Ephesians 1
There are 10 references to being in Christ is just this first chapter of Ephesians. Before Christ, we were trying to live in our self-sufficiency. Before Christ, we tried to be in control of our own lives. To enter into Christ, we have to die to self. We have to humble ourselves, recognize our need for Him, and yield ourselves to His loving authority. When we do, we become one with Christ. When we become one with Christ, we become one with God. When we become one with God, we are complete. We are back where we belong, knowing His love and receiving from His life.
When we are in Christ, we are raised to life. Paul writes that it was God who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus didn’t raise Himself. It was by the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:11). When we surrender to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we too, are raised from spiritual death and receive the resurrection life of God.
When we are in Christ, we stand in His authority. When God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus also received authority over principalities, powers, might and dominion, and every name that is named from that time forward. Jesus has authority over rulers in both visible and invisible realms. Jesus has authority over the operations of these rulers which include sin and the effects of sin, namely sickness, poverty, and spiritual death. Jesus delegated His authority to us – those who have chosen to enter into covenant with Him through salvation. God backs this authority with His power and His Spirit. We don’t have this authority apart from Christ, so there are two mentions for living in the authority and power of God. One, become born again through a reliant, obedient faith. Two, live a reliant, obedient life of faith. Each day, choosing to pick up our cross and follow Christ. Pride and sin will keep us from walking in a full measure of this authority and power. Faith in action is what positions and empowers us to live in a greater measure of God’s anointing. This is a powerful truth for those who will receive and apply it.
Isaiah 16-18
Again, we are reading prophetic writing about the destruction of the world’s system, as well as what could be applied to the day it was written. In Isaiah 16:5 there is a prophecy of Jesus sitting on a throne, prophetic of His coming reign over the nations, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
At the very core of all sin is pride and self-sufficiency. At the root of righteousness is love and surrender. Pride and control started with Adam and Eve, and it has continued throughout time. If you ever wonder why there is going to be a battle at Megiddo, why there will be a 1,000 year reign of Christ, why Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom before His return, these and many other answers are found in this primary reason – Jesus is Lord and our intended design is a loving, dependent relationship of surrender to our Father. This is why I love Isaiah 17:7 “In that day will men look to their Maker, and their eyes shall regard the Holy One of Israel.” God loves everyone, and His desire is for everyone to know that He is the source of our life, and without surrender to Him, we cannot stand. Thank God, through confessing Jesus as our Lord, believing that He died and rose again, we can be saved!
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