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VICTORY IN CHRIST

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto
the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

You are who God says you are; you can do what God says you can do; you can have what God says you can have!
Mark Hankins

My dad and mom pastored a full gospel church in West Columbia, Texas for more than 50 years. When my parents first moved to West Columbia, I was only a year old and my older brother, Mike, was four. Mom was sick and mentally tormented for two years. Dad not only pastored the church, but also had the pressure of all the family responsibilities. Dad began to have heart trouble. The church was small and struggling, and we were poor.
However, in the middle of this struggle a man gave my dad some books on the authority of the believer, the integrity of God’s Word, and who you are in Christ. Dad began to read and study the material and gained a new understanding of God’s Word. Dad began to speak the Word to Mom and had her repeat it after him. She began to say, “I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do!” As my parents saw who they were in Christ and spoke the Word, faith arose in their hearts. They knew that victory belonged to them in every area of their lives.

Confession: Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

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JESUS TOOK OUR SHAME

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

We look a lot better in Christ than we do outside of Him.
Mark Hankins

Jesus took our guilt, shame, sin, death, and curse so that we could be free. We were engrafted into His death that we might be one with His resurrection and victory. He was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God In Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Colossians chapter one, verses fourteen and twenty-two says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”

We are new creatures In Christ. God would not make an unrighteous new creature. We have the same righteousness as Jesus Christ Himself. He took our shame that we may live without guilt. We can now face life confident that we are qualified for God’s best blessings.

Confession: I am a new creature In Christ! I have the same righteousness as Jesus Christ Himself. I am qualified for God’s best blessings!

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GOD SEES YOU IN CHRIST

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)

If you are not impressed with who you are and what you have in Christ, you have not seen Him lately!
Mark Hankins

A man in Christ is a man with the life of God. You are not deity, but you are not only human. You have been born of God. God has given you His very own life. You are not the same person you used to be.

God sees you in Christ, but you must also see yourself in Him. You will never be different until you see yourself differently. The Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them to us. He is able to project the image of Christ from the Word to the screen of our minds, so we can live in the reality of our redemption.

Take time to renew your mind every day with the reality of redemption. Dare to act like the Bible is true, and it will become real in your life. Allow God to introduce you to your new self!

Confession: I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. I have God’s very own life and nature in me. The life of God is in me now. I know I have eternal life. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. In Christ, I am redeemed, blessed, and victorious!

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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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