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Living By Faith
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THE GOD-KIND OF LIFE

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)

Eternal life is not simply life that goes on forever; it is the coming into human life something of the life of God.

William Barclay

I like how James Stewart said that the life that flows from God to man was “a sudden emergence of an entirely new and original element.” We become partakers of the life of God–suddenly! Through simple faith in Jesus Christ, the miracle of the new birth takes place in the spirit of the believer. Eternal life is a spiritual substance from heaven that is imparted in the spirit of a man.

This life flows in heaven from the throne of God; it flows like a river. (John 7:37-39) God is overflowing with this life. You and I can have more and more of this life flowing in us. We can have this life in ever-increasing measures as we are filled with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. We can walk in the light of this life and in the consciousness of what we have in Christ as we learn more and more of the “words of this life.” (Acts 5:20)

Confession: I am a partaker of the life of God. I have eternal life. I have the life of God flowing in me. I am walking in the consciousness of what I have in Christ as I learn more and more of the words of this life!

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A MAN IN CHRIST IS A NEW CREATURE

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (John 5:11-12)

A man in Christ is a new kind of man—a new breed or species that

 never existed before!

Mark Hankins

The Greek word translated “new” means “unheard of before.” It means new in quality or kind. A man in Christ is a new kind of man, a new breed, or species that never existed before. You are not just a forgiven sinner; you are a new creation with a new kind of life. A man in Christ is a partaker of the life and nature of God.

James Stewart put it this way, “This life which flows from God into man is something totally different from anything experienced on the natural plane. It is supernatural life. It makes man a new creation. It is not the intensification of powers already possessed, but the sudden emergence of an entirely new and original element.”

Confession: God has given me eternal life. I am not just a forgiven sinner, but a new creation with a new kind of life!

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ACKNOWLEDGING EVERY GOOD THING IN CHRIST

My prayer is that your fellowship with us in our common faith may deepen the understanding of all the blessings that our union with Christ brings us.

(Philemon 6  New English Bible)

We cannot do anything without Him, but in Him, we can do anything!

Mark Hankins

What you are acknowledging must center around four main areas:

1.  What God has done for you in Christ Jesus in the plan of

    redemption.

              2. Who you are now and what you have now in Christ.

 3.  What God can do through you by the Word and the Holy

    Spirit.

4.  What Jesus is doing for you now at the right hand of God.

Confession: I am putting off the old man, and I am putting on the new man with new clothes and new righteousness. In Him, I am redeemed. In Him, I am holy. In Him, I am strong. In Him, I am righteous now. The anointing is in me. I am putting on the new man with new behavior. I am walking in Christ. I live in Christ. I make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. I put on the Lord Jesus Christ!

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A LIVING SACRIFICE

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

“Anyone who has ever won an Olympic gold medal will tell you he did something about his body.” – Mark Hankins

Paul said for you to present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. People often go to the altar because they want God to take cigarettes or some other habit away from them. God doesn’t smoke, so He is not going to take those things from you. God does not chew tobacco, so He is not going to take it from you. Your body can become addicted to things that will destroy it. The Bible calls these habits “sin” because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Anyone who has ever won an Olympic gold medal will tell you he did something about his body. When his body did not want to run, he kept on running. When his body said, “I want to go eat this,” he said, “No, you are not eating that.”  I am not referring to people who run every once in a while; I am talking about gold medal winners. They have to do something about their bodies.

Confession: Body, I am doing something about you right now. I am presenting you as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.

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SUBSTITUTION AND IDENTIFICATION

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)

“Identification with Christ is the center of all theology.” – Mark Hankins

What does it mean to identify with Christ? We are instructed to practice two ordinances in the Church today.  One of them is water baptism, and the other one is the Lord’s Supper.

Water baptism is a picture of your identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-6) The Lord’s Supper is to be regularly practiced.

Jesus said,“This do in remembrance of me…this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25) When you partake of the bread and the cup in the Lord’s Supper, you are enforcing the fact that you are one with Him.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are types of your union and your identification with Christ. Paul shared his revelation in Colossians 1:26-27, “This mystery was hidden for ages and generations, but I am going to tell you what the secret is. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  You are swallowed up “in Christ.” You are in Him. You are buried with Him, and you are raised with Him.

Confession: I am swallowed up in Christ! In Him I died, I was buried, and I was raised up with Him!

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