Identity In Christ, 175of175

~ “Whose You Are” Is More Important Than “Who You Are”! ~

Throughout this Monday series of 175 posts (beginning on January 5, 2015 through today, June 18, 2018) we looked at our “Identity in Christ.”  As a summary to the series, this final post looks at a few consequences of our Identity in Christ. 

In Christ We Have Been Accepted Into God’s Family  ~  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).

In Christ We Have A Down Payment  ~  “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).  “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 5:5).  “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). 

note:  “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Timothy 1:14).

In Christ We Have An Endowment  ~  ”And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:2-4).

In Christ We Have An Inheritance   ~  “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:11-12).

In Christ We Are Eternally Secure  ~  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).  

In Christ We Have Eternal Life With God  ~  Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-4). 

Summary of This Series  ~  While there are many important aspects of our “Identity in Christ” here are some that stand out to me:

1)      Knowing your “Identity in Christ” is the divine cure for insecurity!

2)      The key aspect of my significance is my position in Jesus Christ.  He called me “out of darkness and into His marvelous light” and made me part of His “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). 

3)      Jesus Christ has given me, and each of His children, various grace gifts (1 Peter 4:10) and He is continuing to work in me and through me (Ephesians 2:10). 

4)      Understanding your “Identity in Christ” is essential for victorious Christian living! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Best & Worst Fathers

~ Consider Father Extremes ~

The Father Wound  ~  Many throughout the world today suffer from various kinds of “father wounds.”  These wounds can be caused by an absent father or from physical, mental, or emotional abusiveness.  Suffering from father wounds can sometimes make it difficult to respond to a loving heavenly Father.  On the other hand the extreme contrast can also make it more joyous when a person understands God, the Father, and His great everlasting love for them. 

The Worst Father  ~  In our society today it is unfortunate that many are fiercely loyal to even the most abusive and brutal fathers.  This phenomena is even more prevalent in the spiritual world—loyalty to the worst of all fathers.  Jesus put it this way, “Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:43-46).

The Best Father  ~  God, the Father, is the exact opposite—He is the perfect Father. 

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father?”  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves’” (John 14:9-11). 

The Father Knows and Cares  ~  “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8b).  Jesus also said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7). 

The New Testament has a number of examples of how this is carried out in real-life situations.  Two examples are the account of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the shepherd who is missing one of his hundred sheep (Matthew 18:12-14). 

The Father’s Love  ~  “When the fullness of the time had come, God [the Father] sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). 

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’ [‘Daddy’ in our vernacular].  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:14-17). 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1a).

Closing Comment  ~  While it is true that if you never knew your earthly father, or if your earthly father was abusive, the love of the heavenly Father can be difficult to understand.  God, the Father, knows that and loves you intimately.  Don’t let your earthly negative experiences cause you to miss out on all the extreme blessings that your heavenly Father has in store for you—if you come to Him.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Fact Check, 60

~ Good People Get Bad Things ~       

Bible Quotation?  ~  “Bad things happen to good people.”

The Bible Says  ~  While that statement makes sense from a human reasoning and from looking around with a human perspective—it is actually bad theology.  There are no good people!  “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22b-23). 

“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.  They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.  Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes’” (Romans 3:10-18). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .