As sons and daughters of the Most High, we are all moving towards the fulfillment of God’s Will and Plan, and we will never cease with this progression. One of the reasons that this is such an important and encouraging truth is because many of us are feeling stuck in life—we feel as if we’re not progressing at all. Our relationships sometimes take a disappointing turn, our finances are not enough to meet our needs, and we have other personal issues that cause us to feel trapped. These situations can weigh us down and cause us to live beneath our privilege as God’s children.
John 10:10 tells us that Jesus Christ came to the earth to give us a rich and satisfying life. This is what our Heavenly Father wants for us, and He tells us in His Word that the way to achieve this rich and satisfying life is to live by the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our problem is that many of us, including believers, steer ourselves away from following the example of Jesus Christ. Some of us don’t understand exactly what it means to follow his example, and others might feel that it is an unachievable goal for them. Whatever the case, Jesus Christ commands us in 1Corinthians 11:1 to be imitators of his example. 1Peter 2:22 also tells us that God has called us for the purpose of doing good, even if it means we have to be uncomfortable. God tells us that Christ is our example and we must follow in his steps.
God would not tell us to do something that we are incapable of doing. That would not be a rational and intelligent thing to do. God is perfect beyond perfection. He’s intelligent beyond intelligence. He knows everything that is going to happen before it occurs. So, our brilliant Heavenly Father would not set a goal for us without empowering us to get it done.
God has empowered us through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13(NLT) declares, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” When we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, and made him Lord over our entire existence, his Spirit came to live in us. We were spiritually born again, and God sent His Holy Spirit to live inside our body temples. Because of this, we are empowered to do all the things that God has commanded us to carry out. Our flesh or bodies are the same, but internally, we are changed, and because of this spiritual and internal change, we can have the kind of relationship with God that He’s always wanted.
Because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, we are able to do all things through him. It’s the greatest privilege any human being can have, but there are a few things that we must know about this great privilege. The first important piece of information that we need to know is that this awesome privilege comes with awesome responsibility. Jesus Christ said in Luke 12:48(NLT) that “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
God tells us in Ephesians 1:3 that He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings because of our union with Christ. Nothing has been left out. This is a wealth of spiritual good stuff that is too enormous to describe, and with this heft of Holy Spirit power, love, and goodness, we have a responsibility to take good care of what we have received. We must learn who Christ is so that we exercise his power in the very same way that he did.
The thing that makes us able to carry out all the wonderful good works that God has commissioned is the tremendous reality that He’s made us righteous! You and I don’t have any righteousness to call our own. Before we accepted Jesus Christ, our sin kept us from coming into God’s presence as His kids, but Christ changed all that. Our sin kept us separated from God, but because of Christ, Romans 3:22(NLT) tells us, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” We have received God’s righteousness, and because of this we are supercharged to carry out His purpose. This is where our faith must be.
1Corinthians 3:16 tells us that our bodies are God’s temple. Our bodies are a house for our human spirit, our souls, and the Spirit of Christ which is the Holy Spirit. We have been taught by the world to believe that our flesh–our bodies are where the action happens, but this is not true. The real action happens on the inside of us, where the Spirit of Christ abides. We do not live from the outside in, we live from the inside out. This is why God warns us throughout His Word to guard our hearts, to repent of our sins, and to walk in His Spirit every moment of each day.
Heavenly Father tells us in Romans 12:2(NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”God has given us His righteousness through the new birth that Jesus Christ made available to everyone. So, it’s time to switch gears and bring our minds and hearts on board with the righteousness God has given us through Jesus Christ. God has transformed us into a new person through Jesus Christ, and we must change the way we think so our thoughts equal the enormous gift we have received.
1John 3:7(ESV) tells us, “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” God has given us the greatest gifts that can be given. We must not allow distractions and excuses to keep us from reading and studying His Word so we can find out about them. We are His children, and He wants us to be like Him. Learning about the example of Christ from God’s Word helps us to know about God’s righteousness. Praying often and daily practicing righteous living is part of God’s plan and purpose for our lives. This is living through Jesus Christ, and it is the best way to show our gratitude for all the spiritual gifts we have received through his sacrifice and resurrection. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“God’s Righteousness”, written by Vince Mack. Blessing Beads and More© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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