot to say about the rest of God. We know that He has rested from His works [4:10] and that those works were finished from the foundation of the world [4:3]

We were given the example of the Israelites, who were unable to enter the Promised Land—His covenant promise to them, His rest for them—because of disobedience [3:18]. And we see that disobedience stems from unbelief [3:19].

Paul further explains in verse 4:2 that '...the WORD they heard did NOT profit them, because it was not UNITED BY FAITH in those who heard.'

In other words, they had the promise of God, but did not accept it by faith. He had a specific rest for His natural people...a land flowing with milk and honey, a place of abundance and peace. But they just didn't believe His Word, and faith united with His Word is what brings spiritual blessings into manifestation in the earth.

Faith Is...
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the assurance—the substance, that which has actual existence—of things hoped for, the conviction, or proof, of things not seen.

In the case of Hebrews 4:2, God's Word is the unseen reality that Israel did not unite with their faith. They couldn't see it so they didn't believe it, and did not enter God's finished work prepared specifically for them!

We know from Psalm 119:89 that His Word is settled forever...Isaiah 40:8 says the Word of our God stands forever. What we see in Hebrews 4 is that His Word is in reality a finished work! A finished work that He has rested from, finished from the foundation of the world!

AND a finished work that He desires us to enter into by faith! This is the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world [Matthew 25:34], the place prepared for us by Jesus Himself [John 14:2].

In other words, His Word is a completed work, a rest for us to enter into...and Jesus IS the Word! In Jesus, all the promise of God are yes [2 Corinthians 2:20]

All Things
Consider these:

'He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?' [Romans 8:32]

'Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.' [Luke 12:32]

"...with God all things are possible." [Matthew 19:26

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." [Matthew 21:22]

"All things are possible to him who believes." [Mark 9:23]

"All things are possible with God." [Mark 10:27]

"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." [Mark 11:24]

'...and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be greed through the Law of Moses.' [Acts 13:39]

'But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through HIm Who loved us." [Romans 8:37]

'...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:22,23]

'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

'I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.' [Philippians 4:13]

'...God, Who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.' [1 Timothy 6:17]

So it would seem that our rest, the covenant promise prepared beforehand for us, is all things.

The Kingdom
Colossians 1 puts it this way:

'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.' [Colossians 1:13-17]

We are in Him, and He is in us.

Jesus, the fulfillment of every promise, is our rest. He is the completed work...it is finished. Everything we need, all that we desire, every blessing is in Him and is finished for us.

Rest Now
So Hebrews 4:11,12 advises us 'For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.'

When we are diligent to enter the rest of God's already fulfilled promises for us, we rest from our works. We access our Promised Land by uniting His Word with our faith...and that faith is the faith of God Himself! We were crucified with Him—He was reborn in us! We are one Spirit with the Lord, and Jesus said that He and the Father would abide in us by the power of the Holy Spirit! [John 14]

So the faith that resides in our reborn spirit is that of the indwelling Trinity! We can't lose!

Choose life. Choose faith. Choose to believe His Word and enter His rest. Enter into the works finished for you from the foundation of the world.