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THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then we’re all dead. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Jesus was not a martyr; He was a substitute, one man who died for every man.
Mark Hankins

Jesus took our place. He took our curse and died our death. He took our condition so that we could have His condition. He was identified with us. We were there in His death and resurrection, because He died for us, we died with Him. Because He was raised for us, we were raised with Him. Everything Jesus did, He did for us and it is credited to our account as if we did it. Substitution progresses to identification and union with Christ.

In the four Gospels, a disproportionate amount of space is given to the actual events of the death and resurrection of Christ. Every sermon in the book of Acts and all of Paul’s epistles center on what happened in the death and resurrection of Christ. You can get anything you need from this event. Healing, prosperity, joy, victory — whatever you need — you can get from the fact that, “I was crucified with Christ. He took my place because He was my substitute. He took my condition.”

Confession: 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)

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THE LAW OF IDENTIFICATION

Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)

What Satan did in Adam, God reversed in Christ.
Mark Hankins

The whole Bible is really about two men: the first Adam and the last Adam. Adam is the old man, and Christ is the new man. As we shared the same identical condition with Adam, we now share the same identical condition with Christ (Romans 5 and 6).

You can find Adam’s condition in whatever language you speak – Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Swahili, or English. Anywhere you go, you can still find Adam talking. He is saying, “I am sick. I am poor. I am confused. I am depressed. I want to kill myself. I want to kill some- body else.” You can find Adam’s language everywhere because the whole human race is identified with Adam. You can trace your family tree all the way back to Adam.

The Law of Identification is “Adam in Christ.” One man got us into this mess, and one man can get us out. Your experience with Jesus can be so real it changes your identity! The second birth, when you are born again, puts you in the new Adam and you are a new creation!

Confession: 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)

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GOD IS ALL YOU NEED

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7)

When you get a revelation of who Christ is, you will recognize you are in union with Him.
Mark Hankins

In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses asked the Lord for help in leading His people. He said, “Lord, I want You to show me your glory. ” God told Moses, “There is a place by me. When I pass by, I am going to put you in a cleft of the rock. When my glory passes by, you will not see anything except my back parts.”

The Bible says that when God passed by, He said, “My glory is made up of all of my goodness. I am going to make all of my goodness pass before you, and I am going to proclaim the name of the Lord. I am going to pronounce my name for you.” In that place in the rock, in the glory of God, there are two main ingredients: the goodness of God and the revelation of who God is.

Climb into that place in Christ and the devil cannot harm you. Climb up into the grace of God, into the righteousness that is yours.

Confession: You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7 NKJV)

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CHANGE YOUR NAME, CHANGE YOUR IDENTITY

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

We can never rise in life above our own understanding of who we are.
Mark Hankins

Many people have an identity crisis. Numerous voices try to tell us who and what we are from the time we are born. Throughout the Bible, we can see God changing people’s identities. God called Gideon “a mighty man of valor” when he was defeated and hiding from the enemy. Often God calls us something even though there is no physical evidence to support it, but He is God.

Jesus changed people’s identities in the New Testament. Simon was changed to Peter, “a piece of the rock,” which is the revelation of who Jesus is. In Matthew 16:16-19, Peter got a revelation of who Jesus was. Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus changed Peter’s name, character, and destiny.

We all must have an identity change to fulfill the destiny and dream that God has for us. Do not let anyone else tell you who you are or what you are like. Only God has the right to determine your true identity.

Confession: I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works! (Ephesians 2:10)

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START DRILLING

The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When you drill into the phrase, “in Christ,” it swallows up your past, your failures, and your old identity.
Mark Hankins

There is a story about a strange happening in South Louisiana at Lake Peigneur. Texaco was drilling for oil in the Lake and the drill got stuck at 1250 feet. It began to list badly so they abandoned it. From the shore, they watched it sink from sight. Meanwhile, men working in a salt mine under the lake noticed it was beginning to flood, so they also escaped. On the surface, a whirlpool threatened some fishermen, eventually pulling in some barges and a tug associated with the drilling. The whirlpool grew in size until it pulled in 65 acres of land. An oil rig, a salt mine, an entire lake, and 65 acres of land disappeared!

What God did for you through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ will swallow up who you used to be. Get the drill out and start drilling. Drill in Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, Ephesians 2:4-5, and Galatians 6:14. Drill until you hit something in the realm of the Spirit that will swallow up your past!

Confession: My old man was crucified with Christ. I am no longer a slave to sin! (Romans 6:6)

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