Reigning In Life As A King (5 page)

Romans 5:15 (Amplified)

The Bible teaches us that all men died spiritually when Adam sinned. God, through Jesus Christ, brings life to all who will receive Him. His grace is out of all proportion to the fall of man. The first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam (Jesus) was made a life-giving Spirit.

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17

Through the grace of God, we have received the Spirit of Christ. We are no longer dead in trespasses and sins. We have received an abundance of grace.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.

Titus 2:11

The Prophet Jeremiah foretold the restoration of God's people. He could see the Church of Jesus Christ through eyes of faith.

For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:6-7

God has looked upon His Church, and we have found grace in His sight! The Prophet Isaiah also saw the glory of the Church.

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

Isaiah 59:21

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

Isaiah 60:1-2

Isaiah prophesied that there would come forth a stem of Jesse and the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him:

the spirit of wisdom,

the spirit of understanding,

the spirit of counsel,

the spirit of might,

the spirit of knowledge,

and the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah said that Jesus, this stem of Jesse, would not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears. (Isaiah 11:1-4) God sent Jesus into the world that we might be like Him. He is our perfect example. He dwelt among us that we might know Him.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will

of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:11-13

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John 1:16-17

By the grace of God that came through Jesus Christ, we have the power to become the sons of God. We can be led by the Spirit of God. We can have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. We do not have to judge after what our eyes see or our ears hear. Our direction comes from within us—through the Spirit of God who resides in our spirits.

THE GRACE OF GOD IS FREE!

We cannot earn it. We cannot work for it. We can never make ourselves acceptable to God. We must receive His grace through faith and come to God as we are. The Bible teaches us that while we were dead in sin, Jesus made us alive. A dead man cannot work! A dead man cannot earn anything.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:4-9

We are saved by grace through faith, that is, by believing that salvation is a free gift.

Grace is a gift of God. We cannot boast about it!

Grace originates with God. It cannot be achieved by works.

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 4:4-5

We must stop working to be justified and start believing that we ARE justified! That is when God counts us righteous.

When we receive Jesus Christ, we receive the total grace of God. In every situation in which we realize we need grace, Jesus is the Source.

We are no match for the devil in our own strength. Our emotions are not the tool with which we defeat the devil.

God's grace begins where our ability ends. When the situation is impossible, if you will believe, you will see the grace of God manifested.

If you are tempted to be angry, allow Jesus to demonstrate His peace. (Colossians 3:15) If you are tempted to doubt, remember the life you now live is by faith in Him. (Galatians 2:20) If you are tempted to give up, believe that you have His strength to go on. (Philippians 4:13)

HIS GRACE IS ALWAYS SUFFICIENT!

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

II Corinthians 12:8-10

Should we not say as Paul said, "I take pleasure in the midst of my need because I know that His grace is sufficient. God will meet my needs whether they are spiritual, mental, physical, marital, or financial. Not only will He meet my needs, but through this experience I will gain confidence in knowing Him."

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

II Corinthians 9:8

There is no insufficiency in Jesus. His grace is sufficient in all circumstances.

WE REIGN IN LIFE AS KINGS THROUGH
THE ABUNDANCE OF GRACE.

Chapter Four
Reigning In Life Through
The Gift Of Righteousness

Until man is righteous, and knows that he is righteous, Satan reigns over him.

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17

We must be informed from God's Word of what belongs to us, and learn to honor God by the way we live. God is not pleased when we disregard any of the great redemptive work of Jesus. He desires to bring us out of the realm of slavery and servitude, and into our rightful position in the kingdom of God.

We must know:

We are redeemed.

We are new creation beings.

We are delivered from Satan's power.

We are free of all our sins.

When we know these things, we will not be easily shaken.

The moment we accept Jesus as Savior, we receive God's nature and become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II Corinthians 5:21

Jesus became sin for us. As a result, we can stand in the presence of Almighty God free of sin. God no longer looks at us as sinners. He sees us as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

A sense of unworthiness, however it may be produced in our lives, destroys faith, robs us of our peace of mind, and makes us ineffectual Christians. It is a work of Satan.

If we have a feeling of inferiority, we cannot reign in life. We are IN HIM. We have been bought with a price, with the precious blood of Jesus, and we no longer belong to ourselves. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)

All of our success is in Him. We cannot fail when we understand that we have been made righteous.

We have no room for thoughts and feelings of inferiority.

We must replace those feelings with the knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus.

I once talked with a lady who called me long distance. Her husband had continually told her she would go to hell if she put on lipstick or cut her hair. The woman had severe emotional problems from the strain of this constant condemnation. She knew that she could never be good enough to go to heaven.

Her husband did not understand that we are made righteous by the atoning blood of Jesus. He thought that our outward appearance was a sign of being righteous, or unrighteous. He desperately needed someone to help him.

Many people who believe such things are sincere and dedicated Christians. They are bound by denominational doctrines and ideas, but they can be free of such bondage and torment.

Let us examine two aspects of righteousness: the Divine Side and the Practical Application.

The Divine Side:

God, through Jesus Christ, has redeemed us.

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:22-24

Our righteousness comes only by faith in Christ Jesus. We have all sinned, but when we stand at the foot of the Cross, we stand on level ground. We observe the Cross and embrace it with the knowledge that we have sinned, and because of our faith in what He has done, we are forgiven.

Righteousness comes to us as a free gift. We can never earn it. We will never be good enough to receive it. It does not come by external observances—by keeping the law, or wearing the proper clothing—it comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ.

In the beginning, man was created to be a king who was subject only to his Creator, but:

Man transgressed.

He was disloyal to God.

Man believed Satan.

He believed the devil's he instead of the Word of God.

Man lost dominion over his own kingdom.

Satan became the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air.

Satan took over the entire kingdom that God had commissioned to Adam.

Instead of living like a king, man became a slave.

He became a slave to sin and Satan.

The Practical Application:

Every man alive must choose to live like a king, or he will automatically exist as a slave.

We have the power of choice to change our destiny! We should choose a personal relationship with Jesus. If we choose to live by rules and outward appearances, we are not going to live like kings.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that the Gospel is for the salvation of all men. (Romans 1:16) God has given to EVERY man the same measure of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 12:3)

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:6-10

This is the practical application to righteousness. The righteousness which is of faith SPEAKETH! I want you to say:

I AM RIGHTEOUS!

We are able to come before the Father and worship Him because of what Jesus has done for us. We do not come in our own righteousness, or our own goodness. We could never be good enough even to please ourselves. We come because we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus by faith.

The Divine Side:

God, through Jesus Christ, has made us new creation beings.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

II Corinthians 5:17

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II Corinthians 5:21

God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ..." (Genesis 1:26) Man was created to show forth the likeness of God.

When Jesus came to the earth as a man, He demonstrated to us the outward appearance of God. He also demonstrated to us the inward spiritual and moral nature of God. Jesus was God in a human body.

When Adam disobeyed God, the inner man died, but the outer man continued to live.

There are two families that dwell on the earth today—the family of God and the family of the devil. We are either children of God or children of the devil.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a he, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 8:44