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THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST

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. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“Righteousness simply means that you have right standing with God.” – Mark Hankins

God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be made sin for us. He took our sin and our curse and died our death. Jesus was made to be sin for us so we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10) Paul said that your spirit is alive because of righteousness. When you received Christ, your spirit received eternal life because you were made righteous. You had the very righteousness of God imparted to your spirit.

Putting off the old man and putting on the new man happens by getting your mind renewed with the Word of God. This new man is created in righteousness and through holiness. When you get born again, you are not just a forgiven sinner. You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ!

Confession: I am a new creation in Christ. The old way of thinking and acting is dead and gone. I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ!

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IN CHRIST SURGERY

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:28)

“Mankind needed redemption; we needed the blood of Jesus.” – Mark Hankins

A firefighter from California once burned his hand so badly that the doctors thought they would have to amputate. They decided to try another procedure because of the human body’s regenerative powers. Surgeons operated on the firefighter, inserted his burned hand inside his body, and left it in there. When they removed the hand after some days, the skin had begun to grow back again.

God saw that man’s condition was so bad that it looked like he would have to be amputated. He said, “Before we do that, I will do a surgical procedure.”  The surgery God performed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ was such a massive project; He planned it for thousands of years. Because of man’s condition, this “in Christ” surgical procedure was the only way man could be saved. Paul called this a mystery in Colossians 1:26-27.  We are joined and identified with Him through redemption!

Confession: In Him I live and move and have my being! I have been redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus!

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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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I LIKE THAT “I AM” BUSINESS

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is… (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“I am not trying to be, needing to be, hoping to be, or someday going to be. Right now, I am in Christ!” – Mark Hankins

When I was a senior in high school, I found 130 “in Christ” scriptures, wrote them down, and began to confess them. I put them on a cassette tape. Every morning when I woke up, I heard myself saying, “I am a new creation in Christ, old things are passed away, everything has become new.”

I like that “I am” business. The world is full of people who are trying to be and used to be.  Have you ever heard somebody say, “He’s a wannabe”?

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he IS a new creature.”  This is present tense — right now.  I am a new creation. I am the righteousness of God. I am triumphant. I am in “I AM” and so I am!

It is not something I am trying to get or something I am trying to do. It is something in my genes. I have been born again, and God’s life and nature is in me.  It is in my genes; it runs in my family. I am in union with the Champion. I am in union with the righteousness of God.  I am in Christ!

Confession: I am not trying to be, needing to be, hoping to be, or someday going to be. Right now, I am in Christ!

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ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR UNION WITH CHRIST

But he who is in union with the Master is one with Him in spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17 | Weymouth)

“A fly will not land on a hot stove!” – Mark Hankins

When you get born again, you get “in Christ-ed.” Your spirit joined to Christ.  However, your faith will not be effectual until you start to acknowledge, confess, and declare your identity in Christ. You have to acknowledge it.

I encourage you to make a daily confession and acknowledge who you are in Christ. To “acknowledge” means more than just talking about it — to acknowledge means to go ahead and act like it. This is why people need to run, laugh, dance, shout, and daily rejoice by faith. This demonstrates our victory in Christ.

The moment you step out of the natural and out of circumstances, you step right over into who you are in Christ. Your spirit man begins to respond by taking ascendancy over your flesh, your mind, and the circumstances of your faith. The devil will mess with you all day long until you rise up in the Spirit.

Confession: I am in union with the Master and one with Him in spirit. I confess, acknowledge, and declare who I am in Christ!

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