Living By Faith

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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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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THE ANOINTING ABIDES IN YOU

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. (I John 2:27)

The reality of the power of God, that unction or anointing, will teach you all things.
Mark Hankins

The Lord told Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh. He said that He would multiply His signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 7:3) Aaron did as the Lord commanded and went before Pharaoh. He cast down his rod and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh called his magicians and they cast down their rods, which also became serpents. But all of a sudden, Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

The real gifts of the Spirit will eat up the false manifestations. You do not need to be afraid of the counterfeit. All you need is the reality of the gifts of the Spirit. The anointing will teach you all things. The anointing will teach you what is the truth!

Confession: I have an unction from the Holy One, so I know all things. The anointing teaches me what is real and what is truth and not a lie!

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STAY IN THE ANOINTING

And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? (Luke 4:22)

You can never fulfill the destiny that God has for you if you stay in the natural, in your reasoning, and in your sense knowledge.
Mark Hankins

When Jesus stood and read Isaiah 61 in the temple, the people did not exactly have a great revival day in Nazareth. The people responded in the natural, and said, “This is Joseph’s son. He lives right down the street from us. He is saying that the Spirit of God is on Him and He is anointed.” Then they tried to throw Him off a nearby cliff!

Do you think everyone is going to be happy when you say, “I am a new creation in Christ; I am redeemed, blessed, and prosperous”? No, someone is going to say, “You think you are what? You live right down the street from me. You are not any different from anyone else.”

This world, the devil, your kinfolks, and your past will try to hold you in the natural. The anointing is in you, but the key is in your declaration, “That is who I am. I found it right there in the Word!” If somebody asks, “Who do you think you are?” you can say, “How much time do you have to listen?”

Confession: I am in the Anointed One. Jesus paid too high a price for me to stay bound. In Him I am redeemed!

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YOUR NUMBER ONE BATTLE

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Satan knows that if he can capture your thought life, he has won a great victory.
Mark Hankins

I heard a story once about a man who asked a well- known evangelist to pray for him that he would never have another bad thought. The evangelist said, “If I could do that for you, I would do it for myself!”
You must realize that as long as you are in this world, Satan has access to you, and he can bring thoughts and suggestions to your mind. This does not mean you are not saved. As a matter of fact, Satan knows if he can capture your thought life, he has won a great victory.
The devil will tell you that if you thought something, you ought to say it or do it. However, you decide what you will do with those thoughts. I like the way Dad Hagin said it: “Just because Satan brings thoughts to your mind doesn’t mean they are sin. Thoughts may come and thoughts may persist, but thoughts that are not acted upon die unborn.”

Confession: I cast down every imagination and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. I am bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!

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