Christian Living

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Who are you in Christ?
It is important to know who we are outside Christ to appreciate who we are in Christ.

Outside of Christ we are dead in trespasses and sin,(1) all our righteousness or goodness are as filthy rags before God(2). We are enemies of God, separated, alienated from Him, without hope, destined for hell and eternal destruction. (3)
Without Christ, we are slaves to sin and Satan and all his cohorts.(4) We have hearts that are desperately wicked even though to the people around us we may look like saints.(5) There is that capacity for evil lurking and when the right circumstance presents itself, the true adamic, satanic nature manifests itself. We may never kill on the outside but we can kill from the inside. In this state we are in total rebellion to God even when we go to Church, pray, are charitable or are even ministers of the Gospel! We may have status in society, acclaimed, feted and celebrated, but before God we stink, are damned and doomed.

However when we one day realise our sinful nature and need for forgiveness and restoration and come to Christ, we are restored to our first estate. God gives us a fresh start. The slate is wiped cleaned for a New Beginning. (6) The old goes and the new comes. Our spirit is recreated and regenerated. We become brand new specie as it were. We become God’s voice, his hands and feet here on earth. Any attack on us becomes an attack on Him. (7)He presides and rules over us. We become His sheep and He becomes our Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. (8) We belong to the family of God.(9)

When God looks at us, He sees Jesus. We are clothed in His righteousness. God becomes our Father and we become His children. (10) We are citizens of heaven- in the world but not of it; we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God; (11) we are a royal priesthood; we are God’s property and territory; we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth,(12) followers or disciples of Christ. We no longer belong to ourselves but to Him who came to rescue us from the dominion of darkness and translated us in to the Kingdom of light and life.(13)

Why is it important know who you are in Christ?
If you don’t know who you are in Christ, you will live below God’s expectation of you. You will be short-changed by the enemy of your soul. How can you avail yourself of the power God has available for you? Your growth will be stunted and you will live like an orphan, vagabond or destitute. The promises of God are not for everyone. They are for the children of God. (14)
There are over 8000 promises in the bible. And unless we know them and appropriate them, we would only be window -shoppers and would not enjoy our inheritance in Christ.(15)

God has a plan for each one of us. (16) We are not and accident of creation. Before we came to be in our mother’s womb, God had a plan for us. (17) And he created us for a purpose. Whatever He does is for a purpose. And He a wants us to fulfil the mission, vision, assignment or dream deposited in us at conception and birth. (18) Nobody can do the work you are called to do. Nobody can take your place You are unique, with a unique gifting fitted for your assignment. God wants you to make your mark. Be different. Leave your imprint on the sands of time.

Can you take this challenge?

He has packaged you for your purpose in life. You need to find out what your assignment is and pursue it whole-heartedly until you finish and finish well. There is greatness in your loins whether or not you know it. He said, ‘eye has not seen, ear has not heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him. (19) Do you love Him? If your answer is ‘Yes’, then this promise is for you.
God has incredible, unsearchable riches in Christ which can only be enjoyed by those who know who they are in Christ. Daniel said, ‘Those who know their God shall be strong and they shall do great exploits’ (20). My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (21) By their fruit you shall know them. (22) Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (23)

What are the implications?
To inherit the promises of God and become what we are potentially, we need to crave, strongly desire the unadulterated milk and word of God when we come to Christ. (24) There is no short cut or quick fix in growing in Christ. As it is naturally so it is spiritually. Gradually as the baby is fed with milk, the bones become stronger and it grows and soon begins to crawl and then walk and later run. And from childhood it moves to adolescence, to adulthood. No one goes from childhood to adulthood over night. That would be aberration wouldn’t it?

So growing in Christ takes time. It requires persistent and patient eating of God’s word, drinking the milk.
Following from this is the need for prayer. As we need to breathe to remain alive we need to learn to pray- communicate with our heavenly father; tell him our concerns or tell him how we love him. We must learn to allow him to talk back to us especially as we read his word. (25)

Furthermore we must recognise the need for fellowship with other believers for warmth and mutual encouragement and nourishment. We must realise that we need each other. The Body of Christ is a unit. And just as it is in the body, the head needs the hands and the hands need the feet. Every part of the body is important.
We need to find out what we have been called to do in the Body of Christ, find out what gifts God has bestowed on us to fulfil our calling. Such gifts or talents often need development before they can be deployed and the Church is the environment in which they can be developed and used. (26)

We must confess and forsake our sins. We cannot say we are in Christ and continue our old ways without remorse. It is true that even after coming to Christ we struggle with certain things which are like strongholds in our lives. For some it is compulsive gambling for others it could be lying, others it could be drug addiction or whatever. But we cannot keep on doing what we know to be wrong without any guilt. We must come to the cross for help to overcome them and live as light in the midst of darkness. That is why it is imperative that we immediately embark on renewing our mind once we come to Christ. (27) The old sinful, worldly stinking thinking has to be replaced with God’s mind and thinking. The values of the Kingdom of God are diametrically opposed to the values of the world and we must identify these false corrupting values superimpose the values of the kingdom of light. We must embrace and crave the fruit of the spirit- love, joy, peace, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, patience, generosity, forgiveness, faith, endurance, purity, integrity, sincerity, forbearance, hospitality, godly zeal, commitment, discipleship. (28) We must be a salt of the earth- preserving the unity of the body and not tearing it down, preserving the word of God and spreading it. We must prevent decay in our lives and the Body of Christ in general just as salt prevents corrosion and decay. We must provide seasoning and make the Body of Christ taste delicious as we contribute to the spiritual food it serves the world or the other members of the Body. We must create hunger and thirst in others for the Christ and His Word, like salt does for food and drink. Salt purifies and we have been kept here as purifying agents in our society. We must fulfil this mission and function to be worth our salt. That was why Jesus said, ‘If the salt has lost its saltiness wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing and trodden underfoot. (29)

We are the light of the world. The implication here is that we need to shine and show forth the glory of He who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. We are to repel and expel darkness, reveal truth, be a revelation to the world. We are told in the book of Romans that creation groans for the manifestation of the sons of God. (30) We must stand up to be counted in society and not hide our light. We must stand up for the values that we believe in and not sit down and watch as they are undermined. The word of God must remain our primary standard. It must takes precedence over every thing. (31) There must be no compromises. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we must be prepared to burn rather than bow to idols or idolatry in the Land. (32) Like Daniel we must be prepared to be fed to the lions than fend for our egos, save our faces or reputation. (33) Jesus made himself of no reputation and we must do the same. Polycarp one of the founding fathers of Christianity faced the stakes. His life was on the line and he was asked to deny Christ : "Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;" Polycarp declared, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?" ‘ . He refused to deny Christ. He paid with his life. That is what we should be prepared to do. Jesus said, ‘if you deny me before men I will deny you before my Father who is in heaven. (34) ‘He who saves his life will lose it and he who loses his life will gain it’. (35) Paul said he counted his life achievements, accolade as nothing, dung, compared to knowing Christ. And he constantly craved to know him more, to be progressively intimately acquainted with him. ‘that I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. (36) Not that I have already attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting the past and reaching forth to what is ahead, I press on for the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ.(37)
This is the attitude we need to develop to growing in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will pour water on him that is thirsty. The psalmist said as the dear pants for water so my soul long for you, Lord as the dry land is thirsty for water so my soul is thirsty for you. (38)

What do you have in Christ?
You have authority in Christ. Behold I give you power over all the power of the enemy. We have a delegated authority. (39) We do not go in our own strength but in the strength of the Lord. He is our strength, our victorious banner. He is the greater One indwelling us in the person of the Holy Spirit. (40) We who were dead in trespasses and sins were raised together with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places far above principalities and powers and thrones and names not only in this world but in the world to come. Our position is in the heavens. From that position we exercise our authority. The enemy is under our feet. But if we are unaware, we will be defeated and would be cowing instead being bold and strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. (41)
We have at our disposal the whole armour of God- the helmet of salvation ( to protect our mind from every evil insinuations of the enemy); the belt of truth ( to expose the lies of the devil); the shoes of the gospel ( to give us a firm-footed readiness to tell people the reason for the hope we have); the breastplate of righteousness ( our consciousness of our right standing with God through Christ); the shield of faith ( with which to quench , extinguish every flaming arrow of the enemy); the sword of the Spirit – the word of God with which -to cut down very demonic trees or entities not planted in us.
We also have prayers – all kinds which we need to know of and also know which kind of pray to deploy on what occasion. (42)

In Christ we have peace with God. (43) We have been reconciled to God. The Chasm has been bridged. We have been reconciled. Hostility has ceased. (44) We can come to the throne of God boldly and obtain mercy in time of need. (45) As we come and the name of Jesus, God’s ear are wide open to hear our petition. If we sin there is forgiveness available to us if we confess our sins. (46) It is important to know that so long as we remain in this flesh there will be a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. And from time to time we will fall. And so long as we are penitent God will forgive us. (47) This is not an excuse for sin. (48) We must genuinely make efforts and pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to overcome besetting sins. There is power in the blood of Jesus that will break the hold and power of any sin. In some cases the grip is broken in an instant but in some other cases it takes time. Often also the anointing breaks the yoke in the spirit realm but we need to believe it and act as if we are free before we can see the freedom manifest. (49) At other times we may need to sever links with people or places that drag us into the sin in question or obey specific command or instruction we have found in the word or counselled to do. There are no easy answers. God deals with us differently just we are different.
Also at our disposal is the community of saints for fellowship. (50) Again Jesus prays for us at the right hand of the Father- as our advocate and intercessor. (51)

So child of God know who you are in Christ. Do not allow your adversary to cheat you and rob you of your inheritance e in Christ. God has a good, great glorious plan for you. Unless your mind is renewed you cannot know that plan. And if you don’t know the plan how can you fulfil it? Don’t waste time. God has given birth to you to live life to the full. Don’t just exist, live life to the full. You and I will give an account of how we lived our lives. (52) Do you not want to hear, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant you have been faithful with the little I gave you, enter in to the joy of the Lord? Do you want to hear: ‘Go depart from me, I do not know you?’(53)
Redeem the time. (54) The day is far spent and the night comes when no man can work. Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (55)
See the handwriting on the wall. Understand the signs of the time. Rise up and fulfil vision. Take the baton from the saints who have gone before you and run your race to a finish. Make Gods dream about you come true. He is for you and no one can be against you. (56)





(I have outlined these scripture to help those who really want to grow to search the scripture like the Bereans to see if what you have read is true. Resist the temptation to ignore these scripture. You don’t have to look them all up in one sitting give yourself some time use the article as bible study guide after reading it through once. Meditate on the relevant scripture until you are saturated with its truth to the point that it move you into action Acts 17:11.)

1. (Ephesians 2:1) 2. (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10) 3. (Romans 3:23, -6:23) 4. (Romans 6:14) 5. (Jeremiah 17:9) 6. (2Corinthians 5:17) 7. ( Acts 9:4-5) 8.(John 10:11) 9. John1:12) 10. (Matthew 6:9-13)11.( Ephesians 3:20, 2Corinthians5:20) 12. (1Peter 2:9, Matthew 5:13-16, 2Corintians 6:14-18) 13. ( Colossians 1:13)14.( Psalm50:14-17) 15. ( 2Corinthians 1:20)16.( Jeremiah 29:11) 17. Psalm 139:14-16) 18.( John17:4, -19:30, 2Timothy4:7) 19. ( 1Corinthians 2:9) 20. ( Daniel 11:32) 21.( Hosea 4:6) 22. Matthew 7:20) 23. ( John 15:1-7) 24. (1Peter 2:2) 25. (1Thessalonians 5:17) 26. ( 1Corinthians 12) 27. ( Romans 12 :1-2) 28.( Galatians 5:21-22, Romans 12:9-21, I Corinthians 13: 1-8 ) 29.( Matthew 5:13-16) 30. (Romans 8:19) 31. ( Hebrew 4:12) 32.( Daniel 3) 33. ( Daniel6)34. ( Matthew 10:33) 35. ( Mark 8:35)36. ( Philippians 3:10-14)37. ( same) 38. Psalm 42:1-2) 39. ( Luke 10:19, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18,) 40.( 1John 4:4, Acts 1:8) 41. (Ephesians6:10-18) 42. (same ) 43. ( Romans 5:1) 44. ( Ephesians 2:14) 45.( Hebrews 4:16) 46. ( 1John1:7,) 47.( Galatians 5:16, Proverbs 28:13) 48.( Romans 6:1) 49. ( 2Corinthians 5:7)50. ( Hebrew 10:25)51. ( 1John2:1) 52.( Romans 14:12) 53.( Matthew7:23) 54. ( Ephesians 5:16)55. ( Esther 4:14)56 ( Romans 8:31)

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