KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2:8-9 ” For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”.

One of the truths that spark off the reformation of the church in the dark ages is the statement of Ephesians 2:8, 9. “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourself: it is the gift of God, Not of works, lest any man should boast”.

Martin Luther who came to the understanding of this truth wrote a lot on it. He was ultimately martyred because of it. Many have directly or indirectly taught that one needs to do certain things in addition to believing in Christ to be saved. The scripture added that it is not of works, lest any should boast”. The Jehovah’s witnesses teach that it is not enough to claim that salvation is by grace alone. One must do certain tasks as prescribed by the watch tower society for one’s salvation to be complete. They argue that to claim you have believed in Jesus is not enough.

I think all these confusion has resulted because of people’s lack of appreciation of what this salvation entails. One is not saved because he joins a church or starts carrying the bible around. Salvation is a supernatural birth that takes place in the heart of an individual through believing in Jesus and declaring Him as Lord. (John 1:12, 13, Rom 10:9&10). This birth makes him or her a child of God, just like Jesus Christ. No work or action or deed can cause this to be. Jesus called it being born from above. John 3:3, This is a divine work and it is only by grace, that is God’s doing that can result in this supernatural birth.

 Christians are not just people who have changed their lifestyle, but it is first and foremost an encounter with the Spirit of God causing a regeneration deep down in your heart. 2nd Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new”.

It is the effect and the results of salvation that shows in a changed lifestyle and also good works. Anyone who attempts to add good works to the work of salvation is erring. Good works is the result of salvation and this difference should be made clear.

 CONFESSION

I have been saved by grace through faith and it is never through any works that I did. I have received God’s supernatural nature, making me a child of His and now I manifest his lifestyle in all I do.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Romans 10:9-10 ” That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.

John 3:3  ” Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Genesis 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

What does the blessings of Abraham entail? Before we go into the details of some of the blessings of Abraham, I wish that you make up your mind that you will walk in these blessings for they are true, real and very compelling.

Please listen to what the Spirit said in Galatians 3:17 “And this I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of (by) God in Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after cannot disannul (render in effective) that it should make the promise of none effect”.

What the above scripture means is that, the Abrahamic covenant has been confirmed by God in Christ, and as a result the law which came into effect 430 years later cannot render it ineffective.

Some of the blessings of Abraham found in Genesis 12:1-3, 17 :2-3, 22:17–18 are as follows

1. Multiplication of seed as sand of the seashore and the stars of heaven. Fruitfulness is your package.
2. Every seed of Abraham shall possess the gates of their enemies.
3. All nations shall be blessed
4. All who bless you are blessed, and all who curse you are cursed.
5. Make thee a great nation and make thy name great.

(Note: Whatever was said to Abraham is said to you.)

A woman whom the Lord declared to be loosed from her bondage in Luke 13 was met by the displeasure of the ruler of the synagogue; who said she should come for healing on another day, and not the Sabbath day. The Lord answered and him and  said “And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound lo these eighteen years be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day “ Luke 13:16. The Lord implied that because she is a daughter of Abraham and benefactor of the blessings of Abraham she must not continue to suffer. Today decide to be free from anything that is holding you captive and bound. You are a daughter or a son of Abraham and you must be free.

Among the blessings of Abraham the bible said the seed of Abraham shall possess the gates of their enemies. The word possess is translated from a Hebrew word “yarash” which means to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit or occupy. This is very refreshing. It implies no enemy should overcome you. If you will take your stand on the word, no enemy will ever overpower you. We have also been blessed with greatness and riches of Abraham.

Galatians 3:9 reads “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. God blesses us because we believe His word and honour Him. Claim these blessings on the bases of your place in Christ.

CONFESSION

I am a son or a daughter of Abraham. I am blessed alongside faithful Abraham. I possess the gates of my enemies, I am exceedingly fruitful, and my impact is felt by all men for He has made me very great.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Genesis 12:2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”

Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Galatians 3:29” And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Among the many revelations given to Apostle Paul was our relationship to Abraham through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Abraham is the Father of faith. Abraham through his faith took steps and passed through very trying moments; yet he came out very victorious. Abraham received the promise of his son although his age and that of his wife made everything seem impossible. (Romans 14:17-21). He left his homeland and dwelt in strange lands yet in the end He was a blessed man with so much riches. The cream of all these was when God asked him to sacrifice his only laughter (Isaac). He obediently took the boy and was about to slay him but God came and stopped Him (Gen 22:1-20).

 Because of his unparalleled obedience the Lord said the following to him Gen 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because though has obeyed my voice”.

In Paul revelations he was made to understand that the seed of Abraham was Christ (Galatians 3:16).

 Our faith in our Lord Jesus has made us heirs of the blessings of Abraham. We thank God for what Jesus our Lord has achieved for us. He took us away from the negative and placed us in the positive. He died to do the following for us.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

 This was what his death has done for us. You may look at Deuteronomy 28:16-48 to see what these curses entailed.

On the flip side, to our redemption from the curses, he has placed us right under the blessings of Abraham. We have become direct benefactors of all the blessings conferred on Abraham because of his obedience. These blessings became ours because we believed in Jesus, and have received the promise of the Spirit of God. . Galatians 3:14, “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through FAITH.

 *Beloved you have all that God blessed Abraham with, because all the blessings are packaged in the Holy Spirit who is in you.

(To be continued)

 CONFESSION

Thank you heavenly Father for giving your son Jesus, by whom I have become a son of Abraham and therefore a partaker of all the blessings of Abraham.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Galatians 3:9 “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham”.

Luke 13:16 ” And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 10:10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 Our key scripture explains the process for one to be saved. This truth is one of the revelations given to Paul the apostle for all mankind.

In John 1:12 the bible did declare that as many that received Him (Jesus), He gave them power to become sons of God even to them that believed on His name. In this verse apostle John said that as many who received Him. The question is; what is the practical way to receive Jesus, so one could become a son of God? In the Pauline revelations the Holy Spirit made it clear to Him how to receive our Lord Jesus, so we could become sons of God.

Romans 10: 9&10 reads this way, “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God had raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. The apostle makes it clear from these verses how to be saved.

He revealed that one must first believe in His heart that our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead. This part is very significant. To believe He was raised from the dead implies you believe He died for your sins, that He was buried and ultimately raised from the dead (1st Corinth 15:3&4). Believing this makes you justified or righteous. . The next step is to confess with your mouth that He (Jesus) is Lord. . By this statement you are claiming every lord over your life ceases to be and that Jesus is now the Lord over your life. By this pronouncement or declaration you have received Jesus or believed on Him. You instantly become a child of God. The Lord Jesus assumes Lordship over your life.

This is very amazing. Everyone who has not made Jesus Lord must make up his mind and go through this process, yet believe in Him in your heart for it to be effectual and then confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord.

 CONFESSION

Thank you heavenly Father for giving Jesus unto us. I believe Jesus died and rose up on the third day. I confess Him as the Lord over my life.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ” For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”.

John 3:16 “” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Colossians 1:27 ” To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Our key scripture says the mystery which has been hidden since the creation of the world is now made known to men. This mystery is Christ in all those who believe in Him. This experience is the hope of glory.

God our Father has planned that one day all mankind or all those who will come to faith in Jesus Christ would have the Christ in them. Christ means the anointed one. It also means the anointing. This refers to the Spirit of God that worked in Jesus and did all the works, was to reside in men as well.

The scripture said in Acts 10:38 that, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil for God was with Him. This anointing that was on Him was to reside in all men who would acknowledge Him as Lord over their lives.

In Luke 4:18, the Lord said the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor…… This anointing the Lord talked about was to be in all those who would submit to His Lordship over their lives .They would also have this anointing to preach to the poor, bind up the broken-hearted, preach deliverance to the captives and many more.

Well this is a news too good to be true. It is indeed a great mystery unveiled. To appreciate what this implies can turn supermen out of most of us. There is nothing that this anointing cannot do. There is no power greater than this anointing. This meant those who come to terms with the real implications of this fact CANNOT be over powered by any form of satanic oppression of any sort. Note: it is the truth you truly embrace or submit to that totally rule you and manifests completely in you. Christ in you is indeed the hope of glory. You can say with Paul ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me’.

 You can also overcome every challenge through Christ who lives in you (1st John 4:4).

 CONFESSION

Christ is in me, what a truth to be aware of. I am made an instant champion in life that conquered in life has now taken His abode in me. Thank you Jesus.

FURTHER STUDIES.

John 8:12 ” Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”

1 John 4:4 ” Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Galatians 5:13, ” For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Our key scripture informs us that we have been called unto liberty.

There are certain liberties that our salvation which has brought us into the grace of God, has given to us as Christians. Colossians 2:20-22  ” Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?”

Our place in Christ have set us free from all these ordinances and customary laws, yet not from God’s moral laws. Our key scripture admonishes us not to use our liberties as an occasion for the flesh. The law came so man could realise his flesh can’t meet God’s standards. God’s plan is for man to live by his spirit which has been recreated by him. Anything that causes man to function and to be dominated by the flesh leads him away from fellowship with the Lord.

God’s reason for creating us is to fellowship with us. Jesus said the time cometh when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) .Worship here entails every aspect of our life. The word is fellowship. The flesh always put man outside coverage area from the Father. It deprives God of his number one desire for creating men that is, to have fellowship with men. God fellowships with men as the Spirit of God functions through men. The Lord then advises us as follows “This I say then, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. Galatians 5:16.

We must not use our liberties as an occasion for the flesh. There are a lot of Christians who claim they are living under grace so they do whatever their flesh tells them: these people claim God’s grace abounds when sin abounds. Please if you talk or think this way then you have no spiritual and scriptural understanding.

Please listen carefully, the fall of man was simply a shifting from living by the spirit to be dominated by the flesh. When man’s flesh leads him Satan has total mystery over man. The bible said man becomes an enemy of God if he gets fleshy or carnal.

Dear child of God please heed to the advice of the Holy Spirit use not your liberties as an occasion to satisfy the flesh.

 CONFESSION

I am born of the Spirit to live by the Spirit in order to please my Father. I will never give any occasion to the flesh to control me.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Galatians 5:17-18  ” For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

Romans 8:7-8 ” Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 6:14 ” For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace”.

We look further into living under the law and its implications. What is the law? The law is God’s righteous demands that He expects all men to comply with but with no divine provisions to do or obey it. (Romans 3:19)

The law demands man’s effort. Grace is obtained through faith. Grace is receiving the ability of the Spirit to function through you. According to Romans 3:19 the law was given to expose the weakness of men, so man could turn to God. Romans 3:20 reads “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin“. Why would no man by justified by attempting to live by the law? The law exposes man’s weakness, and living by the law is not of faith. It is called the works of the law (flesh). Men are only justified by faith. (Rom 5:1) No man would be justified or declared righteous by his or her attempt to live by the law.

 Somebody may ask, is the law evil. No and a big No. As I’ve defined in the definition of the law, it is God’s righteous demands. It is not sinful or evil. Living by the law is not by faith. God’s way of pleasing Him is living by faith. (Hebrews 11:6). Please listen to something very serious in Galatians 3:10 ” For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them”.

When is one living under the law? Anytime you do not trust the Spirit of Christ to work through you, rather you act by your own ability. Any believer who commits sin is not living by grace, rather he is living by his own effort. Living by the grace of God makes us super humans. It is living by a higher and superior ability. This is what Philippians 2:3 says “for it is God which works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. Living under grace is a great privilege. It makes all the potentials of God available to us. You can’t be defeated living according to His grace.

  CONFESSION

I am living by the grace of God. I have therefore received God’s supernatural abilities causing me to do excellent things. My love life has been catapulted to a glorious state by God’s divine provisions.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”.

Galatians 3:12 ” And the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them.”

Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 6:14” For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace”.

The apostle Paul made a profound statement as captured in our key Scripture. This says sin shall not have dominion over any Christian because he or she is not under the law, but under grace.

Some have preached and argued that it is the law that keeps us upright, yet why does the bible make this statement? To correct such people it is not apostle Paul who made that statement, but rather it is the Holy Spirit speaking through him.

If the above statement surprises you just consider this other one in 1st Corinthians 15:55, 56 ” O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and strength of sin is the law “. This implies that any man who claims to be living under the law is a servant to sin. Why is this so?

Please read Romans 7:7-11. I believe the apostle Paul wrote this piece as a revelation of his life as a natural man or when he had not come to know Christ (since he said I was carnal sold under sin. This is the state of the unsaved), this narration should not be the experience of a Christian. In Paul’s narration he was well and doing good until the law came. “He said in Romans 7:9 “for I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died”. Sin was already in him but the law came exposing his weakness that is sin.

This is not so when a person is under the grace of God. Please get this information clear, grace is not just God overlooking wrong actions, no! Grace is far more than that. To be under the grace of God means you have received a divine ability that empowers you to overcome. For the Christian living under grace, it means the Spirit of Christ takes over your being and leads the life through you.

The bible says in Romans 8:9, 10 that if a person does not have the Spirit of Christ he is none of His. If the Spirit of Christ lives in you the body is dead (that is it is relegated to the background and the Spirit is alive). This makes you live by the power of the Spirit. It is the Spirit of Christ actively working through you that faces the challenges that come up against you. The scripture said sin cannot have dominion over you because it is no longer you but Christ (Gal.2:20), if you are under grace.   All those people who claim they are living under the law are grossly deceived.

   CONFESSION

I am in Christ therefore I am under the grace of God. I overcome all sins and live above every carnal way. My life is full of peace and joy.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Romans 8:9 ” But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”.

Galatians 5:4 “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5:21 ” For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

One truth taught in the Pauline revelations is the believer’s righteousness.

After the fall of man, he became a slave to the devil. Spiritual death and all forms of negative things filled him. Man was a total failure.(Rom 3:23) He was constantly dominated by guilt and a sin consciousness. It is sin consciousness that led to the failure of men. It gave birth to sinful habits, fear and a total submission to Satan.

Men had their way of righteousness, which is by effort. In the Pauline revelations

 We learnt about   God’s righteousness which comes by faith in God. It is a gift (Rom. 5:17) Righteousness gives us absolutely boldness before the Father. (Proverbs 28:1) It gives us an ability to stand before the father without any sense of guilt. It produces prayer results. This kind of righteousness makes us superior to the devil as it makes us light (John 8:12, Matthew 5:14). Satan is darkness.

In the Pauline revelations, Romans 5:17 says that all those who have received this gift of righteousness reign in life. The word in the Greek language is, they ‘king’ in this life.

Our key scripture shows us that God has made our Lord Jesus to be sin for us, so we would become the righteousness of God in Him. Please think about it. We are the very righteousness of God.  This is the rightness of God imparted to our Spirit. It means we are no more failures but successful people.  Think of yourself that way.

God’s righteousness makes us a solution to many who are defeated in sin and tormented by the already defeated devil.  Please note that as a gift, “God’s righteousness is fixed”. We have it in its completed form, just as Jesus and the Father has. It can’t be made bigger or smaller. We must therefore produce acts and deeds of righteousness. (Ephesians 2:10). We are designed for one purpose, to do good works.

 Produce love deeds, set the oppressed free and bless our world. This is the path that our father has ordained for us to walk in.

  CONFESSION

I am the righteousness’ of God, free from every sense of guilt, condemnation and defeat. I can’t be defeated in any way for there is no failure in my nature. I am a success.

FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God”.

Romans 3:21-22 ” But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference”:

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 16:12-13” I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come”.

In our previous study we learnt that our Lord Jesus did not live under the New Testament. (Gal.4:4) Most of His teachings were to people under the Old Testament. After His death and resurrection the New Testament actually began.

One thing to note about the Bible is that, it is, a progressive revelation of truth. There is a building up of   truth from time to time. An example is when the Lord was on earth He said in Matthew 15:24 that “But He answered and said, l am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Well after He rose up from the grave listen to what He asked His disciples to do”, Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore and teach all nations……” This time He did not say go to the lost sheep of the household of Israel but to the whole world.  Scripture is a progressive revelation.

 What He taught some time ago would be a basis to teach something higher. But please note the Bible after the book of Revelations has no new teaching. Revelation 22:18 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,  if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”

In the light of what I have said above some of the teachings the Lord gave when He was physically here have been deepened in the New Testament period.

One such teaching is in Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. This is a very powerful truth, yet after the death and resurrection of the Lord, He teaches us something higher.

This time we are not taking up our cross we are dead and gone; with Christ living in us now.  Romans 6:11 says “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Because our Lord Jesus died we died with Him.  Apostle Paul who received this revelation and insight said in Galatians 2:20 that “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me: and the life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”. Earlier the Lord taught us to take up our cross, now He is teaching us that we are actually dead.  It is Christ who is presently living in us.

 We must live as people who are dead but it is Christ who is actively living in us.

 CONFESSION

I am born again with the life of God in me. This makes me one with Jesus sharing His death. It is Christ who is living through me.

 FURTHER STUDIES

Colossians 2:11 “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ”:

Romans 6:6 ” Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”