What are the blessings or provisions you're needing from God? Are you begging God for things and failing to see them sometimes? What if I told you God has already said yes, He's given you whatever you need. Sound crazy?
Let's investigate some scriptures and see what the bible has to say about what took place when Jesus was crucified. We hope to show you that the bible clearly illustrates that these things are already provided and have been given to you, but that we have to change the way we're approaching them in order to receive them. We can draw on the life and power of God that's been given to us, let's explore how!
Hosea 4:6
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
Notice this verse says “my people” meaning believers not just unbelievers. This verse was used at the beginning to convey a point that is universal to all people and situations no matter what obstacles or problems we may face in our life they all come back to a lack of knowledge. Knowledge is everything.
2 Peter 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 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: 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.
Peter is wanting us to get knowledge of what God has already done and provided through His Son Jesus because this is the key to unlocking all things that pertain unto life and godliness, glory and virtue, grace and peace, Gods divine nature, and exceeding great and precious promises. God has provided all of these things already but based on the amount of knowledge we have will determine how much of each of these promises and benefits we will receive if any at all. You cannot partake of what you don’t know exists. These things can be multiplied by knowledge. Through what Jesus has provided we have already escaped the corruption that is in the world. To the degree we believe that we will begin to experience the physical benefits of our salvation now!
Galatians 1:4
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
We’ve already been delivered from this present evil world! What does this mean what evil is in the world now that wasn’t in the world at creation? Sickness, disease, lust, envy, strife, confusion, lack, suffering, division, shame, etc. it was Gods will for us all to be delivered from these things and this is telling us Jesus didn’t just die for our sins but also to deliver us from the evil that was brought into this world by sin and the devil. Notice Paul didn’t say Jesus gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the evil world to come. He said “this present evil world”. That means that our salvation is effectual in this life too not just in the one to come. Some of us have relegated all the benefits of salvation to “when we all get to heaven” but that is not so. Through the atonement of Jesus we have been delivered from sickness (Matthew 8:17,James 5:15,1 Peter 2:24), poverty,(2 corinthians 8:9, 3 John 1:2) and demonic control (Acts 10:38), as well as sin, in this present life! The Lord didn’t save us so we could be “saved and stuck” until we get to heaven. He made provision for our success in this life as well as the one to come. This verse makes it clear it is Gods will for us to prosper in all ways, Spirit, soul, and body!
Colossians 1:9-14
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Once again Paul is praying we would have knowledge of what God has already provided. Whats already been done. I italicized “inheritance”, “redemption”, and “forgiveness of sins” to highlight how I believe this verse is making a distinction between the three and I feel like most of the body of Christ is only aware of one aspect. These people were already born again. They had discovered that part of God’s will. But Paul was still praying for them to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Therefore, it’s clear that there is much more to salvation than just being born again. And not only is there much more the Lord has for us than just the forgiveness of our sins but there are vast stores of wisdom and understanding. Notice that Paul desired for the Colossians to be filled with spiritual understanding. There is a big difference between carnal understanding and spiritual understanding. All spiritual understanding originates from and conforms to God’s Word. Any reasoning that violates God’s Word is not spiritual understanding. Paul also uses the word wisdom. Wisdom is more than just knowledge; it is the ability to use knowledge correctly. Even Jesus had to increase in knowledge (Luke 2:52). That’s an awesome truth. Jesus was God in the Spirit, but He had a physical mind that had to be educated. He had to be taught how to walk, talk, eat, and so forth. At twelve years of age, He was not only teaching the teachers in the temple, but He was also asking them questions (Luke 2:46). If Jesus had to grow in wisdom, how could any of us think that we have it all figured out? Each of these verses are stated in the past tense. It is never a question of God enabling us. It’s always a question of us knowing what we have and believing it to the degree that we act like it. Everything here is spoken of as already accomplished. We aren’t trying to get free from the power of the devil; it’s already a done deal. We just need to believe it. All we are fighting against is the devil’s lies that tell us we are still in bondage. We aren’t trying to get translated into God’s kingdom; we are already there, seated in heavenly places in Christ. We only need to believe what has already happened to experience the benefits. The forgiveness of sins is one of the great themes of the Bible. There is so much that Scripture says about it that it would take volumes of books to adequately deal with the subject. Suffice it to say that the blood of Jesus is what provided us with the forgiveness of sins. That sacrifice was so great that it outweighed all our sins. It covered all the sins of the world–past, present, and future.(Hebrews 10:10-14,Hebrews 9:12) The forgiveness of our sins is not the ultimate goal of our salvation; it is just a necessary step. The real goal of salvation is relationship with the Father (John 17:2-3), and sin is a barrier to that relationship. Sin had to be dealt with, and it was, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But those who stop with the forgiveness of sins and don’t go on into eternal life and living in victory in all things are missing the heart of salvation. Our sins have been forgiven so that we may enter into intimacy with the Lord.
Psalm 51:9-12
Old Testament Prayer
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
This Old Testament prayer was David asking in the Old Covenant before Jesus had died on the cross and rose again, therefore he was not born again, for the precious promises and inheritance that every born again believer has already received through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. This Old Testament prayer sounds just like most of the prayers we hear in the church today but once we’re born again we should not pray like David we should pray like the New Testament authors with a knowledge of what Christ has already done and provided trough His sacrifice on the cross. Hebrews 9:12 tells us we have received ETERNAL redemption through Christ Jesus. And Hebrews 13:5 tells us God will never leave us or forsake us! The Holy Spirit will never depart from us! John 14:16, Ephesians 4:30, Romans 8:9, etc.
Ephesians 1:17-20
New Testament Prayer
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought(exercised) in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
This is an awesome prayer! If you were going to pray a prayer that would be read for thousands of years what would you pray? Look at the difference between Pauls New Testament prayer vs Davids Old Testament prayer. Paul doesn’t ask for anything he prays for us to get revelation and knowledge of who God is and what He has already done and the riches of the glory of His inheritance. Everything we could ever need has already been provided. It says the inheritance is IN THE SAINTS! Thats us! That is a radical statement. This says that the inheritance is in each born again believer but unfortunately most of us don’t know what that inheritance is or even that it exists and this is what truly changed my life. It says we have exceedingly great power given to us by God! That we have the same power in us that raised Jesus Christ from the dead!! This verse talks about the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance that is Christ in us!(Colossians 1:26-27) Everyone who is born again is joined unto the Lord and has become one Spirit with Jesus!(1 Corinthians 6:17) As Jesus is so are we in THIS world!(1 John 4:17)
Acts 26:16 & 18
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
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.
This verse is talking about when Jesus first appeared to the Apostle Paul and He tells him what his purpose is and this is why He has appeared to him. Once again Jesus makes a distinction between forgiveness of sins and the inheritance we receive through our faith in Jesus’ finished work. Jesus tells Paul your purpose is to be a witness and to “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, AND inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Me” it keeps going back to the major point of this teaching, open our eyes to what we have ALREADY received. So many people believe Jesus only paid for us to be forgiven of our sins so one day in the future we can go to heaven and then everything will be ok but Jesus paid for so much more than that. We have received an inheritance and power to overcome any obstacle we could ever encounter right now in this world, today!
Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
We’ve already been blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ!! So many people are praying for God to bless them instead of realizing they’ve already been blessed! Don’t ask God to do what He’s already done through His Son pray and thank God for what He’s already provided and rest in that! Don’t ask God to do something new ask God to help you to receive what’s already been done. Nothing is out of our reach the power and provision is already there waiting for us to receive. The only thing holding us back is knowledge and God will freely give to those who ask and diligently seek! All of the knowledge we could ever need are in the Word and in our born again Spirit and we have the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us. This is great news!
Ephesians 1:6
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
We’ve already been accepted in the Beloved!! So many people are praying and begging God to accept them and yet the Word says we’re already accepted by God! Praise God, pray and say Father thank you so much that through Jesus Im already accepted in the Beloved!! If you don’t feel it or have a revelation of this truth ask God to show you His unconditional love and to make it real to you so you can receive these precious promises and inheritance. Jesus paid the price and its time we start enjoying these benefits that have already been paid for with Jesus precious blood!
Ephesians 1:9
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
This verse tells us Gods will is no longer a mystery His Word reveals it to us. Jesus told us to pray His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. How can we pray His will be done if we don’t know what His will is? There is no sickness or disease or suffering or lack in Heaven. These things are not Gods will for us or for anyone and that’s why Jesus took these things into His own body on the cross and overcame them and part of that inheritance we have received was the power and ability to overcome all of these things. Jesus mission was not just to pay our debt so we could receive forgiveness of sins but to set creation back to Gods original intended design. In the beginning these things did not exist they were brought into this world through sin, the fall of man, and the devil becoming the ruler of this world. Jesus defeated the devil and he no longer has authority over anyone who is born again all he can do is deceive those who don’t know the power and authority they possess through Christ Jesus! Jesus paid the price for ALL to be forgiven and yet not all are saved because not all have received that forgiveness by putting their faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price for all to be healed but not all are healed because they haven’t put their faith in the reality that they have received these benefits in their inheritance and the redemption of what was lost. Either because they don’t know it due to a lack of knowledge or they have been deceived by the enemy about who God is, who we are in Christ, what Gods will is, etc.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Man there is a lot in these verses and so much that could be broken down and we could do a whole teaching on these verses alone but the reason we’ll be talking about this section of scripture today is to point out anther reason Jesus came and it was to give us rest! Jesus mentions rest twice in this passage and rest is very, very important for New Testament believers to understand if we aren’t careful misinterpretations or misunderstandings of scripture can lead us to live a life as if Jesus never went to the cross and His sacrifice was for nothing. How do we enter into Gods rest? the Bible teaches us in Hebrews chapter 4 entering Gods rest is an “eternal Sabbath” from the works of The Law. Those who enter Gods rest also rest from their labors as God did from His. This is a reference from the first mention of rest in scripture in Genesis chapter 2. God didn’t rest because He was tired He rested because everything was complete. There was nothing else to do. It was done and it was done perfectly. It was a rest like a painter who finishes a painting and then rests from His painting. It’s not because he’s tired from holding the brush, it’s because the painting is a masterpiece. Likewise God created everything so perfectly there was nothing else to do. Think about this for a second God has never created another tree since the original trees He spoke into existence at creation or another cow, or bird, or a single blade of grass because He created everything perfectly to reproduce of its own kind. All plants produce seeds to replenish themselves and all animals reproduce to replenish themselves. This means He doesn’t create new trees, plants, and animals today His original act of creation was done in such a way He’s been resting ever since. The same goes for all things for instance electricity. God didnt create electricity in 1752 when Ben Franklin discovered it. The power to run all of the lights and electronics in the whole world was already there but man was not able to use this power because they had a lack of knowledge. They didn’t know the power was there. If they had they could have been using it the whole time. This is the same with the power to be healed or any other thing Jesus has already provided. The power is there but you can’t use it unless you have a knowledge of it. We don’t call the electric company and pray that they send us some power to turn the lights on, the power is there, we just go and flip the switch. This is very similar to how our faith appropriates the power God has already provided. He’s waiting on us to discover it through His word and then use our faith to flip the switch. Notice God created Man on the 6th day. He already knew everything we could ever need and He provided it first! Man was created last at the end of the 6th day at the end of creation and then immediately moved into Gods rest. They didn’t have to plant trees and wait years for them to bare fruit. The trees were already there with fruit on them. The climate was perfect. Everything was just right for Adam and Eve. They just rested in what had already been done. Thats the way it is in the new birth. Jesus has already purchased our salvation and all its benefits for us. Everything we could ever need was purchased for us before we were even born. Now we don’t have to ask the Lord to come die for us. It’s already been done. We just receive our salvation. We don’t have to pray and ask the Lord to heal us. Its already been done! (1 Peter 2:24) We just rest in the fact it’s already been provided and receive our healing. It’s the same with prosperity, joy, deliverance, and everything else we could ever need. The supply was made before we ever had the need. There is a place we can reach where we aren’t striving to get God to bless us but are resting by faith in what has already been done. Let’s take a moment to talk about what the OT Sabbath was.
The Jews were commanded to take one day off out of seven and devote it to worshiping the Lord as an act of faith that God was their source. In the natural, this didn't make sense. If they didn't work every day, they wouldn't prosper as much as those who did. But that's not the way it worked. Because of their faith in the Lord, which was expressed through their obedience to take the Sabbath off, they prospered more than those who worked seven days a week. God was teaching them to rest in the Lord as their source, and not their own works. Just in case anybody missed the obvious lesson of the weekly Sabbath, the Lord told the Israelites to take one year off out of seven (Leviticus 25). During the seventh year, the Israelites couldn't sow or reap any crops. That which came up naturally had to be left in the fields for the poor and the wild beasts. Some would say, "What shall we eat the seventh year?" (Leviticus 25:20). The Lord blessed their crops supernaturally in the sixth year so that their fields brought forth three times a normal harvest. They would eat the harvest of the of the sixth year during the sixth and seventh years and during the eighth year while their crops were growing (Leviticus 25:22). All of this pictures that God is our source. We may work and sow our crops, but it is God who gives the increase. Likewise, in the NT, Jesus has done everything for us. He isn't still saving people and healing them. That has already been done. All we are doing is entering into what has already been provided. Those who think that they have to act a certain way to gain God's acceptance and approval are not resting in the finished work of Christ. Sure, we need to live holy, but it should be a fruit, and not a root, of our relationship with the Lord. This is what the OT Sabbath was a picture of. Those who legalistically observe the Sabbath today with the belief that the Lord is angry with those who don’t are missing the true meaning of the Sabbath. They are really Sabbath breakers. True Sabbath keepers in the NT are those who don't try to relate to the Lord by their holiness but totally rely on what Jesus did for them to make them acceptable to the Lord. That is a relationship to be enjoyed every day of our lives and not just a single day per week. This was understood by the early NT church and is one of the specific reasons they chose to meet on the first day of the week (Sunday) instead of the seventh day (Saturday), which was the jewish Sabbath. They knew they were free from the observance of a day and were living in the true Sabbath that the seventh-day observance pictured.
Hebrews 4:11
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
How can you labor to rest? When you first read this its hard to understand or wrap your head around it because it almost sounds like those two things contradict one another but when you start to meditate on the second half about falling into unbelief it starts to make sense. If we understand clearly what the rest of the Lord is as mentioned above then it takes effort to rest in the finished work of the Lord because it sounds almost too good to be true. Our human natures want to do something to be worthy of the Lords blessings. But the truth is that we can never deserve the goodness of the Lord. We have to cease from trusting in our own works and rest by faith in what Jesus has provided freely by grace. It might not be easy to stop relating to God on the basis of our own works and start trusting totally in what Jesus has already done for us because its been ingrained in most of us for so long but Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” and Romans 12:2 teaches us to “be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” when we renew our minds to these truths we are effortlessly changed by the power of Gods Word!! Its infinitely more easy to release something that you already have than it is to go get something that you don’t believe you have. If you aren’t absolutely convinced that you’ve already got it then you will submit or you’ll have to battle thoughts that you wont get it. Once you know you’ve already got it how can you doubt that you’ll get it? The battle ground of spiritual warfare is in our own minds.
Genesis 3:1
3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Why did satan choose the serpent? It was because he was subtle. Why not choose a grizzly bear to overpower them? Or a lion to scare them? Its because satan had no power to force Adam and Eve to do anything. The only thing he could do was deceive them and get them to destroy themselves. His only power is deception and that’s why knowledge is so important. Satan question was slanted and deceptive. He didn’t ask “Does God let you eat all of the thousands of trees in the garden except just this one?” That would have presented the situation in a different light. Remembering all the good things God had allowed them to do would have made the one thing God forbid them to do seem insignificant. But satan focused Eves attention on the one tree they were forbidden to eat from. Likewise Satan tries to shift our focus from Jesus and who He is and His finished work on the cross to ourselves and our unrighteousness and sin. If we are caught up in condemnation and feeling unworthy to earn or deserve Gods favor, what we could never earn or deserve, we will be hopelessly lost bouncing back and forth between works and grace but the two do not mix. Romans 11:6 says it’s either all grace or all works but not a mixture of the two. We are either acceptable to God based on our own works or on what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us it has to be one way or the other. The devil tries to trick you first by believing you have to earn what you could never possibly earn if you try you will never succeed. This is such a deception because the Bible teaches us there is “none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10) we can never earn or deserve Gods grace it’s a free gift of God not based on performance but faith in Jesus alone! (Ephesians 2:8-9) Its never about us its always about Jesus! No one questions if Jesus was good enough but regardless of who you are we all know deep down we are not good enough and there’s nothing we can do to be good enough (Romans 3:23) Romans 3:21 “But now the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” We’ve already been made worthy to partake of the inheritance Christ bought for us through our faith in Him. Romans 4:5 “but to him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” Romans 5:1 “therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. We’ve all already been placed in Christs Kingdom and are heirs of His benefits. Understanding this is the foundation of faith! All deception the enemy uses against us violates this fundamental principle. Understanding our completeness in Christ as a total work of grace voids the power of the devil. The only real “power” the devil ever had against us was our sins. They both have been dealt with through the atoning work of Christ! We are already seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus!(Ephesians 2:6) Why should we try and work for something we already have? That doesn’t make sense. Its just a matter of believing and receiving not working and earning! We aren’t headed toward a victory. We are coming from a victory- Christs total victory over the devil! This is the second thing the devil tries to hide from us all because as mentioned earlier once you know you’ve already got it how can you doubt that you’ll get it? Prior to salvation, we are incomplete, and there is a constant striving in all of us to satisfy that hunger. Through the new birth, however, we are complete in Christ, and our hunger should only be for more revelation of what we already have in Christ! The truth of Gods Word is how we overcome the deception of the enemy as Jesus did in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 “as it is written”.
It is interesting to consider why the devil approached Eve instead of Adam, who was with her (Genesis 3:6).It's most probable that Eve's knowledge of God's command was secondhand. The command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was given to Adam before Eve was separated from him (Genesis 2:16-17). Therefore, it would be easier for Eve to think that maybe Adam hadn't represented the Lord's command properly, etc. The application is that God's Word has to become personal or first-person to us. When we don’t have first hand knowledge of what the Word of God says and take the word of others as the Word of God it makes us susceptible to being deceived by the devil about who we are or who God is. So many people have a wrong understanding of who God is because of what they have heard other people say about God that is not biblical whether in Church or elsewhere but it is imperative that we all know the Word of God ourselves and believe what it says because the Word is the final authority. (Romans 3:4, Mark 7:13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) Unfortunately many people won’t let the Bible get in the way of what they believe.
Genesis 3:2-3
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Eve added to what God had said. She said that she couldn't even touch the fruit or she would die. That is not what God said (Genesis 2:16-17). When we tack religious traditions onto God's commands, those traditions will eventually fail the test of time, and society will reject them, not distinguishing between the tradition and the true commandment. The deadliest weapon against the true Gospel is not a total denial of its claims but an addition of other terms or conditions to the only thing that Jesus demanded: faith. Faith in Jesus plus nothing equals total victory. Faith in Jesus plus anything else equals failure. Our faith in Jesus alone is the key to experiencing all of God’s best.
Genesis 3:5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
This scripture is the main reason I wanted to go back to the genesis account what satan did here is the same thing he’s doing to people today and why the New Testament believers are praying we will have a knowledge of what we have already received through Christs victory and who we are in Him. Satan actually deceived Eve about who she was and what she had. She was perfect, yet she was made to think that she was imperfect. She was already wise, yet she was made to think that eating this fruit would make her wise. If Adam and Eve, who were perfect, could be made to think they were imperfect, then certainly we can be deceived about who we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). We have all things in Christ (John 1:16)(Colossians 2:9-10). A person who is secure in who they are in Christ will not fall for the deception of the devil. This is why we started this Bible study if you only knew the power that was in you it would radically change your life! Praise God!!
Colossians 2:14
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”
Jesus smeared out, blotted out, and obliterated the Old Testament Law that was against us. The Lord not only forgave our transgressions of His laws, but He did away with the laws. Now we simply relate to God by faith in Jesus. Where there is no Law, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15).
In Paul's day, paper and ink were used when writing. The paper was different, and the ink did not contain acids allowing it to soak into the paper, like it does today. Therefore, the ink could be blotted away so that the writing was illegible or even totally removed. This is what Paul was referring to. The Old Testament Law has been blotted out. Notice that it is not just our transgressions of the Law that were removed but the ordinances themselves. Jesus took the Law as a document and nailed it to His cross, in effect writing across the bill "Paid in Full." The New Testament believer is no longer under the Law. Notice that Paul was speaking of the Law as being against us and contrary to us. This is radically different than what many Christians think. They embrace the Old Testament Law as something that God gave us for our benefit, to help direct us toward right standing with God. That's not the case. The O.T. Law was given to show us our sin, not our Savior. The Law was condemning, and it empowered sin in our lives. Notice in Paul's analogy that the Law was not totally destroyed; it was just taken out of the way. It is only out of the way of those who are believers in Christ. Those who have not put their faith in Christ are still under the Law.
Colossians 2:15
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Jesus not only conquered Satan and his forces, but He also "spoiled" them-He stripped them of all their power and authority. He also made an exhibit of them. That's what the Greek word that was translated "made a shew" means (Strong's Concordance).
The phrase "triumphing over" came from the Greek word THRIAMBEUO, and it means "to make an acclamatory procession, i.e. to conquer or (by Hebraism) to give victory" (Strong's Concordance).
This Greek word was from a base that described what the Romans called "a triumphant procession"
The Romans would take a conquered king or general and strip him naked, tie him to a horse or chariot, cut off his big toes and thumbs, and have a victory parade. This was to show the Roman citizens that the one who had been a threat would never cause them any more trouble. If this man had any power, he would never allow such a parade. But he couldn't hold a sword anymore or do anything but hobble. This was what God did with the devil. He totally spoiled him, and Satan is void of any power or authority to oppress us anymore. But the problem is that much of the body of Christ has missed the parade. They don't know Satan has been defeated. Sadly, many churches are the agent of Satan's intimidation through their wrong teachings on his authority. We must show them this parade through the pages of the Scripture so that they will not live in fear of a defeated foe.
The word "spoiled," used here, is the Greek verb APEKDUOMAI, and this Greek word means "to divest wholly oneself, or (for oneself) despoil" (Strong's Concordance). One of the words that made up this compound Greek word means to strip. What Paul was saying was that Jesus totally despoiled or stripped Satan and all his powers. Satan is now naked and powerless. Praise the Lord! This was a term used for the disarming of a defeated foe. "The picture is that of the triumph of a Roman general. When a Roman general had won a really notable victory, he was allowed to march his victorious armies through the streets of Rome, and behind him followed the kings and the leaders and the peoples he had defeated. They were openly branded as his spoils. Paul thinks of Jesus as a conqueror enjoying a kind of cosmic triumph, and in his triumphal procession are the powers of evil, beaten forever, for everyone to see" Satan's only weapon against us is deception
The word "shew” means "to exhibit" (Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary). Satan and his forces are forever on display as a conquered foe. Those who know and believe this enjoy the show. Those who are not yet convinced of Satan's defeat are still subject to bondage because of their fear (Hebrews 2:15).
The Phillips New Testament Bible renders this phrase as "he exposed them, shattered, empty and defeated, in his final glorious triumphant act!" What is the "it" that Jesus triumphed in over Satan? The answer is that "it" was the Law ("the handwriting of ordinances that was against us") The devil had used our failure to fulfill the Law as a club to beat us up and convince us that God would never accept us. In that sense, the Law was one of Satan's greatest tools for separating us from God. What Satan used to minister condemnation to us, Jesus used to condemn Satan. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law and used it to satisfy all God's demands for justice by bearing man's sins. The just died for the unjust and thereby liberated the unjust from the jurisdiction of the Law.
Luke 4:18-19
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
All of these things have been fulfilled through Jesus and Jesus has commissioned us to do the same (Mark 16:15-18) It is our duty now to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to show the captives they’ve ALREADY been set free!! To open the eyes and give sight to the blind, to set at liberty those that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord!! There is peace now between God and man because of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 54:9-10, Hebrews 8:12) this is the Gospel!! The Spirit of the Lord is upon us and we have been anointed to reveal to others what God has revealed to us. The scripture says to be ready to give an account for the hope that is in us, the HOPE, not many people today seem like they have this hope in them revealed in the scriptures.(1 Peter 3:15) It is our duty to tell them! What I pray you take away from this teaching today is that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now, today! Every time Jesus referenced the Kingdom of Heaven it was present tense! Our inheritance is for today and everyday not just when we die and go to be with the Lord! This should radically change your everyday life. We aren’t just subject to the world we have a say because Jesus gave us a choice!
Final Thoughts
The Bible isn’t about death, our story and Jesus’ story isn’t about death, that’s why when Jesus died on the cross the book didn’t end there and the story was over. No Jesus Christ rose from the dead! He gave anyone who would believe in Him new life because the Bible is about life! Jesus said “I have come so you may have LIFE and have it more abundantly”(John 10:10) and yet so many people are waiting for death to finally live. Christ rose again so through Him you can live now!! This is what the Bible is about, this is why we’re all are still here, there’s work to be done, fellowship to be had, deeper relationship with the Lord to be enjoyed, people to be healed, memories to be had, love to be shared, souls to be saved! God has supplied everything we could possibly ever need already to overcome any obstacle or situation we may ever face in this life and come out victorious. We aren’t waiting on God He is waiting on us! His work is finished. Accept your inheritance and all of His benefits! He paid a hefty price so we may be like Him and not like the world but an example of what abundant life looks like in Christ Jesus!
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