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When God infuses eternal life into the spirit of a man, the man becomes a member of a new and higher order of being.
(A.W. Tozer)
When we put our faith in Jesus, we were transformed from mere men without power or authority in the spiritual
realms, to those whose lives are encapsulated in the Almighty, Sovereign, All-powerful God!
Paul wrote in Colossions
3:1-3 Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand
of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
He was saying, Let your focus be consistent with who you are and your view be in line with where you are. Because this incredible
reality has occurred in our lives, it is so important that we stop thinking like the old man, bound by finite ideas and temporary
concepts, and begin to think in accordance with who we are in Christ. Jesus was raised up above every power and authority.
We dont doubt that he has everything under his feet and yet, if we are with him in God, doesnt this mean that we too are placed
in a position of authority over the powers of this age? Yes, it does! We are alien to this world because we are from another
place, we are foreigners to the way this place is run and our characteristics are born out of the place we are citizens: Heaven.
Even though from the outside, our appearance might not be altered, inside something amazing has taken place. When we gave
our lives to the Lord, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead began to flow through our veins.
But what was
the purpose behind empowering people like us and what are we to do with it? To the Ephesians, Paul wrote His intent was that
now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11). Through the church,
through us the Redeemed, God determined to display His rule over all things. When Jesus died on the cross, he obliterated
all the principalities of the enemy, totally disarming the devil. He empowered us, giving us the incredible mandate to reestablish
Gods authority throughout the world. We are stronger than the devil and therefore when we resist him, he has to flee. For
the creatures made in His own image, this was Gods intention right from Creation (see Genesis 1:28). From the time when Adam
and Eve sinned, Romans 8:19 says that creation itself has been waiting in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed
in this way!
So how do we begin outworking this truth in our own lives? Before we can have authority, we must submit
to God. The first time we confessed Jesus as Lord of our lives, the transition of our being took place and we were plunged
into this position of authority in Jesus. As we continue to walk our lives out in submission to God, the things of the flesh
that would usually distract us, cannot sway us, and natural fears and uncertainties become negligible. We realize the awesome
authority that God has given to us as joint heirs with Jesus and start to walk in the intention God had for His Church right
from the beginning. Ephesians 1:18-21 says, I pray also that the eyes of of your heart may be enlightened in order that you
may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great
power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
What exciting days to
live in! We can know the incomparable power of the Spirit within us, smash down spiritual strongholds with our prayers and
live in the fullness of this glorious inheritance as sons of God. Beneath our outer appearance of creatures lower than angels,
in Christ, we have been raised above and can defeat the devil in all situations, because we ARE stronger, reestablishing Gods
authority in the universe. Let's do it!
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