Today we continue our new series entitled, “It’s already done!”, under the banner of the overall series for the year, “Supernatural Manifestation.” Last week I introduced you to the following passage. Let’s go back to it today.
In the opening paragraph of the Apostle Peter’s second letter, he said:
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 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.
(2 Peter 1:1-4)
Today I will focus in on this line: “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. We have the opportunity to live by the same faith Jesus lived by.
a) Jesus was God in the flesh. He was a God-man. But He did not live like God in the earth. He lived like a man who was filled with God. He did this to be both an example FOR us and an example OF us. If you are Born-Again, Jesus is your example. You are a God-man, like He was. You are a man, filled with God. You have all it takes to live like Jesus in this world. You don’t have to wait on anything else. It’s already been provided.
b) Jesus lived by faith and not by sight. This means He chose to live by the reality of revelation He received from the Father, over the information he received through his physical senses. The information you receive through your senses naturally “makes sense” to you, because you can validate the information by human means (see, hear, touch, taste and smell). Faith requires a different sort of validation. Faith is the evidence of the things you cannot see. Faith believes what it receives from God, in the spirit realm, even though these things cannot be validated with physical senses. Therefore, living by faith means you choose to believe God’s revelation over worldly information, even when what God is telling you makes no “sense” at all.
c) You were given like-precious-faith. You have the same faith Jesus had. You must now choose to live by it. Faith is a choice. Faith is not about you coming up with something and then trying to convince God to give it to you. Faith is not you convincing God of your plans, it is God convincing you of His plans! Faith is what happens when you get so convinced of God that you choose revelation over information, you choose what you discern over what you have learned, you choose to live by instinct (your heart) over intellect (your head). You live this way because you know that what God has revealed is already done in eternity, and for you, in the earth, it is only a matter of time!
2. We are made righteous, by faith in what Jesus already provided.
a) I thank God for delivering me from religion years ago. When I was religious, I focused on my performance and my life was about what I did for God, instead of what He has already done for me. Religious people, in their hearts, want to be pleasing to God. The issue is, they are going about it the wrong way. They are trying to WORK their way to righteousness, and no amount of work can ever make your right.
b) Righteousness cannot be earned, righteousness can only be received. Jesus already provided righteousness. If you are Born-Again, then you are righteous, RIGHT NOW! But you are NOT righteous because of what you do. You are NOT righteous because of what you fail to do. You are only righteous because of what Jesus did. Jesus already provided. You role is to believe and receive His finished work and to enter into His rest.
c) When you know you are righteous because of what Jesus did, you perform works, but you don’t perform them to BE righteous. You perform them because you already ARE righteous!
d) In Christ Jesus, God the Father reestablished your innocence. It is in this place of innocence that you can believe Him for anything.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I have received the revelation of who Jesus is. I am, because He is. As Jesus is, so am I, in this world. I am righteous, right now, by faith. As the righteousness of God, I open my heart to all You have already planned. I believe I receive all You reveal! I then pursue it… not to make it happen, but because You already made it happen. My heart receives what You Spirit reveals. This is how I live. And I know it is only a matter of time before I see, in my hands, what I have already received, in my heart! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
