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Promises
Take Refuge in the Promises of GodWhat do you have to offer me that I do not already have or am guaranteed to have in the future because of the Lord Jesus? Or what could you make me that I am not already in Christ?
I have been drawn to Christ and given to Him by God the Father (John 6:44, 37, 39; 10:29; 17:2) I have been granted "repentance unto Life" by God (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25) ...and have had my heart opened by Him (Acts 16:14) I have repented and been converted (Acts 3:19) I have confessed with my mouth the Lord Jesus [Who is the only way to God -- John 14:6] and have believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead and have, therefore, been "saved" to the "uttermost" by Him (Romans 10:9; Matthew 1:21; 18:11; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31; 1 Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 7:25) I have been "born again"-- born of God's Holy Spirit and will, therefore, enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3,5) I have been made spiritually alive (John 5:25; Romans 6:11,13; Ephesians 2:5; Col. 2:13) I have had my heart purified by faith (Acts 15:9) I am now a "new creature" in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15) I am not only "dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world" (Col. 2:20) ...but I am also "risen" with Him (Col. 2:12; 3:1) I have been "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." (Ephesians 2:10) I have been "baptized into Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:3) My life is "hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3) I have been "made the righteousness of God" in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) I am completely "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6) I am "complete" in Christ (Col. 2:10) I am "perfected for ever" through Christ's sacrifice. (Heb 10:14) I am a child of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:16; Gal. 3:26; Ephesians 2:19; 3:14-15; 1 John 3:2) ...by adoption (Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Ephesians 1:5) ...a member of the "household of faith" (Gal. 6:10) I am an heir of God -- a joint-heir with and through Christ (Romans 8:17; Gal. 4:7; Titus 3:7) I am no longer an enemy to God I have been reconciled to Him through Christ's death on the cross, and I now have peace with Him (Romans 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:19-20; Ephesians 2:16; Col. 1:21-22) I have God indwelling me (Romans 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Gal. 2:20; Ephesians 4:6; 2 Timothy 1:14) I have been sealed to God by His Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) ...and now am led by that Spirit (Gal. 5:18, 25; Romans 8:4) I now am able to experience "the fruit of the Spirit" -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control -- in my life (Gal. 5:22-23) I have not only had my sins forgiven, but blotted out as well, through Christ's sacrifice on the cross (Acts 5:31; 13:38; 26:18; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14; 2:13-14; 1 John 1:7,9; 2:12) I have been made free from the power of sin because of my position in Christ (Romans 6:3,7,14,18,22) I am no longer under condemnation because I am "in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1; John 3:18; 5:24) I have been redeemed through Christ's blood (Ephesians 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 3:24-25) I have been sanctified [set apart] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 10:10,14; Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11) I have not only been "sanctified" but also "preserved" and "called" (Jude 1; Romans 8:30) I have been "justified [declared innocent, righteous, not guilty] freely" by God's grace, by faith, and by His Holy Spirit, "in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Romans 3:24, 28, 30; 5:1; 8:30; 1 Cor. 6:11; Gal. 2:16) I have been "delivered from the power of darkness" and have been "translated into the kingdom" of God's Son (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18) I have been called out of darkness into God's marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9) I belong to Christ (1 Corinthians 3:23) I am "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) I am raised up and seated in heavenly places "in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6) I have an eternal, incorruptible, undefiled inheritance awaiting me in heaven (Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:4; Acts 20:32; 26:18; Ephesians 1:14; Col. 1:12) I am a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20) I have hope laid up in heaven (Col. 1:5) I am a partaker of the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1) I am an ambassador for Christ ( 2 Cor. 5:20) I am a member of the true church, the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14, 18, 27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:4, 15-16; 5:29-30; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19) I am a living stone in God's spiritual building (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; Hebrews 3:6) I am a "saint" (Romans 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 14:33; Ephesians 1:1; 2:19; 3:8; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18; Phil. 1:1; 4:21-22) I have Jesus as a "merciful and faithful high priest" in heaven (Hebrews 2:17; 4:14-15) ...who "ever liveth to make intercession" for me (Hebrews 7:25) I daily have an "advocate" [Jesus] with the Father in heaven (1 John 2:1) I have a "mediator" with God -- the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) I am empowered by God to have the desire and ability to live for Him and to do His will while on this earth (Phil. 2:13; 4:13; Ephesians 3:20; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:16-17) I have the right to go "boldly" to God's "throne of grace" to "obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" while in this life (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19, 22) I am in the new, better testament/covenant of grace (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 7:22; 8:6, 13; 12:24; John 1:17; Acts 20:24; Romans 5:2, 20-21; Galatians 1:6; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:11) I have direct access to God the Father through Christ by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18; 3:11-12) I have victory through and triumph in Christ (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14) I have the "hope of glory" because of Christ in me (Col. 1:27) I am a member of a holy, royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5, 9) My "inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16) I am "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (1 Peter 1:5; John 10:28-30; Jude 24-25) I have been delivered by Jesus from the wrath to come (Romans 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; John 3:36) I have assurance of God's "gift" of eternal life through Christ (1 John 5:11-13, 20; John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; Romans 6:11, 23; John 4:10) I have been glorified (Romans 8:30) I have partaken of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) I have God's seed abiding in me (1 John 3:9) I have become "a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed" (1 Peter 5:1) I am an overcomer (1 John 5:4; 4:4; 2:13) I shall be presented "faultless" to God (Jude 24) My body shall be changed to be like Christ's (Phil. 3:21) If I die before Christ returns to earth, I shall be with Him (2 Cor. 5:6, 8; Phil. 1:22-23) I shall not only be with the Lord forever (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:17; 2 Timothy 2:11; Rev. 21:3) ...but I shall also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:6; 22:5) I shall "appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4) I shall judge the world and angels (1 Cor. 6:2-3) I shall not experience the second death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6) I shall "eat of the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7) I shall be "clothed in white raiment" (Rev. 3:5) I shall be a pillar in God's temple. I shall be given God's name, the name of His city, and Christ's new name. I shall also receive a new name which no man will know (Rev. 3:12; 2:17) I shall sit with Christ in His throne (Rev. 3:21) I shall live in the presence of God the Father and God the Son forever (Rev. 21:2-3, 22-23; 22:1, 3-5) I shall "inherit all things" in Christ (Rev. 21:7; Ephesians 1:3)
All the preceding blessing, promises, and positions are guaranteed in God's Word, the Holy Bible, to all those people who believe in the Jesus revealed in that Bible. Since I believe in that Jesus, all these blessings, promises, and positions are mine. However, they are mine, not because of any great works or effort on my part, nor because of any so-called holiness or righteousness in me, nor because of any religious rituals. They are mine because of God's grace and mercy in and through Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5, 7-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 2:10; Jude 21; Ephesians 4:32)
...and I received them through faith in both God's Living Word [Christ] and His written Word [the Bible] (John 3:16; 6:28-29; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:6-7; 1 John 3:23; Romans 10:17; John 15:3; 17:17; Ephesians 5:26; James 1:18, 21; 1 Peter 1:23) I have absolutely no room to glory or boast in myself (Romans 3:27-28; 1 Cor. 1:29; Ephesians 2:8-9) I can only glory "in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:31) ...and in His "cross" (Gal. 6:14)
Since I have all these blessings, promises, and positions, what could you have to offer me that is comparable to or surpasses what I already have or shall have? Or what could you possibly make me be that I am not already in Christ, through the grace and mercy of God?
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