Knowing who we
are as a Citizens of the Kingdom of God, born again disciples of Jesus the Christ,
called sons and daughters of God, the Bride of Christ, and overcomers in a fallen world.
How does one become
a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
•
“I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see (or enter
into) the Kingdom of God.” Jn. 3:3
•
The new birth gets us into the Kingdom.
It translates us out of the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of
God. Col. 1:13
•
If you are a real Christian, then you have immigrated from one Kingdom
to another. You are still in the world,
but you at not “of the world”. You are a
citizen of the Kingdom of God. Jn. 17:14-18
We as believers in Jesus need to "think a new way''; to think like citizens of the Kingdom of God.
[Rom 12:2 NLT] 2 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.
Citizens of the
Kingdom of God are redeemed men and women.
The question we ask here is; who are we as
the redeemed people of God?
What happened to
us at the cross?
·
He
delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of
Light - Col. 1:13-14.
·
He gave us
the power to live the life He called us to live - 1 Jn. 4:4.
·
He gave us
back authority to exercise on the earth -Lk. 10:19.
·
We exercise
our authority by obedience. Legal
authority must become exercised authority.
·
In the book
of Acts, God gave us the power to exercise our legal authority. We must activate our will and choose to
exercise our authority. We must pursue
the enemy, confront the enemy, and finally “arrest” the enemy. It is the dunamis power of God that is within
that is the power to enforce Jesus’ victory on the cross.
So, who
are we as redeemed mankind? Why do
we think we can exercise our legal authority?
Why do we think we can confront Satan and his hordes and be victorious? Why
do we think that we can be overcomers in this fallen world?
We need to
understand that all things belong to the Church and are for her benefit (1 Cor.
3:21-23; Rom. 8:28). We the Church and
the individuals that make up the church are the Lamb’s wife, the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:6, 9; 21:7, 9, 10; Acts 17:26). It is God’s pleasure or purpose to give us
the Kingdom (Lk. 12:32). The Church is
to sit with Him upon His Throne to be invested with His authority (Rev. 3:21). It is to judge the world and angels (1 Cor.
6:2-3). It is to share His Glory (Jn. 17:22). The Church is to be a joint heir of all
things (Rom. 8:17).
Every human being that has received Grace
from God to be born again by His Spirit has become a new creature, a New Man (Eph. 2:15). Every true believer and follower of Jesus the
Christ is a new order of being. A being
that is a genetic son of God (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 3:26). We are His body on earth (Eph. 1:23);
flesh of His flesh (Eph. 5:30). We are partakers
of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4); God’s own family; a genetic family,
incorporating His own seed or genes, or heredity. We are Princes of the Realm of God,
sharing His glory, blood brothers of the Son (1 Jn. 3:2; Jn.
17:22). The members of the Church are
the aristocracy of the universe, a new royalty of kings and priests (1
Pet. 2:9). The Bride of the Son, the Lamb’s wife, co-ruler, co-sovereign,
co-administrator, a judicially equal partner to the throne by virtue of
redemption and wedlock to The King of Kings; Jesus. We are declared to be only a little lower than
God (Ps. 8:4-5); accepted into the bosom of the Father (Jn. 1:18; Eph. 1:6; Jn.
17:23). This is who we are and what we
are. This current age, this earthy life,
the great commission, the spiritual warfare, is all about gathering and
training of the Bride of Christ, the Church!
It is learning to love, please and serve our Lord. It is learning to “overcome”, to “rule and
reign” with Christ, practical, on-the-job training for our ultimate destiny. It is developing God’s character in us.
Part of our motivation to be warriors and overcomers in the likeness of our
Lord (Exodus. 15:3) is knowing the multitude of blessing and promises that have
been given us by the Lord and that we are not enjoying because of the
enemy. In many areas the Lord has given
us “the Land” but we have not possessed it (Deut. 1:8; 2:24,25). We have not “driven the enemy from our land”
(Josh. 15:63). When we do not war for
what is rightfully ours and drive the enemy out, he remains and serious
strongholds are built in both individuals and corporate groups including
nations. It is time for the Church to
rise up and go to battle for all that was won for us at the cross of
Jesus. We must battle for the
provisions, peace, prosperity, joy and especially the love and intimacy with
God that are rightfully ours. This is
true on the personal and corporate level.
We must battle for our personal peace and intimacy, but we must also
battle for the nations. Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (NIV)
Because of who we are, God provides
everything we need to succeed, to be overcomers, to be victors in
battle. It is His Grace that flowed into us and birthed the new man. It is His Grace that gives us power and
authority over the enemy. His Grace is
sufficient for all of our needs (2 Cor. 12:9).
“Sufficient” means made to fit the job at hand. God provides Grace for all of our tasks. When we stand before the enemy, it is God’s
abundant and all sufficient Grace that insures our victory! And we get this Grace the same way we got the
Grace to be saved or born again, by asking and receiving for the gift of Grace
is freely and abundantly given to us by God.
To be the people of God that we are
intended to be; to walk in our destinies; to be victorious in the days ahead
that are coming upon the earth; we need to know God and be able to relate to
Him in His fullness. We must know Him as
the Lamb of God, the gentle shepherd that saves us and give us new life. We must know Him as our heavenly father who
perfectly cares for us, matures us, and protects us. We must know Him as our teacher, counselor,
advocate and standby, the Holy Spirit who dwells within us and is the power and
ever-present presence of God with us in this life. We must know Him as our divine lover, our
Bridegroom, the "love of our life", He who we live and die for. We must know and be filled with the love of
the Father for the Son, the love of the Son for the Father, and the love of the
Godhead for the Church, His bride so that we can love God and each other as we
must as the children of God.
We also need to know our Lord as the
righteous judge of Revelations. To
understand God in His righteousness and judgments is to know Him as He brings
purging and cleansing to us and to the earth.
Finally we need to know our Lord as a mightily warrior, Captain of the
Armies of Heaven. It is He who is
calling us into battle; calling us to follow Him as He wages war on the Kingdom
of Hell; as He culminates this age in the final battles over evil; enforces His
victory won on the cross; and establishes His Kingdom on earth.
When we know God and when we know who we
are in God, then we know that nothing is impossible, no power in hell, force on
earth, or circumstance can defeat us.
God has won and in Him we have won!
We are victors and overcomers
because of who we now are as the sons of
God and the Bride of Christ!
As the storms of
life rage all around us from our personal lives to the turmoil in the world
today, we are witnessing a great spiritual battle between God and His great
enemy, Satan, the prince of this present darkness. To be an overcomer in this
world it is important be become a spiritual warrior.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly
[places].” ( Eph 6:12 NKJV ) In the
coming days we will take a look at what it takes to become a Spiritual Warrior.
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