Let's Pretend

I know I’ve posted this a few times before, but it’s such a great exercise in faith that I’m putting it up here again. Enjoy!

Ok, let's play a game.

Let's pretend that everything in the Bible is true. Close your eyes...we're going to pretend that we are filled up to all the fulness of God, and that everything we say comes to pass. [Ephesians 3, Mark 11]

The Hebrew word dabar means both word and thing...so let's pretend that everything that comes out of our mouths are actual little whole things that float out like bubbles and go 'pop' and land fully grown on the earth! The Bible calls the Word of God seed…

Let's pretend that Satan has been stripped of his weapons and that we have authority over all his power...that all he can do is deceive us, and we don't fall for it, ever. No matter how things look, we have the power to see the invisible provision that is all around us. See how he runs away from us! See how the Blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony overcomes him? [In a court of law, testimony is a statement of what has already happened…]

Living in The Answer

I closed my eyes to ask/declare/confess one more time the things that I was ‘believing’ for and I heard/felt/saw “You’re not living in the answer, the Yes. I promised to answer your prayers.”

“You pray—ask or confess—My Word, but then immediately begin to worry, resulting in needless repetition, which only leads to a downward spiral of doubt and fear. I said to trust Me.”

“To live in the answer is to enter My rest.”

OMG.

What did He say at the tomb of Lazarus, when all looked lost? “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me…” and then He raised him from the dead!

His attitude was one of peace and faith in the finished work of His answered prayer, even though his disciples and the sisters were doubting Him. He stood fast, believing that the answer was already Yes! Read the complete account in John 11.

How could He do that? Because 1) He knew His Father, and knew that His Father considered death an enemy; 2) He WAS The WORD made flesh, and that WORD said “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive:” and 3) He knew that every promise of God was YES—and one of those promises was ‘With long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation!’ [1 Corinthians 15:26; John 1:1,14; Matthew 21:22; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Psalm 91:16]

How Do You Do It?
So of course my next question was, ‘Great…how exactly do I do that?’

And I knew the answer—simple faith. Seeing the finished work based on the YES promises of God—what it would look like if it had already come to pass—and choosing with my mouth to believe YES and AMEN to the glory of His works manifested through me by answered prayer.

I BELIEVE I RECEIVE THIS DAY, for today is the day of salvation, and every promise is YES and the AMEN to the glory of God through me!

And then give thanks for the finished work.

Let’s watch Abraham do it…

‘In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO shall your descendants be.”

‘Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.’ [Romans 4:18-21]

I REFUSE TO WAVER IN UNBELIEF BUT GROW STRONG IN FAITH, GIVING GLORY TO GOD…I AM FULLY ASSURED THAT WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED HE IS ABLE—STRONG, MIGHTY, POWERFUL—TO PERFORM!

And lest you say ‘Yes, but that was Abraham…’ remember—we ARE the descendants of Abraham, blessed with him, in Christ! [Galatians 3:9,29]

An Aside…
I think the translation of the word able [Gr. dunatos] can be a little misleading, because today in our common usage, the word able does not always mean willing. This results in an uneasiness about God’s will—we know that He is able but is He willing?

Dunatos comes from dunamai—to be able, to have power. Another word derived from dunamai is dunamis—miraculous power, might, strength.

According to Stong’s dictionary, dunatos actually means strong, mighty, powerful. In this passage the word able is referring to His power and ability, not His will.

Another place where this occurs is in the great promise of Ephesians 3:20,21…

‘Now to Him who is able [dunamai—to be able, to have power] to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power [dunamis—miraculous power, might, strength] that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.’

Because in common vernacular today we separate ability from willingness, this particular use of dunamai causes doubt in His willingness to use His mighty power for us.

Which, when you think about it, is kinda dumb, because why else would He promise it?

Live in the Answer
Anyway, getting back to the topic, live in the answer, the finished work, when you pray. Live in the Yes and Amen—truly, so be it—to His glory being seen through us by His precious and magnificent promises!

Hallelujah!

The I AM Principle

Originally published on June 26, 2009 as The Great I AM and later re-published in 2011 and 2012 as The I Am Principle. This is once again updated and improved, and even longer than before!

I AM
God is all the things He says He is, and He is them for all eternity, past, present and future. He is them to us, individually and collectively as the church, and His Word is settled forever. [Psalm 119:89] Eternity is not linear and not uni-directional!

In fact, the instant the words 'I AM...' [fill in the blank] came out of His mouth, He was that very thing! He cannot lie, because the second He speaks, His words become reality!

His names were not only a description of Who He was, but in declaring them, He became the substance of each name! Here are just a few:

Jehovah Jireh—The Lord will Provide
Jehovah Shalom—The Lord is Peace
Jehovah Tsidkenu—The Lord our Righteousness
Jehovah—The Lord my Banner [military reference]
Jehovah Ro'i—The Lord my Shepherd

And because our new self is created in the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness of the truth [Ephesians 4:24], we are also the things He says we are now! He is the great I AM...we are I am's, too. In Ephesians 5:1 we are told to be imitators of God, as beloved children; therefore, we are to be like Him. I John 4:17 says '...as He is, so also are we in this world.'

Be like Him
We are one Spirit with Him—He is in us, and we are in Him. [see Stop Begging—It's Inside!] In fact, Peter writes '...for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.' [1 Peter 1:23] We are born of the same seed planted in the womb of a young virgin, 2000 years ago!! He is the Word, and we are the Word multiplied!

In fact, The Father Himself told us how to change our lives...'Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."' [Joel 3:10] The books of Psalms and Proverbs are filled with references to the power of our speech—and Jesus told us to talk to mountains and trees.

One great example is Gideon...God's angel called him 'valiant warrior' when he was anything but. [Judges 6:12] And a valiant warrior is exactly what he became. But remember, there is no time in eternity, and eternity is forward and back, up and down. So he was really a valiant warrior, even before the angel gave him the Word of the Lord. His works were finished from the foundation of the world!

God changed Abram's name to Abraham...the Father of a multitude when he had no children. [Genesis 17:5] Ditto the above—he was made a Father of a multitude BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!

[sorry for shouting, but it's really just too much to think about sometimes]

And then there's Peter...Jesus called him 'Rock' when he was the most volatile of His disciples! Unstable and impulsive, Jesus called him what he was created to be, or more exactly, was FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!

Think about the prophecies in the Old Testament...each one calling Jesus what He would be, even though He was yet to come. And so it is with us...God has called us many wonderful things in the Word that

Can you see it? God, the Great I AM is telling us to proclaim who we are…”I AM a mighty man!” “By His stripes, I AM healed.” “I AM the righteousness of God in Christ!” He told us to see the unseen—the already accomplished promises of God—and speak them into existence! We are told to '...put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.' [Ephesians 4:24]

Always remember…1) His works were finished from the foundation of the world [Hebrews 4:3] and 2) ALL the promises of God are YES in Him! We are the I AM of His Word because we are one Spirit with His Word! [John 1:1, Revelation 19:13; 1 Corinthians 6:17]

Hallelujah!

Just Be
Just be. Be what the Word says, just because it says so, because it is forever settled, finished from the foundation of the world.

Just be. Don't try to be, or have. Just be. Be healed, be rich, be love. Be One Spirit with the Lord. Be seated in heavenly places in Him...

God doesn't have love, He IS love. He doesn't have power, He IS power. Jesus doesn't have the Word, He IS the Word...and we are the Word multiplied, His Body in the earth.

And He has decreed exactly what we are, just as He decreed "Light, be!" in the beginning.

Be the Word.

Paradigm Shift
What we need is a paradigm shift in our thinking. Instead of thinking the same old way we did before the New Birth, it’s time to put on the Mind of Christ. Put it on, on purpose, because according to 1 Corinthians 2:16, it is is a present possession.

How do we put it on? The same way everything is accomplished in the Spirit…see the unseen—believe—and speak. Also known as FAITH! See it as real today in the unseen realm of the Spirit and speak it out. Faith is the assurance, of things hoped for or expected…the conviction or evidence of THINGS NOT SEEN. [Hebrews 11:1, author’s notes]

Did you know that ‘By His [the Father’s] doing you ARE IN Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption…’

It was God’s doing, and became is past tense. Which means we qualify for every promise related to those traits because we ARE those things now.

Jesus said it clearly in Matthew 5:48…”Therefore, you are to BE perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul re-phrased it a little: ‘…in Him you have been made—past tense—complete…’ [Colossians 2:10]

Furthermore, words are spirit, spoken forth into the natural, or physical, realm.

We know this because Jesus said that His words were spirit [John 6:63] and we know that unclean spirits come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet as well. [Revelations 16:13]

It’s not just Jesus’ words that are spirit…ALL words are spirit. And they have a creative effect in the natural, physical world. But His words are LIFE as well…zoe, the absolute fulness of life, belonging to God, real and genuine [from NAS Greek Lexicon].

Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power [Hebrew yad, or hand] of the tongue!

Out of the heart we bring forth things, both good and evil, through the mouth. [Matthew 12:34,35; Luke 6:45]

This is what we must come to understand to put the I AM principle into action. [see Think Like Jesus]

Glory?
It is imperative that we develop a consciousness of who and what we are now. Eternity is not a time-oriented existence.

Colossians 1:13 says the we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son. These things have already taken place, and we are eternal beings, recreated in our Father's image! We are everything that He says we are now, and satan is forever defeated in our lives now!

2 Corinthians 3:17,18 says: 'Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.' What this means is this: as we behold His glory, we are transformed into the same image by the power of the Holy Spirit. Same image! Hallelujah!

In fact, just before His death, Jesus prayed for us. "The glory which You have given Me, I have given to them, that they may be on, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world my know that You sent Me, and love them, even as You have loved Me.”

Yes, in the Old Covenant, God said that He would not give His glory to another [Isaiah 48:11], and we here that preached on a regular basis. But we are not another! We are one with Him and He has already given His glory to us!!

The whole idea of salvation was to bring many sons [Gr. huios, meaning offspring of man] to Glory! Jesus was the last Adam, and the Firstborn of Many Brethren!

The Great I AM spoke the Word—the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us. Then the Word multiplied and grew daily.

Now
Therefore, realizing that we are now members of the kingdom of God, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is sight...it is seeing into the kingdom of God and walking by what God says instead of walking by natural sight, which is fixed on a dying and decaying fallen world.

It is the eternal view, from God's viewpoint. He sees our needs met now, and so should we. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, and Romans 10:17 says it comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. This is spiritual hearing, hearing what Jesus says to you—rhema, or the spoken word of God, which comes out of logos [the written word of God].

It is His will that we awaken from our sleep and become strong sons and daughters, administering His Kingdom on the earth [Ephesians 1:10]. He desires that we come to the place where we see everything that He has said is true now, and has called us to reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus. [Romans 5:17]

Hallelujah!

Read Be the Ball, Think Like God, Think Like God 2, Keys of The Kingdom, Decreed, Meditations & Confessions, Substance, Partakers of the Divine Nature, One [more]

 

The Purpose of Discouragement

We've been brainwashed to believe that discouragement is a fact of life...you win some, you lose some, sigh. Things don’t always work out, it might not work for you, blah blah blah, sigh.

Cry.

But what does the Word say?

‘For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.’ [Numbers 32:9]

‘Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building…’ [Ezra 4:4]

"’For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, "They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done."’ [Nehemiah 6:9]

‘Then the officials said to the king, "Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm." [Jeremiah 38:4]

It is clear from these passages that the purpose of discouragement is to stop us from possessing the promises of God or succeeding in His will for us. Which, actually, are the same thing…if it wasn’t His will for us to enjoy His promises, He wouldn’t have made them! But that’s another topic for another time…

We know that all of the promises of God are YES in Him [1 Corinthians 6:17] and that His works were finished from the foundation of the world [Hebrews 4:3] We know that His Word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and that He watches over His Word to perform it [Jeremiah 1:12]. In fact, He said:

‘So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth ; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.’ [Isaiah 55:11]

So when you’re feeling discouraged, remember…it’s one and only purpose is to stop you in your tracks! It is NOT for your well-being but for your harm.

To stop His Word from succeeding in the matter for which He sent it.

So What To Do?
Do the Word…

‘Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ [Deuteronomy 1:20]

Watch the Word…

‘…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’ [2 Corinthians 4:18]

‘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.’ [Colossians 1:13-16]

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.’ [Hebrews 11:27]

Cry out…

“To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” [Psalm 50:5]

Praise the Lord…

‘When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.’ [2 Chronicles 20:22]

Live in His peace…

‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ [John 14:27]

Hallelujah!

He Rejoices Over You, O Beloved!

If you’re a parent, you will remember the exultant joy you felt when you first held that baby. It’s a feeling that is quite indescribable to those who haven’t experienced it. It’s pure, unadulterated joy…

Do you know that God the Father feels that way about you?

Let’s look at this a step at a time [because I can hear the mob forming outside my door…]

First, He declared Jesus to be His Beloved Son…

‘After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “ This is My BELOVED Son*, in whom I am well-pleased.”’ [Matthew 3:16,17; also Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35]

*Or My Son, the BELOVED…

‘But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:“Behold, MY Servant whom I have chosen; MY BELOVED in whom MY soul is well-pleased…”’ [Matthew 12:18]

‘While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My BELOVED Son, with whom I am well- pleased; listen to Him!”’ [Matthew 17:5]

‘For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My BELOVED Son with whom I am well- pleased”’ [2 Peter 1:17]

Now guess what? You are His BELOVED, as well!

‘…to all who are BELOVED of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.’ [Romans 1:7]

‘He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us IN the BELOVED.’ [Ephesians 1:5,6]

‘Therefore be imitators of God, as BELOVED children…’ [Ephesians 5:1]

‘So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and BELOVED, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…’ [Galatians 3:12]

‘…knowing, brethren BELOVED by God, His choice of you…’ [1 Thessalonians 1:4]

‘But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren BELOVED by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.’ [2 Thessalonians 2:13]

“I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, AND LOVED ME, EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME.” [John 17:23]

We are IN Him, by God’s doing! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

‘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 know that, if you’ve been in the Church for any amount of time, you’ve heard that God loves you.

But do you really thing of yourself as Beloved? Probably not. We’ve been beaten over the head with so many heresies about how God sees us or doesn’t see us. But the Biblical truth is that we are His BELOVED! Doesn’t that just warm your heart?

He looks at us IN His Son, Jesus—we have BEEN MADE the righteousness of God IN HIM—complete, IN HIM, The BELOVED. Just as you instantly loved that newborn infant placed into your arms, even more He loves us—really loves us, as His BELOVED—not as some Christian catch phrase.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?” [Matthew 7:11]

Notice Jesus, when talking to the crowd, called His Father “Your Father…” Hallelujah, we’re His BELOVED children!!

And remember Zephaniah 3:17…

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

Hallelujah!!

Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled

After Judas left the Passover table to betray Him, Jesus instructed His disciples about the days and years to come.

In John 14-17, we see Him telling them all the things they they will need to know during this intense time, and in doing so, He has encapsulated the most important things for us as well. He tells us about the indwelling Trinity—He, the Father and the Comforter would come and live within us. He tells us that anything we ask will be granted by the Father.

He gives us His glory, and explains the importance of abiding in Him. He reiterates the assurance of answered prayer, as if He knew that one would be the hardest for us to really believe.

Never Let...
He starts off by telling them "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God believe also in Me."

Later in the same chapter, He reiterates ‘do not let your heart be troubled’ and adds ‘nor let it be fearful.’ He is, in a way, clarifying what it means to have a troubled heart—fear.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it—your heart—be fearful.” [John 14:27]

The Greek word me is translated here as 'do not let' or, in the KJV 'Let not' is translated 33 times in the NT as 'never.' If we read the verse that way, it is "Never [let] your heart be troubled..." or better yet, "Never your heart be troubled..."

Never is one of those absolute words. No gray shades about it, never means never, not ever, no chance, period. What is He saying? In the words of David Crosby, don't give in an inch to fear. Don't let it start, don't let it grow, don't let it hang around.

A Spirit of Fear
We've seen in earlier posts that fear is a spirit. Job describes it perfectly...

"Now a word was brought to me stealthily, and my ear received a whisper of it. Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, and made all my bones shake.

"Then a spirit passed by my face; the hair of my flesh bristled up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice..." [Job 4:12-16]

Of course, then, the spirit of fear goes on to tempt Job with lies about God.

It's interesting to notice that this spirit is not coming from within but from without. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us 'For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.' The KJV translates the Greek word dielia as fear...the NT Greek Lexicon translates it as timidity, fearfulness, cowardice.

Romans 8:15 calls it a spirit of slavery...

The Spirit given to us is the very Spirit of God...we are one Spirit with the Lord! [2 Corinthians 6:17] And we see that it is a Spirit of 1) power, 2) love and 3) discipline. Colossians 1:11 says that we are strengthened with all power...ALL POWER! Not just a little power, not just natural power, but ALL POWER!

If we experience any kind of fear—timidity, fearfulness, cowardice, any kind of anxiety or worry—we know that 1) it's not from God our Father and 2) it's not coming from within us but is the result of an external spirit of fear.

Don't Leave Yet...
Okay, I can hear the wacko alarms going off out there, but bear with me. Everything I've written so far is directly from the Word. And evil spirits are a Bible fact.

But there's good news! In Luke 10:19 Jesus told His disciples "Behold [look], I have given [past tense] you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you."

Authority over ALL the POWER of the ENEMY! And they weren't even reborn yet...we've got God inside and have been strengthened with ALL POWER!

In John 17:20, Jesus prayed for His disciples and all who would believe in Him through their word...He didn't give them one thing and us another! We have the authority in His Name—not as a talisman, or lucky coin, or rabbit's foot—we are ONE with Him, and wear His Name as His Body in the earth! We have authority because He has authority, and we wear and use His Name as a wife wears and uses the name of her husband...well, used to, in the olden days.

Control Yourself...
Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit was a Spirit of power, love and discipline. He knew what the fruits of the Spirit were, '...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...'

And then there's 2 Timothy 1:7...

'For God has not given us a spirit of timidity [fearfulness, cowardice], but of POWER and LOVE and DISCIPLINE [self-control].' 

So when He tell us to NEVER let our hearts be troubled, He knew that we would be capable of doing it. The disciples really didn't get it—when the soldiers took Jesus, they ran off and hid. Peter was the only one with enough nerve to go after Him...but he succumbed to fear, too. After Jesus died, some of the disciples went back to fishing! In the couple of days He was buried!

They didn't get it, just like we don't get it. Modern psychology has us so twisted in our thinking that we don't think we can control our emotions...we're not supposed to suppress them, that would be denial!

Live in Denial
I'm here to tell you, go ahead...live in denial! Deny the spirit of fear any place in your life. Deny it's every attempt to dominate you. Deny, or forbid, it to come near you.

Jesus has give us the keys of the kingdom. Whatever we bind, or forbid, on earth shall have been bound, or forbidden, in Heaven! And whatever we loose, or allow, shall have been allowed in Heaven. That's past tense spiritually—in Heaven, and present tense naturally—on earth...a quantum verse!

Forbid fear to exist in your life. Live in full blown denial...the denial of fear's right to exist anywhere near you. Don't allow it to start, don't allow it to grow, don't allow it to stay.

But How...
I asked the Lord, "That's great, but how exactly do I do that?"

Immediately James 3 came to mind...the NT treatise on the tongue. [The Old Testament treatise is, of course, the Book of Proverbs—read it through and write down all the verses pertaining to the mouth]

James 3:2 says '...If anyone does not stumble in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.' And he compares the tongue to the bit in a horse's mouth and the rudder of a great ship. The word 'perfect' is the Greek word teleios, meaning brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness, that which is perfect. Kinda reminds you of shalom, doesn't it?

It doesn't really mean perfect, as we think of it...without blemish or error. It really means soteria—the Greek word for salvation—complete wholeness, redemption from all earthly ills.

I saw what He was saying...you deny fear just like you got saved. Believe in your heart and say it with your mouth. '...for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.' [Romans 10:10] Believing in the heart results in a spiritual state—righteousness, or right-standing with God; and confessing with the mouth brings it to pass in our lives—soteria!

So the 'how' is the same 'how' we access all spiritual blessing with...faith. Believe it and speak it, just as Jesus instructed in Mark 11:22,23.

'And Jesus answered saying to them, "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."'

Oh yeah...right. Faith. The way things really work in the universe...I get it...[cut to Jesus with His hand on His forehead, shaking His head, saying 'how many times do I have to tell these morons the same thing?' [My personal interpretation of Matthew 17:17]

Renew your mind so you can be transformed...changed! Changed to prove or demonstrate the will of God in your life—that which is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT! [Romans 12:1,2]

Take up the sword in your mouth. Deny fear it's right to dominate you. Do what Jesus told us to do in Matthew 10:8 and Mark 16:17,...cast it out!

Then believe that what you said happened and praise the Lord!

Hallelujah!!

_____________

Related posts: Fear, The Purpose of Fear, The Purpose of Fear 2, The Purpose of Fear 3, The Purpose of Fear 4, Fear—The Deadly Enemy, Enter His Rest Today,

The Word of His Power [re-visited]

Consider this:

'And He [Jesus] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the WORD OF HIS POWER.' [Hebrews 1:3]

He upholds ALL THINGS by the WORD of His power.

What is the word of His power? "POWER."

Note that it is not the power of His word, but the very word of His power.

The Greek word for power in this verse is rhema, translated as say, saying, statement, things, words. In other words, a spoken, active word.

So we could say ‘He upholds all things by the SAYING of His power—Gr. dunamis, or power, might, miraculous powers, strength, wealth.

In the interlinear Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1:3 says ‘God said "Light” and there was light.’ instead of the more familiar "Let there be light."

In Genesis 1, the word of light was "Light." Or, the being of the thing light was created by the saying in miraculous power of the word LIGHT.

[in my mind I just heard a very 70’s WOW!]

An aside: why is it that God cannot lie? Not will not, or would not, but CANNOT! [Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2]

Because if there wasn’t a tree when He started to say 'tree' there would be one there by the time the word was out of His mouth! He cannot lie because everything He says comes to pass! That IS the word of His power!

Hallelujah!

Why Is This Important To Me?
Why? For several reasons, actually.

First, because we are one Spirit with the Lord, with the very Alpha and Omega. He is the Head, we are His body. And He said that we would do greater works than He did! [John 14:12]

So it’s important to know how He works.

Consider these scriptures and their description of the saints—His holy ones! [That’s us, by the way—Gr. hagios, translated Holy, Holy of Holies, most holy, sanctuary, saints].

‘But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.’ [1 Corinthians 6:17]

‘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]

‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

‘Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.’ [Ephesians 3:15-21]

‘For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete…’ [Colossians 2:9,10]

Second, because He IS the WORD...

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.' [John 1:1-3]

And according to the book of Acts, we are the Word multiplied!

‘The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.’ [Acts 6:7]

‘But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.’ [Acts 12:24]

‘So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.’ [Acts 19:20]

Third, because He told us to speak to trees and mountains in several places in the Gospels, and He Himself demonstrated the Word of His power in the earth—healing the sick, raising the dead, arranging for Passover venues, donkeys and fish with coins in their mouths!

Because Psalms and Proverbs are full of instructions regarding the power of words. Because the POWER [Heb. yad, or hand] of life and death is IN THE TONGUE. [Proverbs 18:21]

Jesus knew this because He IS the Word—He IS every Psalm and Proverb—and He knows how the system works.

In fact, 1 Peter 1:23 explains that we are born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring WORD of God! HALLELUJAH!!

And how are we born again?

‘But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”’ [Romans 8:8-11]

And He wants us, His Body in the earth, to know how the system works, too.

Speak His Word into the earth.

'The Lord gives the command [word]; The women who PROCLAIM the good tidings are a GREAT HOST: "Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home will divide the spoil!" [Psalm 68:11,12]

They SAID it, and reaped the rewards of victory!

How did David defeat Goliath?

‘Then David SAID to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”’ [1 Samuel 17:45-47]

Now, think of all the wonderful things He has said about and for us. His Word will come to pass...

'He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.' [Psalm 147:15]

‘So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. [Isaiah 55:11]

Think about it. Uphold His Word in your life by your words of power…

Hallelujah!

Already Blessed

What's your inner image? Are you struggling to find the magic key that unlocks God's blessings? Trying to make the mark, to be good enough to actually receive the promises of God now, in the earth? Feeling frustrated, blocked on every side?

What you've got is an inner image problem. One nurtured by erroneous teachings and pervasive cultural thinking, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless.

Let's get back to biblical basics. If you've been born again, you're already forgiven, already delivered, already an overcomer...already blessed.

Made Righteous...Already
We've been made the righteousness of God in Christ [2 Corinthians 5:20]. By HIS doing we are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption...[1 Corinthians 1:30,31]. Crucified with Him, buried, raised up together with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places [Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:5,6; Colossians 2:12-14].

Do you see yourself as more than a conqueror, called to reign in life, doing the works of Jesus? [Romans 8:37; 5:17; John 14:12]

Picture Him at the tomb of Lazarus...before calling him out of the grave, Jesus said "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me...[John 11:41, 42]. 1 John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world.'

This spiritual state of being one Spirit with the Lord [1 Corinthians 6:17] is an accomplished fact. We are already seated with and in Him in heavenly places. We are already forgiven, for sins past, present and future. Our confession of them cleanses our bodies and minds, but the spirit within is Jesus—always righteous, always perfect, full of grace and glory.

New Covenant
As the Church of God, the Body of Christ in the earth, we need to stop thinking like Old Covenant people. Yes, all of the promises of the Old Covenant are fulfilled for us in Christ, all are 'yes' in Him [2 Corinthians 1:20] and we have been grafted into Israel [Romans 11:17,18], but we don't have to earn them anymore. We are redeemed from the curse of the law—Jesus became that curse for us so that we could receive the blessings of Abraham [Galatians 3:13,14]. The curse of the law was, in essence, what happened to you if you failed to obey the law. The blessings were what you got if you obeyed.

Jesus took the curse for us—we get the blessings because we're in Him, the very seed of Abraham! To the Father, we look like Jesus—we've already perfectly fulfilled all the law, and are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ [Ephesians 1:3].

One of the blessings of Abraham was great wealth—in some churches [the ones that aren’t preaching poverty] we're told that it's okay to be comfortable, but God forbid that we aspire to great wealth!

I've got news for you...it's already ours! It's our birthright! Romans 8:32 says '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?'

‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.’ [2 Corinthians 8:9]

The Greek words in the verse are all referring to physical wealth and destitution—not some vague spiritual blessing! Look it up for yourselves!

Another one of Abraham's blessings was that his descendants [us] would possess the gates of their enemies [Genesis 22:17]. Jesus told his disciples, when they were not even born again, that they had authority over all the works of the devil! But in many cases, we, the very body of Christ in the earth, live defeated lives, always struggling against unseen foes that we assume are far more powerful than we!

How about healing? The Word makes it very clear that we are healed, already, by the scourging [wounds, stripes] of Jesus!

‘But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well- being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.’ [Isaiah 53:5]

‘and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.’ [1 Peter 2:24]

Yet we know many Christians bound by sickness and disease.

Image Correction
Start to imagine yourself like the Bible says you are. You're just like Jesus—in fact, you are Jesus in the earth! Your old, nasty self was crucified with Him, and you've been reborn, one Spirit with the Lord! You are, individually and collectively, the Body of Christ. Called to reign in life! Correct that old inner image and refuse to listen to anything contrary to the Word of God, no matter who or what it is! You are not under the Old Covenant—you are a new creature in Christ! Old things have passed away! [2 Corinthians 5:17]

Instead of wondering 'Can He, will He [fill in the blank] for me?' thank Him for what He's already done! His word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and He has decreed you blessed! He has already said 'Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...' [Romans 8:1] He has already declared you accepted in the Beloved! [Ephesians 1:6] Strengthened with all power in your inner man! [Colossians 1:11]

And let’s not forget 1 John 4:17:

‘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.’

Remember…His works were finished from the foundation of the world! [Hebrews 4:3]

Jesus said that He and the Father would come and make their abode—their dwelling—in the ones that love Him. Resident in us, in all miracle-working power.

Consider this Holy Spirit written prayer…

‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Now THAT’S blessed!

Hallelujah!

——————————————

Read Agree With Him, Let’s Pretend, Stop Begging—It’s Inside, Finished, That Which Has Been Will Be

Actually, there’s so much written about this topic on this blog—use the Search box at the right to find more!

Already an Overcomer

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt like Revelations 3:21 was sort of a veiled threat…either preached as such, or when I read it on my own.

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Sort of ‘Oh my gosh, I hope I can do enough to overcome, I hope I can make it…’ accompanied with a vague feeling of ‘I may not be good enough, or I don’t know if I can do what it takes…’

But then I started thinking…wait a minute, here. Aren’t we already seated in Him in heavenly places? Are we not already born of the imperishable seed—the living and enduring Word of God, One Spirit with the Lord? We know He is the Word, but when people were born again in the book of Acts, doesn’t it say that the Word multiplied, or grew daily? [Ephesians 2:6; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Acts 6:7, 12:24, 19:20]

And then there are scriptures that say we are already overcomers…

‘You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world.’ [1 John 4:4]

‘For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’ [1 John 5:4,5]

‘And they overcame him [the accuser of the brethren—v10] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.’ [Revelations 12:11]

Romans 8:37 says in all things we OVERWHELMINGLY conquer through Him Who loved us. Sounds like an overcomer to me.

Then I looked up at the preceding verse.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” [Revelations 3:20]

Oh. If we let Him in, He considers that overcoming. When we died with Him, we also arose with Him. He overcame the world [John 16:33] so we, in Him, have overcome the world.

‘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.’ [1 John 4:15-17]

In the Spirit, the book of Revelations is eternal—both ongoing and finished, forward and back, without time. Hebrews 4:3 says His [God’s] works were finished from the foundation of the world!

Folks, if you have been born again, you have already overcome! You are already seated in Christ Jesus in heavenly places! Where is that? On His throne!

Hallelujah!

Related Posts: Already Blessed, God Inside, Abide

Agree With Him

You really only have two choices.

Agree with God and His Word, or agree with your natural circumstances, or that fear-filled voice in your ear, or those negative images roaring around your head.

And you must agree in two places: in your heart—your imagination—and in your mouth. Because that’s how you agree with anything…you see it, then you say it.

So when circumstances threaten you—speak to you and tell you that things are hopelessly impossible—agree with what God has already said! On purpose, see His word as true for you now, and speak it out.

Agree with Him! Be the AMEN to His glory operating through us—see His every promise as YES in Jesus. [2 Corinthians 1:20]

If He says you’re delivered [and He already has], agree with Him, regardless of what it looks like.

If He says you’re healed, or protected, or rich…agree with Him and give thanks for His faithfulness to His Word.

Hallelujah!

Related Posts: Fear—The Deadly Enemy, Be The Ball, Schrodinger’s Cat, Trapped, He Commanded

Resurrected!

It is Easter, and our thoughts turn toward Calvary once more.

As you meditate on the wonder of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus, consider this: the Word clearly teaches that we were crucified with Him!

What!?!
Paul states in Galatians 2:20 that "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Romans 6:6 confirms this: "...knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."

These are wonderful quantum verses. 2000 years ago, we were crucified with Christ! And not just crucified...buried with Him in baptism [Colossians 2:12] and raised up with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus! [Ephesians 2:6]

Ephesians 2:9-14 tells the story.

'For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead.

'When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.'

Yes, it's true. We were crucified with Him, buried and raised up together with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places!

He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and I think that means us, too! Romans 8:29 says '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." God knew us...that we would choose Him, and be born as the brethren of Jesus...before the foundation of the world!

'Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.' [Ephesians 1:4]

It is spiritual reality: as we are positionally in two places—here on the earth and seated with Him in heavenly places—we were born 2000 years after an event that we participated in! The crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!

Talk about Quantum Physics!

Think about this...were we also in Him during the period between His death and resurrection, when He was disarming rulers and authorities? [Colossians 2"15] He did give us authority over all the power of the enemy...[Luke 10:19] Wow! Just the possibility is mind-bending!

Resurrection Power

'But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.' [Romans 8:11]

If you read up a few verses in that chapter, you'll see that '...those who are in the flesh cannot please God.'

Now, this verse is usually used to condemn and admonish...if you're not holy enough, you aren't going to please God, period. Christians have spent their lives worrying whether they're holy enough.Thousands of sermons have been preached, beating us over the head and telling us that we are not pleasing to God because of [fill in the sin of the week].

But read on! Verse 9 says 'However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.' Being 'in the Spirit' is not some temporary state of ecstatic prayer [although I think it can mean that, as well] but the permanent state of the reborn man or woman! And the Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you!

Saint or Sinner? Habitation of God?
Remember the definition of the Greek word for saint, hagios. It is translated in the New Testament as holy—Holy of Holies, holy one, holy place, most holy, sanctuary!

We are His most holy ones, His holy place, His sanctuary. In fact, God no longer dwells in the Holy of Holies made by human hands, but in us...we are His Holy of Holies! And it has nothing to do with our behavior; rather it is who we become when we are reborn...we have this treasure in earthen vessels! [2 Corinthians 4:7]

Psalm 26:8 says that His habitation is the place where His glory dwells!

'How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts!' [Psalm 84:1] Not only holy, but full of glory...and lovely, too!

'...and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.' [1 Peter 1:8]

We are new creatures, new creations. [2 Corinthians 5:17] The race of the sons and daughters of God! And not some new age, nebulous family of man, either. Real, true sons and daughters of the God Who was and is and is to come!

'"And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty.' [2 Corinthians 6:18]

1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 confirm that we are indeed the temple of God...the Holy of Holies!

Righteous
2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that 'He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.'

Ephesians 4:24 confirms '...and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.' We're created in His likeness, in righteousness and holiness!

So, most holy ones, remember during this Easter season that you were crucified with Him, buried and raised up together with Him and seated with Him in heavenly place. You're seated with Him now in heavenly places, and you got there 2000 years ago. You may have even been there before the foundation of the world...

As He IS, so also are we IN THIS WORLD. [1 John 4:17]

How is He, right now? He is the resurrected Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father. And we are seated with Him, there, and as He is here in this world.

In Conclusion
Romans 6:4 states it succinctly:

'Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.'

You are His most holy one: beloved, beautiful, the habitation of the Most High God. You are seated with Him in heavenly places, having been crucified, buried and raised up together with Him 2000 years ago…or was it before the foundation of the world?

Ponder that and rejoice!

Related posts: Exact Representation of His Nature, One Spirit with the Lord, What Exactly is a Saint, Anyway?, Thoughts on the New Birth.

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Liar, Liar, Pants DEFINITELY on Fire! [re-post]

Updated and improved!

Satan has one objective in mind...to keep us from understanding that we are one Spirit with the Lord, filled up to all the fulness of God. [2 Corinthians 1:20, Ephesians 3:19] He does not want us to know that we are called to reign in life and that the Father has gladly given us the kingdom. [Romans 5:17, Luke 12:32]

He wants us to feel afraid—helpless and alone. To feel separate from God, separate from Jesus. And he really loves to make us feel guilty and unworthy—to keep us beating ourselves up over and over again over some sin. He does not want us to know that we've been forgiven, once for all time, past, present and future, and that God doesn't even remember our sin! [Jeremiah 31:34]

And he really doesn't want us to know we've been strengthened with ALL POWER in our inner man! [Colossians 1:11, Ephesians 3:16]

He will throw everything at us—any circumstance, any weapon—to keep us from finding out who we really are in Christ. His worst nightmare is that we just might find out that Jesus is the Word and we're the Word multiplied! [Acts 12:24] That by believing, we're freed from all things, from which we could not be freed through the Law of Moses! [Acts 13:39]

He knows that He [the Father] 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]

He also knows that we have the power to overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. He was watching, I'm sure, when Jesus explained that the physical, natural world obeys us! He will do anything to keep us from finding out the truth!

He'll keep preachers preaching all sorts of error and keep us singing songs like 'He gives and takes away'...he'll keep us in Old Covenant thinking as much as possible, where we are 'down here' and God is 'up there.'

Because he knows the truth. He knows exactly who we are in Christ, how powerful we really are and that we are joint heirs with the Heir of all things. [Hebrews 1:2, Romans 8:17]

He knows that we are from God, an that greater is He Who is in us than he [Satan] who is in the world. [1 John 4:4]

He just can't afford for us to find out.

How It’s Supposed to Work
I think this is how it's really supposed to work.

Let's say we are standing in faith for protection from harm [no harm befalls the righteous—Proverbs 12:21 and all of Psalm 91]. But if the destroyer managed to get through, say with sickness or accident aimed at a loved one, we would simply lay hands on them and they would be healed. If he still managed to break through and kill them, we would simply raise them up. Failing that, we would understand that we are already seated with them in heavenly places in Christ anyway. [Ephesians 2:6]

Now that's walking in absolute power and victory! 2 Corinthians says 'But thanks be to God, Who ALWAYS LEADS US IN TRIUMPH IN CHRIST, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.' Satan is a spirit—he sees and knows exactly who we are in the Spirit.

And I do mean all believers walking in this kind of power and victory, not just a few famous preachers on TV! Proving what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God! [Romans 12:2]

Why Did Jesus Come?
Did you know that Jesus already had authority over all the power of the enemy? He came to give that authority back to us...the authority usurped in the Garden of Eden!

In Luke 10, He gave that authority to His disciples—unregenerate men! How much more do we who are one Spirit with the Lord have such authority?

1 John 3:8 tell us plainly that 'The Son of God appeared for this purpose, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.' And John 14:12 says that we are to do greater works than He did...how? Because instead of one Son of God, working in one place at one time, now there are many sons and daughters, filled with His power, in many places and in many times!

So what's a devil to do? Stop it any way he can! Kill, steal, destroy, deceive...lie, lie, lie. Keep us so confused by sermons like 'sometimes the answer is no...' and funeral messages like 'we don't know why God took this 12 year old...' that we spend all our time in doubt and despair. Attack our bodies, steal our wealth and blame it all on God. What good is a tissue paper helmet of salvation anyway? If we don't think our salvation is anything more than fire insurance, it's not going to protect us from anything!

Ephesians 6 teaches that we struggle with powerful spiritual enemies. Now, if God says that He always leads us in triumph and we overwhelmingly conquer through Him Who loved us [Romans 8:37] than our armor and weapons are designed to work! If it is His will for us to win (and it is), we must be able to!

1 Corinthians 15:57 says

'...but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Or 2 Corinthians 2:14…

‘But thanks be to God, Who ALWAYS leads us in TRIUMPH in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

How about 1 John 5:4?

'For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.'

The Bottom Line
The bottom line is John 10:10. "The thief comes ONLY to STEAL and KILL and DESTROY. I [Jesus] came that they may have LIFE, and have it abundantly." [John 10:10]

This is Jesus speaking, giving us a cheat sheet to who's doing what to whom. An interesting aside—this verse can also be translated '...and have abundance.'

If you can keep this always in mind, it will help when the deceiver strikes, whispering that [fill in the problem] is really from God.

Especially when it involves death, either of a loved one, or death in any area of life. God has PLAINLY stated that death is the last ENEMY [1 Corinthian 15:26] and that His will is that His [Jesus] enemies be made a FOOTSTOOL for His feet. [Psalm 110:1, Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13, Hebrews 10:13]

And this will blow your mind…He’s WAITING for death to be made a footstool! God says in Psalms 110:

“Sit at My [The Father] right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will stretch forth Your [Jesus] STRONG SCEPTER from ZION [we’ve already come to Mt. Zion, seated in Him in heavenly places] SAYING “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” YOUR people will volunteer freely in the day of YOUR POWER, in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to you as the dew.” [Psalm 110:5-7]

HALLELUJAH! Ephesians and Colossians tell us in several place that we are filled with DUNAMIS [gr]—miracle-working power—and we are to release that power to allow God to make His enemies His footstool now by SAYING. It’s all about Him working more than we can ask or think according the POWER that works WITHIN—in, by, with—us! We don’t do it, He does it through us.

That’s why we’re supposed to be reigning in life—Romans 5:17 and healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, casting out demons [Matthew 10:7, 8]

So NEVER let anyone, especially a preacher, tell you that God has taken—Christian speak for killed—your loved one because it’s just not true. He considers death an enemy [1 Corinthians 15:26] and so should you!

Job may have said ‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away’ but it does NOT apply to us. We are ONE Spirit with the Lord, His Body in the earth. When we FINALLY realize the we died at Calvary with Jesus [Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20] and it is He alone that lives in us through the Holy Spirit, we will start to walk in the power, love and dominion that is our birthright. We are heirs of God and fellow or joint heirs with Christ! [Romans 8:17]

One more thing…

‘For in Him ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY dwells in bodily form, and IN HIM YOU HAVE BEEN MADE COMPLETE…’ [Colossians 2:9,10]

And…

‘…that He would grant YOU, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power [DUNAMIS] through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that YOU may be filled up to ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

‘Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power [DUNAMIS] that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen—SO BE IT.’ [Ephesians 3:16-21]

Finally…

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

Yes, that’s the Holy Spirit praying for you, and me, and all the saints…no one left out. Hallelujah!

Okay, I’m back…

It’s A Fact
It's a fact. We've been lied to and those lies have rendered us powerless and defeated.

But now is the time to shake off defeat and rise up in triumph! Think about words like triumph, victory, conquer...these are strong words of successful warfare, and God—GOD—spoke them over us. The same God Who spoke the world into existence has spoken words like triumph, victory and conquer ABOUT US!

But How…
Someone online has called them the 'cursed hows.' I love that! Because if we continually focus on the natural 'hows' we can never fully walk in the triumphs of faith.

What does 1 John 5:4 says is the VICTORY that has OVERCOME the world? OUR FAITH! The real how—how God prepared the worlds [Hebrews 11:3]—is faith!

Faith is the assurance—the SUBSTANCE [existence, foundation, substructure]—of THINGS hoped for, the conviction [proof or evidence] of THINGS not seen. The Greek word for things in this scripture is pragma—that which has been done, a deed, and ACCOMPLISHED FACT; what is being done or accomplished, THAT WHICH IS OR EXISTS, a thing.

Do these things stay unseen? This is a popular argument against using faith to manipulate the natural world—that our blessings and the promises of God are only on the spiritual plane. Are the worlds still unseen? Or were they just unseen in the physical realm before God spoke them into existence by His faith? Did He see them first, before speaking them into natural form or did He create without any idea of what He was creating? Did He see first and then speak? Are the worlds spinning in order or is the universe just some orderless chaos?

We are told in 2 Corinthians 4:18 to look at the unseen—that which is eternal—because that which is seen is temporary. Didn't Jesus demonstrate this by speaking to all kinds of temporary, physical things and telling them what to do? Telling fig trees to die and fish to scoop up coins, and bodies to heal and dead people to rise up? Telling pots of water to turn into wine or storms to cease?

And didn't He then tell us to do the same?

It is our job—our calling and our privilege—to bring the natural world into alignment with the will of God! Jesus told us to pray "...Your will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven..." God Himself said "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" [Habakkuk 2:14] and "...as I lie, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord." [Numbers 14:21]

Plus, don’t forget [and watch out for villagers with torches]…

“The glory which You have given Me I HAVE given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one…” [John 10]

As the temple of old was filled with His glory, so are we. Jesus said it—it’s in RED— so don’t yell at me.

Now you know why I disabled comments on this site…

Ephesians 1:9,10 says:

'He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an ADMINISTRATION SUITABLE TO THE FULLNESS OF TIMES, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.'

We are to administer His kingdom on the earth! To bring His will into physical reality...His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

What is the will of God in Heaven? All of His already finished works! [Hebrews 4:3] Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! [Ephesians 1:3] Everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and excellence—His precious and magnificent promises, by which we become partakers of the diving nature! [2 Peter 1:3,4]

And we are the agents who are to cover the earth with His glory…the very Body of Christ, one Spirit with the Lord, with the Mind of Christ!

Surrounded
Did you know that the Seraphim—majestic beings in Heaven—are continuously calling to each other "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." [Isaiah 6:3]

Did you also know that we are surrounded by songs or shouts of deliverance? [Psalm 32:7] Surrounded by His favor like a shield? [Psalm 5:12]

Actually, the Bible says we're surrounded by a lot of things, both good and evil! There's a lot of activity going on around us, and we're meant to know and understand it—see the unseen—and reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus!

Live in the seen, work in the unseen. Dominate the enemy and his works by faith, prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

"No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and EVERY TONGUE that accuses you in judgment you will condemn." [Isaiah 54:17]

Who is the accuser of the brethren? Satan is and he's been thrown down! [Revelations 12:10] His weapons against us are words, just like our weapon against him is the Word—the Sword of the Spirit! [Ephesians 6:17]

2 Corinthians 10:4 says that '...the weapons of our warfare are NOT of the flesh, but DIVINELY POWERFUL for the destruction of fortresses.'

Yes, divinely powerful, for the express purpose of WINNING! In spite of the many, many sermons which have explained over the years that God is glorified in our defeat, we are built to win! To cover the earth with the glory of God! This is His true plan, and Satan knows it.

So Now What?
WAKE UP!! 'Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.' [Isaiah 60:1]

Don't listen to lies...resist the devil, and he will flee! The Greek word for flee is pheugo...to flee away, seek safety by flight, to flee something abhorrent, to escape safely out of danger! He knows that when we finally turn our power toward him, he will have to flee to seek safety from that danger!

He knows we're dangerous...time for us to know it, too.

__________________________________

Read Lies, Lies, Lies; Fear—The Deadly Enemy, Fear, What Are the Giants Saying to You, Wow! [That's all I could think of...], Camping in the Desert, Bound, God Isn't Holding Back 2

Shield

Here are some excellent Scriptures to pray and say over yourself and your family…remember, you’ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ [2 Corinthians 5:21] and have been grafted into Israel! [Romans 4:17]

You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait [hope, expect] for Your Word. [Psalm 119:114]

For it is You Who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield. [Psalm 5:12]

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One Who lifts my head. [Psalm 3:3]

The Lord is my strength [might, stronghold] and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. [Psalm 28:7]

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. [Psalm 84:11]

​After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” [Genesis 15:1]

“Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, Who is the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, and you will tread upon their high places.” [Deuteronomy 33:29]

“As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him." [2 Samuel 22:31]

“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great. [2 Samuel 22:36]

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. [Psalm 18:2,3]

As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him…You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great. [Psalm 18:30, 35]

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. [Psalm 33:20]

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield and rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle- axe to meet those who pursue me; say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” [Psalm 35:1-3]

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; my lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. [Psalm 144:1,2]

Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. [Proverbs 30:5]

He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. [Psalm 91:4]

Meditations & Confessions

Meditate and confess one or more of these out loud as many times as you need to calm your spirit and boost your faith...they are all directly from the Word.

I am One Spirit with the Lord, filled with His Spirit...the Father and Son dwell in this earthen vessel by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am the temple of God, filled with His glory.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ—I have been MADE the righteousness of God in Christ, and my righteousness is of HIM. I am established in righteousness and I DO NOT FEAR.

I have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness and I reign IN LIFE through the One, Christ Jesus. I am filled with the Glory of God.

God my Father accomplishes what concerns me and removes every obstacle from my way. He is my Deliverer and the lifter of my head. He is the God of hope Who fills me with ALL joy and peace in believing so that I abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

My way is built up and every obstacle is removed from my path. The Lord goes before me and Himself fights on my behalf; He is my rear guard and angels protect me in all my ways. The evil one DOES NOT TOUCH ME.

Death and life, blessing and cursing, are all in the power [hand] of my tongue, for me to choose. Therefore I choose life and blessing and prosperity! I walk in the blessings of Abraham and of Deuteronomy 28 daily, and I am redeemed from the curse of the Law. I am the head and NOT the tail, blessed coming in and going out.

Jesus has become to me Wisdom—I have the mind of Christ. I have an anointing from the Holy One and I know—understand—all things.

I am surrounded by favor as a shield…everything I touch prospers, and ALL things work together for my good. Every promise of God is YES for me, and I believe that what I say happens.

As He is, so am I in the earth. I am born of God and have overcome evil spirits. Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world. I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loved me.

I am a descendant of the righteous—all who see me says “Surely that one is blessed of the Lord.” I am mighty in the earth—I am taught of the Lord and my SHALOM well-being is great.

God Himself continually grants me peace—shalom—in every circumstance! He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think according to the power that works in me.

The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory. No good thing does He withhold from me because in Jesus, I am upright before Him. He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give me all things?

God is my refuge and fortress...I trust in Him. Angels have been given charge over me and guard me in all my ways. No evil shall befall me, no plague shall come near my dwelling. I tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent I trample down. Because I have loved Him, He has delivered me; He has set me securely on high, because I have known His name. I call upon Him and He answers me; He is with me in trouble; He rescues me and honor me. With a long life He satisfies me and lets me see His salvation.

I have been strengthened with all miracle-working power in my inner man...I am rooted and grounded in love and I know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. I am filled up to all the fullness of God.

I am blessed with Abraham the Believer. The promises were spoken to him and to his seed...I belong to Christ and I am Abraham's descendant, an heir according to promise. His blessings of favor, strength, and wealth are mine every day.

If God is for me, who can be against me? No man can stand before me any of the days of my life...just as He was with Moses and Joshua; He is with and in me.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that accuses in judgment I will condemn. No harm befalls me because I've been made the righteousness of God in Christ. He strengthens me and protects me from ALL evil.

HALLELUJAH!!

Ever Wonder Why...

…you feel the same as you did when you were young, as though you’ve never aged? Then you look in the mirror and WHOA! Who IS that old person?

I was having this discussion with my family over Thanksgiving and the answer came out of my mouth before I realized it…

Your spirit is eternal! Backwards, forwards, up, down—eternal! NOT linear, although we count the years in a straight line from birth to death.

But that’s just the physical reckoning, based on the physical rotation of a physical earth around a physical sun, creating day and night—time. It has NOTHING to do with the spirit within.

Luke 11:50 says the blood of the prophets were shed since the foundation of the world! Ephesians 1:4 says that we were chosen IN HIM before the foundation of the world. And He told Jeremiah that He knew him BEFORE He formed him in the womb! [Jeremiah 1:5]

That spirit is the one who was crucified with Jesus, buried with Him in baptism, raised up together with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places…right now! [Colossians 2:12,13; Ephesians 4:3-7]

If you are in Christ Jesus, you have been born again—not of seed which is perishable but IMPERISHABLE, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God… [1 Peter 1:23] But it is not your body, or even your mind, that has been born again—it is your eternal spirit, now born from the seed of the Word of God. The same seed planted in the womb of a young virgin girl…He is the Word, we are the Word multiplied! [read One with the Word, The Jesus Blueprint, Thoughts on the New Birth]

Don’t get mad at me…this is Bible truth!

Your spirit—the one who feels ageless—is in fact, ageless! And living in multiple dimensions at the same time! Trapped in an aging, earthen vessel while at the same time seated with and in Him in heavenly places!

And that same spirit is one Spirit with the Lord! ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD!!

Here’s how Paul puts it:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; and the life which I now live in the flesh i live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” [Galatians 2:20]

And it’s good for your body, as well:

‘But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead DWELLS IN YOU, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES through His Spirit WHO DWELLS IN YOU.’ [Romans 8:11]

‘Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?’ [1 Corinthians 6:19]

Just stop and think about Who is looking out through those eyes of yours…

Spirit
Furthermore, words are spirit, spoken forth into the natural, or physical, realm. Furthermore, words are spirit, spoken forth into the natural, or physical, realm.

We know this because Jesus said that His words were spirit [John 6:63] and we know that unclean spirits come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet as well. [Revelations 16:13]

It’s not just Jesus’ words that are spirit…ALL words are spirit. And they have a creative effect in the natural, physical world. But His words are LIFE as well…zoe, the absolute fulness of life, belonging to God, real and genuine [from NAS Greek Lexicon].

In Job 26:4, Job asks “To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?”

The reason you feel ageless is that your spirit IS ageless, eternal…and it reigns upon the earth by words.

That ageless, eternal spirit that is looking through your eyes is one with Jesus, one with the Father, by the Holy Spirit within! [1 Corinthians 6:17; John 14:20,23]

Put that together with Ephesians 3:14-21…

‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, TO BE STRENGTHENED WITH POWER THROUGH HIS SPIRIT in the inner man, so that CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and length and height and depth, and TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST WHICH SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE, THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED UP TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

Now to Him WHO IS ABLE TO DO FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THAT WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. AMEN.’

That one looking out through your eyes is strengthened with ALL POWER and filled up to ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD! And that power is there to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK!

I don’t know about you, but I can ask and think quite a bit…

HALLELUJAH!!

Grace

The Greek word charis, or grace, is used 148 times in the NT. Ask any Christian what grace is and they will probably parrot ‘God’s unmerited favor.’

Yes, this is part of it, but if you look at a NT lexicon or dictionary, you will find that it is so much more!

It also means that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward.

John 1:14 says that Jesus was full of grace and truth…John 1:16 tells ‘For of HIS FULLNESS we have ALL received, and grace upon grace.’ No second-class Christians here, just temples of God, full of HIS fullness and grace! Meditate on THAT for awhile…

Then, of course, there’s Colossians 2:9,10…

‘For in Him ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY dwells in bodily form, and in Him YOU HAVE BEEN MADE COMPLETE…’

Paul's Thorn
When Paul asks to be delivered from the demon sent to torment him, God tells him “My grace is sufficient for you, for power [dunamis] is perfected [fulfilled, finished, completed, paid] in weakness.’ [2 Corinthians 12:9]

Prevailing heresies tell us that this means he had to live with some disease or affliction, even though the Word clearly says it was a MESSENGER of Satan…a demon sent to torment him. And according to Luke 10:19, we have authority over ALL the power of the enemy and nothing will injure us! Psalm 91 says we will tread upon the lion and cobra and TRAMPLE THEM DOWN.

This lie has been repeated over and over again to keep us in bondage—if God wouldn’t deliver Paul and wanted him to continue to suffer with some sort of mystical band aid to help him bear it, then there’s a good chance we won’t be healed or delivered either.

Sufficient
Another interesting word in this verse is the Greek word for sufficient…arkeo. We think it means ‘that’s good enough for you’ or ‘learn to live with it, you’ll get by.’

Back to the lexicon! Arkeo means TO BE POSSESSED OF UNFAILING STRENGTH! To be strong, to suffice, to be enough, to defend, ward off, to be SATISFIED or CONTENTED!

God was telling Paul that His GRACE—joy, pleasure, favor, delight, loveliness, good will, benefit, bounty, reward—was sufficient, or possessed of UNFAILING STRENGTH! For POWER, or dunamis [the miracle-working power that upholds the world] is perfected [complete, finished, fulfilled—TO CARRY OUT THE CONTENTS OF A COMMAND] in weakness.

In other words, where Paul was weak, the miracle working power was full of unfailing strength to do whatever needed to be done, to overcome in any situation.

Hallelujah!

His grace—that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward—possesses unfailing strength for us! Because His power—the miracle-working power, the power with which Jesus UPHOLDS ALL THINGS [Hebrews 1:3]—is made perfect or complete in our weakness.

Don’t forget…according to Colossians 1:11 the Holy Spirit prayed that we would be strengthened with ALL POWER! The very same dunamis with which Jesus is upholding all things. Not just a drop or two…ALL POWER! [read Dumanis]

And we have this treasure IN EARTHEN VESSELS! So that the surpassing greatness of the POWER [dunamis] will be of God and not from ourselves...[2 Corinthians 4:7]

There’s another prayer, prayed for us by the Holy Spirit though Paul, in Ephesians 3.

'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with POWER [dunamis] through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints [most holy ones], what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

'Now to Him Who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY beyond ALL that we ask or think, according to the POWER [dunamis] that WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory [splendor magnificence, most glorious condition or exalted state] in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen—so be it, may it be fulfilled, truly.'

Now that’s grace!

Full of God, full of His power, one Spirit with the Lord. Not some hackneyed phrase that nobody stops to think about, not some meaningless church buzzword.

HALLELUJAH!!