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SEEING WHAT GOD SEES

I pray that you new Christians will understand the mighty position with Christ which your congregations occupy. (Ephesians 1:16 The Distilled Bible)

You are such a new creature in Christ you will have to let God introduce you to your new self!
Mark Hankins

Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesians 1:16-23 is very important for us today. We have a mighty position with Christ. Few Christians have understood the authority we have as believers. The same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead was released “towards us.” We were the targets for that power. God was focusing on us. He was looking at us. God saw us there in Christ. He was working on us. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10) What God did in Christ, He did in us.

In 2 Corinthians 12:2, the Apostle Paul refers to himself as, “a man in Christ.” He could not tell whether he was in the body or out of the body. Paul even ascended into the third heaven. A man in Christ is not just of this world, but he also has access to heaven. Paul’s prayer is our prayer today: that we can see and enjoy the life God has given us in Christ!

Confession: I have a mighty position with Christ. The same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead was released towards me. I am God’s workmanship in Christ!

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LIFE AS GOD HAS IT

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

A man in Christ is a man with the life of God. Mark Hankins

The Greek word in the New Testament that is translated life or eternal life is zoe. I like W.E. Vine’s definition of the word zoe (eternal life, everlasting life, or life):

“It is life as a principle…life in the absolute sense, as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself and which He gave to the incarnate Son to have in Himself. (John5: 26) Eternal life is the present actual possession of the believer because of his relationship with Christ.”

God has given us a new quality of life in Christ. He has given us His own life — the very same life that raised Jesus from the dead. (Ephesians 2:4-6) God wants us to know that we have eternal life now. We are not trying to get it or some day in the sweet by-and-by going to get it. The gift of God is eternal life. (Romans 6:23) What a great gift God has given us in Christ!

Confession: Eternal life is my present actual possession because of my relationship with Christ!

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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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A MAN IN CHRIST

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

What Jesus did in His death, burial, and resurrection changed all of heaven and earth—seen and unseen! Mark Hankins

Jesus did not go through the agony of the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection just to help us a little bit. What Jesus did in His death, burial and resurrection, changed all of heaven and earth — seen and unseen!
The world is constantly fantasizing about Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Hercules, the Bionic Woman, the Six Million Dollar Man, Jedi Knights, and the Incredible Hulk. Each of these individuals is an amazing specimen among us. Many stories have been told, but God has produced the real thing — the most amazing specimen of all. He has created a man in Christ. This is no man- made fantasy. God has made a new creature that is a sign and a wonder in this world!

As we feed on the Word, we partake of the same power that fueled these world-changing events two thousand years ago. A man in Christ is a world-changing man!

Confession: I am a world-changing man. I am a man in Christ. Jesus is Lord in my life!

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NEW IDENTITY

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)

Put off the old man, with his old ways of thinking, old actions, and old attitudes. Mark Hankins

Paul used these “in Christ” scriptures in Ephesians and Colossians to tell you what God has done for you in Christ. Begin to acknowledge these scriptures where Paul talked about who you are and what you have in Christ.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
And you hath he quickened. (Ephesians 2:1)
And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him. (Colossians 2:9-10)
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Confession: I have a new identity. In Christ, I have redemption through His blood. In Christ I am complete!

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