Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” Yesterday I addressed the dangers of mixing God’s grace with human effort. I will flow in that vein again today.
(John 1:14 NIV)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(Jon 1:17 NIV)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 5:10 The Passion Translation)
Deep in my heart I have faith that the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who lives in you, will bring you back around to the truth. And I’m convinced that those who agitate you, whoever they think they are, will be brought under God’s judgment!
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. May you come around to the truth concerning the grace of God.
The Apostle Paul was clearly frustrated with the believers in Galatia. He visited them early in his ministry. He preached the gospel of God’s amazing grace. Jews and Gentiles were converted to Christianity. And then, after he left, many of the Jewish converts convinced many of the non-Jewish converts to take on portions of The Law. They were adding The Law to grace.
Paul said, “Religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.” (Gal 5:6). He went on to ask, “Don’t you know that when you allow even a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?” (Gal 5:9).
— The lie was that Born-Again believers had to take on The Law as a requirement for righteousness.
— The lie is that you have to DO right to BE right with God.
— There is a difference between performing to be RIGHT and performing becuase you were already made when you placed your faith in Jesus and His finished work.
— In verse 10, Paul said, “Deep in my heart I have faith that the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who lives in you, will bring you back around to the truth.” In this series, I am teaching the truth about God’s grace. I pray that, like the Galatians, you come back to the truth. Righteousness is not a matter of Jesus AND. Righteousness is a matter of Jesus ONLY!
— The truth is that we are ALL that we are in Christ and in Christ alone. We don’t do what we do TO BE right with God. We do what we do because Jesus MADE US right with God!
2. God’s freedom IS the truth.
— Jesus set the Israelites free from the curse of the Law. He became a curse FOR them. Jesus also made a way for us, who were never entangled with the yoke of bondage associated with The Law, to walk in true freedom.
— If Jesus made you free, why would you willingly subject yourself to something He liberated you from? The only reason is that you don’t know the truth. I have been sharing the truth of God’s Word concerning who Jesus is and what He came to this earth to do in this series. Jesus did not redeem you from the bondage of The Law so you could continue to live under its penalty. Jesus died to truly make you free.
— In Christ Jesus, you are free to become the man/woman you were destined to be before the world began.
— In Christ Jesus, you are connected to God directly by His Holy Spirit, so you can receive insight, wisdom, revelation, knowledge, and understanding straight from heaven.
— In Christ Jesus, the limits are gone, all bets are off, are human boundaries are removed. Now it’s God who lives in you. He gives you the words, and He performs the work.
— This is how you live the supernatural life Jesus died to give you access to. This is how the supernatural becomes natural to you. This is how heaven is manifested in the earth. It happens through you when you are in sync with heaven, by God’s Spirit, and living for His glory.
— What I am teaching in this series (how to live #TheGraceLife, how to allow God to flow through you, and how to live the supernatural life God destined you to live) has nothing to do with rules. It has everything to do with living in harmony with the Holy Spirit.
— Once you are Born-Again, you are free in God. You are free from the bondage of sin. You are free from the fear of death. You are even free from the limits of your humanity. You are free to become the man/woman you are destined to be by the grace of God. Jesus made us FREE!
— Now that you are free, please stay free. Paul said, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get entangled again in slavery (yoke of bondage) to the Law” (Galatians 5:1). I used to think that when Paul said, “don’t get entangled again with the yoke of bondage” he was talking about sin. In context, he was talking about The Law. He was saying, “Jesus made you free. You are now in Christ and Christ is in you. You have God’s Spirit. You are free in Him. There is nothing you can’t do. So please don’t go back to living like a religious person is who focused on a bunch of rules” (Rick Pina Version).
3. Jesus restored us to what Adam had before the fall.
— In Genesis, before the fall of man, Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. He walked with God, and God walked with him. He never went to school. He never received an education. What he received revelation from heaven daily.
— Adam lived as a human conduit of the divine. He was a channel through which heaven visited the earth daily.
— Adam had no limits. He was so supernatural that he did not even realize he was naked. He was clothed with the glory of God.
— This was BEFORE the fall and BEFORE The Law. This is a picture of what Jesus came to redeem you to.
— Jesus did not redeem you back to Moses or back to Abraham. Jesus redeemed you ALL THE WAY back to Adam.
— Once you are Born-Again, then, like Adam, your life is not to be focused on a bunch of rules. Your life is about being led by God’s Spirit to perform His will in this world. And please don’t think this means you can live a life of sin. That’s ridiculous. The Spirit of God will never lead you contrary to the Word of God. The Spirit of God will lead you into the center of God’s will.
— The Holy Spirit will lead you to maximize the purpose and potential God placed in you before the world began. Jesus redeemed you to a Spirit-led life so you can become what and who He planned before the world began!
I will stop here. That is enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to die in my place. He paid a debt He did not owe at a price I could not pay. He did it for me. I have accepted Jesus as my Lord. I am Born-Again and filled with Your Spirit.
I am now redeemed all the way back to what Adam had in the Garden. I walk with You, and You walk with me. You are ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me.
I say what You tell me to say. I go where You lead me to go. I do what You tell me to do when I get there. I am Spirit-led in all things and at all times.
You live IN me. You work THROUGH me. You go BEFORE me. My life is All About You!
I am no longer a mere human. I am naturally supernatural because You, the only true God, live in me! I enter this day as a human conduit of the divine! Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
