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Lessons from the Bible

~   the Word of God   ~

Pastor Spruill's Anointed Messages

Are Available On Audio-Cassette Tape

KNOWING  WHO  YOU  ARE  IN  CHRIST

Introduction

"Do You Know Who You Are in Christ?"

To be able to answer this question affirmatively, you must first know why you are. But in order to explain your existence correctly, you must acquaint yourself with the God who created you.

Ephesians 1-3 are the "purpose" chapters of the Bible. Here we learn that God has redeemed and blessed us for Himself, according to His good pleasure and benevolent will. God created man in His class and designed us to operate and function as He does--that is, by faith. This is why it's impossible to please Him without faith. He wants us to possess and experience His abundant life, which is eternal and infinite both in quantity and in quality. It actually makes God happy to bless people. Psalm 35:27 reveals that He enjoys and delights in prospering His servants. God desires to witness His creation functioning in the way He intended as we exercise all of the supernatural and spiritual abilities, together with our natural talents, that He has given to each of us.

Christians who say, "I'm only human" or "I am [not was] just a sinner saved by grace," don't truly understand the grace and the power of their God that are available to them now to operate within and through their lives. Most believers live beneath their privileges by failing to comprehend God's word or His will and purpose for them on this earth. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that we continually seek the Lord and get to know Him personally and intimately. We have to fellowship with Him daily, through His word and in prayer, to develop and cultivate the close covenant relationship that our heavenly Father yearns to share with His children. God is love: Divine yet unconditional loving kindness, mercy, grace, and compassion that strives to give of itself in great blessing to the objects of His affection--namely, us!

We can never become fulfilled or complete until we commune regularly with our God and come to know Him as Father. He is our creator, or manufacturer, and His word, the Bible, is our manufacturer's authorized handbook that tells us everything we need to know about Him and ourselves. God created us in His very own image. So when we study His word to observe Him and examine His character, it's like looking into a mirror--we see ourselves exactly as He has predestined and purposed us to be. And we discover who we really are in Christ Jesus.

Next we'll talk more about our identity in Christ and find out from His word what God is believing and confessing about you!


Even as [in His love] He chose us

--actually picked us out for Himself as His own--

in Christ before the foundation of the world;

that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him)

and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.

For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us)

to be adopted [revealed] as His own children through Jesus Christ,

in accordance with the purpose of His will

--because it pleased Him and was His kind intent;

[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation

of His glorious grace

--favor and mercy--

which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

~ Ephesians 1:4-6 (Amplified) ~

Chapter 1

Sonship

See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us,
that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God!
And so we are!

~ 1 John 3:1 (Amplified) ~

The very moment that you are born again, you become a son of God and part of His family. Ephesians 3:15 says that His entire family in heaven and on earth is named after Him. Being even a new member of God's family immediately qualifies and empowers you to share in and partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). This means that you no longer possess the status of "sinner," because you are now a child of God. The transformation of your spirit from death, or separation from God, into His abundant, eternal life and intimate communion with Him involves a renewing of your mind to comprehend the totality of who you are in Jesus Christ (Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23).

The new birth does not happen by accident, but by a conscious and deliberate choice--an intentional decision of your will to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. It is an act of faith that not only benefits you but also pleases God. The bottom line is: God desires sons! And Jesus wants to receive brothers by redeeming sons for His Father. So as a son of God, you become a joint-heir with Christ as well (see Romans 8:14-17). Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has raised us up together with Jesus and seated us with Him in heavenly places (see Ephesians 1:3 and Colossians 2:12; 3:1).

The Bible also states that as a born-again son, you are a new creature, or creation, in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This fact confirms the eradication of your old identity as a sinner through the cleansing and remission of your sins by the blood of Jesus and your identification with Him (see Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 1:7, and Colossians 1:14; 2:13-14). Therefore, the word of God does not call you just a forgiven sinner, but a righteous, sanctified man or woman raised up in newness of life (see Romans 6:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 4:24, and Colossians 3:10).

These wonderful truths have to become assimilated as a reality in your own heart, mind, and life. You must know and believe without any doubt the scriptural validation of your right standing with God, that it comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by faith in His word. Then you will be prepared for Satan's condemnations and accusations against you, always ready and able to refute and resist them. You need to understand that every unsaved person is a sinner, yet not because he has committed sin. People habitually practice sin, rather, because they are born lost, spiritually dead sinners. That sin nature was Adam's legacy to all of mankind and your heritage from him as his descendant. And this is the reason why you have to be reborn from above by the Holy Spirit.

Once you have become a son of God, you need to start reading, hearing, and meditating on His word until you develop an inner image of your new self as the Father perceives and regards you. Jesus has paid the price for your salvation from iniquity and from each individual sin, and He has provided you with the power and authority to become conformed to His likeness. But the reproduction of His essence and character initially occurs inside you, beginning with the rebirth of your spirit. God's word is living seed that is planted in your heart to generate this process in your life and to bear fruit for His glory.

Sonship in the household of God is a privileged position that the Father has made available to you. If you are a flesh-and-blood human, you are eligible for supernatural deliverance into His kingdom and its infinite blessings (see Romans 8:2, Galatians 3:13-14, and Colossians 1:12-13). There is a new inheritance of grace, mercy, and purpose in Jesus that God has foreordained and predestined for you to obtain (see Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:4-6, 11). And you have many marvelous opportunities to learn what it means to be His son!

Chapter 2

Our Seat of Position

. . . as He is, so also are we in this world.

~ 1 John 4:17 (NAS) ~

As sons of God, we have inherited a very privileged position of power and authority in Christ Jesus. It grants us the same capacity for dominion with which God commissioned Adam when He created man in His own image and delegated to him rulership as lord over the entire earth (Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 8:5-8). In fact, this influence extends into the heavenly realm. After Jesus defeated Satan at Calvary and was resurrected from the dead (Hebrews 2:14), He told His disciples that He had restored and entrusted to them their God-given authority and power which the devil had usurped from the human race. The reason was ultimately to empower His people for witnessing to all the nations and teaching them God's word (Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8).

The Bible says we have been seated in heavenly places in Christ, confirming that our power and authority reach even beyond this earthly domain (see Ephesians 1:3, 20-23; 2:4-6; 3:10, Philippians 3:20, and Colossians 3:1). This means that the elements of heaven must likewise obey us. The angels of God are subject to us and minister for us as we dispatch them by speaking His word. The Lord charges His angels through verbal confessions of His written word released by His sons (see Psalm 91:11-12; 103:20). We also possess God's spiritual weapons together with a supernatural ability to command the fallen angels and demon spirits who inhabit the earth and operate within its atmosphere (see Psalm 91:13; 149:6-9, Mark 16:17-18, Luke 10:19-20, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, and Ephesians 6:10-17).

It is important to remember that we are responsible to employ these great privileges in submission and obedient service to our Lord. To whom much is given, of him is more required (Luke 12:48b). Every born-again man and woman of God also needs to recognize that the Father's enemy is his or her enemy. Consequently, as both sons and saints, we must assert our legal power and authority to bind or paralyze the devil's forces before we can effectively loose and execute the perfect will of God here on earth (see Matthew 18:18). The Lord has equipped all believers with everything necessary for life and godliness in this world (2 Peter 1:3-4). And He has issued His mandate for us to subdue and exercise dominion over our planet by managing its activities while destroying the evil interferences throughout the spiritual dimension. Therefore, we are being negligent if we keep on watching passively for God to move in our behalf. On the contrary, He is waiting for us to act and desires that we become increasingly proactive about initiating and maintaining righteous leadership. Our challenge is not only reacting in faith to problems and emergencies, but preventing trouble and responding to it with divine intervention through Holy Spirit directed, scripturally based intercessory prayer (see Romans 8:26-28, Ephesians 6:18-20, and 1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ consistently spoke the anointed words of His Father to and about the oppression and adversity around Him, we should constantly claim and receive God's covenant promises to transform and bless our situations and circumstances today. We need to realize that God never fails; any failures that we experience in accomplishing His purposes are on our part. Each of us has to develop godly diligence, perseverance, and endurance in order to continue (see Luke 21:19, Colossians 1:11, Hebrews 6:11-12; 10:36, and James 1:2-4), so that we will be able to resist and hold our ground during danger or temptation and, having done whatever the crisis warrants, we can then remain strong and upright in our place, successfully occupying it and victoriously standing against all of Satan's strategies and deceits (Ephesians 6:11, 13-14a [Amplified]).

On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself
everything that we had coming to us;
At His resurrection, Jesus gave us
everything that He had coming to Him!

Chapter 3

The Access to Our Position

Part I

Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

~ Ephesians 1:3 ~

As we comprehend from our discussions thus far, those of us who are redeemed by the Lord--the sons of God--have already been seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This means that we now hold the same position of power and authority that He occupies at the right hand of God the Father. Ephesians 1:20-22 tells us how Jesus was exalted to rule above all principalities and dominions and every name and title. Verse 23 calls the body of Christ, which is the church, "His fullness." Ephesians 2:4-6 says that God made us alive together in fellowship and union with Christ, giving us the new life with which He quickened Him. Through grace He raised us up and granted us joint seating with Him in the heavenly sphere due to the fact of our now being in Jesus Christ, or the Anointed One and His anointing (The Amplified Bible). These and other Scriptures describe just who we are as Christians here on earth. But we need practical knowledge about how to appropriate our position of glory and honor for which God has sovereignly destined us.

The first step required for assuming our supernaturally ordained position in Christ is to experience the new birth (John 3:3-8), by which we are born out of death into the family of God (see Colossians 1:13). Romans 10:8-10 explains that believing in our hearts on Jesus as the resurrected Lord and confessing Him with our mouths provides the way for us into righteousness and salvation, respectively. This procedure is also the key to receiving each of God's covenant promises and blessings. Total salvation includes deliverance from all sin, evil, and bondage, and it is acquired through consistent, daily belief in and confession of His word (see Romans 4:16-25).

After we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, only our spirits are born again; so our natural, worldly minds have to become renewed by the word of God (see Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:22-24, and Colossians 3:9-10). This is a life-long process of character development through which we are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29-30). It involves the conversion of our soul (the will, mind, emotions, and personality), or self (see Psalm 19:7). As our reborn spirits are connected to God, His Holy Spirit comes to permanently inhabit us and impart to us the mind and attitude of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16 and Philippians 2:5-7). Yet because we still possess a sin nature, however, our flesh must be subdued and brought under subjection to the will and purposes of God by our sanctified spirit man (see Romans 6; 8:1-13; 12:1; 13:14, 2 Corinthians 10:5, and Galatians 2:20; 5). We can conquer our old, sinful nature of disobedience and rebellion with the constant renewal of our minds. The divine nature of our Father is reproduced within us through our cultivation of His godly qualities (see Romans 5:3-5, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 1:9-12, and 2 Peter 1:4-11).

In conclusion, I want to emphasize the profound importance of personal, individual, in-depth Bible study. The Lord told Joshua to speak, meditate on, and obey His word continuously in order to obtain prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8). This is likewise our part to observe in keeping our blood covenant with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will bring the words of Jesus to our remembrance and guide us into all the truth as we abide in Him and in His word (see John 14:26; 16:13-15, Colossians 3:16, and 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17). It is His anointing that instructs us while enlightening our hearts, minds, and understanding (Ephesians 1:17-19 and 1 John 2:20, 27). When we read, hear, learn, think, and talk about the revelations from His words, they create a vital inner image of who we are in Christ. And as we assimilate and apply their wisdom, the words of God become a living reality that virtually transforms our thoughts, feelings, and actions (see Proverbs 23:7a).

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

~ Ephesians 3:11-12 ~

Chapter 3

The Access to Our Position

Part II

I appeal to you therefore, brethren,
and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God,
to make a decisive dedication of your bodies
--presenting all your members and faculties--
as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God,
which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world--this age,
fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs.
But be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind
--by its new ideals and its new attitude--
so that you may prove [for yourselves]
what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,
even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

~ Romans 12:1-2 (Amplified) ~

The action described in these Scriptures--presenting our bodies a living and holy sacrifice to the Lord, as a prerequisite for our transformation through the renewing of our minds--may appear simple or seem insignificant to the average person. In reality, though, it involves many conscious choices and decisions that employ self-discipline and is extremely important for us in appropriating our legitimate new position of righteousness, power, and authority in Jesus Christ. When we surrender ourselves physically to God, essentially we yield in obedience to Him and offer all of our bodily members for serving and glorifying the Lord (see Romans 6 and Ephesians 4:22-24).

We must remember that our enemy, Satan, launches his attacks against our minds. He does this with the multitude of carnal experiences that constantly bombard our natural, physical senses in order to negatively direct our thoughts and feelings. He attempts to desensitize us to the sin and inquity that we witness in our society. If he can succeed in distorting our perceptions, then he will pervert and confuse our perspective on life, on God, on others, and on ourselves. This is why we should always remain cautious and selective about the information and knowledge that we acquire and the reactions that we express through our mental, emotional, and sensory functions. Perhaps the devil actually believes his own lies and may also have deluded his demonic cohorts into thinking that they can win the final victory over the purposes and the kingdom of God. But you and I cannot afford to allow him to deceive or entice us into accepting anything less than the truth of God and His perfect will for our lives (James 1:16).

We especially need to pay attention to three vital areas: What we see with our eyes, what we hear with our ears, and what we speak with our mouths. Satan blinds the minds of individuals who won't believe the word of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, someone who is careless of his ways, particularly in his viewing and listening habits, and who disregards the Bible's warnings to keep himself separate from worldly contamination is opening the door for further temptation, seduction, and defeat by the evil forces operating throughout the earth.

Unguarded interests and morbid curiosity can result in our active or passive exposure to ungodly literature and reading materials, illustrations, television programs, motion pictures, and musical lyrics. These can generate destructive visual or auditory imagery which affects our brains and, consequently, our minds, our emotions, and ultimately our conduct. The secular media are carnally oriented and promote insidiously dangerous agendas, so we should not consider their productions as truthful reporting or innocent entertainment. If they do not clearly support God's standards, they advance the work of our adversary (see Luke 11:23).

Our conversations provide channels of both blessing and cursing for ourselves and others (see Proverbs 10:19; 12:13; 13:3; 18:7; 21:23 and James 3:9-10). We must not permit people to violate our ears by using them as dumping grounds for garbage and poison in the forms of gossip, complaints, criticism, and confessions that contradict the word of the Lord. These toxins are more damaging than physical substances, because they can injure the soul and the spirit of a man, which comprise his true self. We have to continuously saturate our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts with God's word and then meditate upon it, because what we talk about the most proceeds from that which fills and overflows our hearts (Matthew 12:34-35 and Luke 6:45). Colossians 4:6 tells us to let our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt (kindness) so that we will know how to verbally respond to every person. Because life and death are spoken into existence by the power of our tongues (Proverbs 18:21), we need to ask the Lord to set a watch before our mouths so that they will convey His wisdom consistently (Psalm 141:3 and Proverbs 31:26). We should only communicate words and ideas that edify, exhort, and encourage each other, delivering positive corrections and admonitions (Ephesians 4:15, 19; 5:4). Jesus said that we are judged and either justified or condemned by our own words (Matthew 12:36-37). Thus, our very future is stored inside our hearts and released through our mouths.

We must determine that our feet and legs will walk exclusively in the paths ordained for us by God. This means abstinence from activities and avoidance of locations in which wickedness or immorality is known to or is likely to occur (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Similarly, our hands and arms have to become trained in performing deeds that bless, benefit, and minister life to ourselves and to those around us.

In summary, the events within our environment immediately impact our eyes, ears, brains, and minds and eventually our hearts. Constant vigilance is necessary to protect our hearts and minds from corrupting influences (Proverbs 4:23 and Colossians 3:2). And because our minds control our bodies and their behavior, we must commit our souls (self-lives) in consecration to the Lord, to His holiness, and to His goodness (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). It is our responsibility to know and to stay in the perfect will of God, yielding to the Holy Spirit and maintaining a life of sanctification so that we can receive from Him. He gives us the spiritual right, or authority, to attain and enjoy these wonderful privileges. Now we must exercise our free will on a physical level to apprehend and occupy this glorious position in Christ Jesus!

If you have enjoyed these chapters of
Knowing Who You Are In Christ, by Dr. Spruill,
you may want to order his book and finish reading it.

Please e-mail, call, or write us, and we will send you ordering information.

"Know Your Bible"

Bible Multiple Choice Quiz

1. Who built an ark for the animals? 2. Who was the father of faith? 3. Who was a king of Israel? 4. Who received a revelation of grace? 5. Who redeemed mankind from sin? 6. Who ran to Jesus' tomb on resurrection morning? 7. Who made clothes for the disciples? 8. Who was a New Testament evangelist? 9. Who was the Church's first martyr? 10. Who baptized Jesus in water?

Score =

Correct Answers:

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