By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” Galatians 6:14.

The above bible verse is such a powerful statement from Apostle Paul about the cross of Jesus! It is important that every Christian understands and embraces all the benefits that have been given through the death of Jesus on the cross. If we don’t grow into spiritual maturity and identify what belongs to us in Christ, the devil will cheat us out of those benefits. We will end up living as mere men without the benefits of what Christ died to provide for us which makes all the difference in our lives and relationship with God. These things have been given to us for life and godliness. They make us unique. They are what makes us live the life of Christ. This is a life of power and authority to overcome all the opposition of the world and Satan.

Through faith, we receive all these benefits and live seated in heavenly places in Christ far above all powers of the kingdom of Satan and the world.  We enjoy the benefits of the power that worketh in us continuously, the peace of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Enjoy all the blessings of the kingdom of our Father and all the privileges of the sons of God and members of His household. We enjoy unlimited access to the Father and have His ears always by a covenant that can never be broken and was sealed with the blood of the son of God. The Christian life is the most exciting! Life of the kingdom is not like that of the world. We are spirit beings in a human body. We are peculiar, royal priests, kings, and rulers here on earth for we reign in Christ Jesus.

Victory is ours because Jesus leads us to victory according to the scriptures if we keep our confidence in Him. Here are five things we received and you must be familiar with. Just a select five. Be sure they are not just information but that you have a working knowledge of all of them. Live by them as your new reality and as your portion in Christ. Do not be deceived by anybody or anything else, these privileges are yours in Christ.

1. THE NEW CREATION. WHAT IS KNOWN AS BEING BORN AGAIN

Gal 6:15 “It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.” The Scripture ranks it high on the agenda. What matters is that we have been transformed into a new creature or that we have been born again. We have received the new life Jesus came to give us. If we do not have this new life, we will not enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus came to give us a new life, His life so we can live like Him. 

John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The purpose of the scripture is to point us to Christ so we come to Him and receive His life.

John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” When we study the Scriptures, we need to have the aim of knowing Jesus. Not just to search as a religious duty but to fulfill its purpose which is to reveal  Christ Jesus the Son of God to us so that we grow in the new life He gives. We are all born spiritual babies as Peter wrote and need to feed on the knowledge of Christ to grow and experience all that Christ provided for us.

John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Paul testifies that at the cross he had a new life and lost his interest in the world and the world lost interest in him. This new life is a God kind of life. We lost our old life which aligned with the world on the Cross and received the new life of Jesus which aligns with The Kingdom of God. You might say this is not my experience. You are not alone. Many are like you and that is why you need to read this blog and prayerfully see what you are missing, believe it, grow in it and it will be your experience. It comes naturally in Christ Jesus with no effort.

     2.  CHRIST JESUS PROVIDED US HEALING

Sickness is not from God. Sickness is the work of Satan. God’s plan is not for evil but for good and sickness is not good. The devil is the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Sickness kills and destroys. But Jesus came to give us life. This means He brought us healing to restore our broken bodies. God is touched by our pain. What touches us, touches Him because He loves us with an everlasting love. When we are sick He feels our pain. It is not the will of God that we should be afflicted of the enemy of our soul. God therefore provided us healing through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.

Isa 53:4 “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains — he hath carried them, And we — we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted.5 And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.” If so, why am I sick? you may ask. While I sincerely pray that you get well and have no plan to put any guilt on you, we still need to believe the Scriptures for it to work for us. We all need to resist the devil with our faith and he will flee, we are assured of this by the Scriptures. Faith is our victory. Pray that God will give you a revelation of this Scripture. Meditate on this Scripture until you see it as true for you. Then act on it and it will work for you. Do not act because someone told you to. Act because you have realized that it is true for you, see yourself well and you will be well. Then you act on it and it will work.

  3.    HE SET US FREE FROM THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

This means we are saved from the power of Satan. Salvation means deliverance. It means freedom! THE SON OF GOD SET US FREE INDEED! Col 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Eph 2:2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” This bible verse was our testimony before salvation. But, when we received Christ, God became the one at work in us and not the devil. The following bible verses are true for us now.

• • • • Phil 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
      • 1 Cor 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
      • John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

 4.    HE MADE US RIGHTEOUS OR ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. IT IS BASED ON WHAT JESUS DID FOR US ON THE CROSS AND NOT ON WHAT WE DID!

He was our substitute. Jesus died as our substitute. God laid all our sins on Him. “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.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. He swapped places with us who deserved to die. He died for our sins and God put our guilt on Him. Our sins led Him to the cross and made us righteous because he became sin for us. He took our place so we took His place.

Isaiah 53:11 “When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.”

5.    HE BROUGHT US PEACE WITH GOD

• • • • When we come to Jesus, we receive forgiveness of our sins. Col 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
      • Therefore peace with God is now restored because our sins are forgiven. Romans 5:1 “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
      • We can come now boldly to the father with good conscience. We have peace now. We are accepted by Him because of the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus. Eph 3:12 “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Eph 2: 18 “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”

Our sins have been forgiven through the cross, and peace has been restored to us. A clear understanding of these five things will help Christians be grounded in their faith in Christ Jesus, fight the good fight of faith, and live in its reality and in the fullness of God. A healthy spiritual life full of joy, peace, and victory with no labor. No rituals needed, but simply by faith in His unfailing word.

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at the Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.