The new life Jesus gave us is vastly different from the old — and should be — to make it worth the horrors He endured on the cross. Don’t ever be satisfied with life as usual after your new birth experience. There is no such thing as a mediocre follower of Jesus!
In this episode we will look at some realities of the new creation life, as found in Scripture. God’s promises belong to those who stepped into a life of faith in Him, His unfailing Word, and the perfect work that Jesus accomplished on the cross.
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:20
We look at promises God made to be fulfilled in Christ. We have a better covenant this side of the cross, based on better promises — benefits that were mostly not available to Old Testament saints. Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead changed everything.
Remember that the first thing God did after He made Adam and Eve, was to bless them, and the very last thing Jesus did, even while He ascended into heaven, was to bless His followers:
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. Luke 24:50,51
It is still His desire for His own to be blessed. It is important to know these promises because we receive all things by faith, and you cannot believe what you don’t know! With that in mind, let’s work through the Scriptures quoted below:
Isaiah 53:4-6:
- He bore our sorrows and carried our griefs (anxiety problems)
- He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (sin problems)
- The chastisement for our peace was upon Him (mental problems)
- By His stripes we were healed (health problems)
Luke 4:18 Jesus announced His assignment from heaven when He started His earthly ministry:
- To preach good news to the poor (freedom from poverty)
- He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted (emotional problems)
- To preach deliverance to the captives (freedom, pardon, forgiveness)
2 Corinthians 8:9:
- He became poor so that we may become rich (poverty problems)
Ephesians chapter 2:
- We were made alive together with Christ
- We were raised with Christ and made to sit together with Him in heavenly places
- We were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them = to do them
- Through Him we have access by the Spirit to the Father
We may know that He intended for us to have:
- The Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17)
- The eyes of our understanding being enlightened to know the hope of our calling (Ephesians 1:18)
- The exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:19)
- Our position is in Christ who is far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named (Ephesians 1:20-23)
- The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5)
- As believers, we’ll lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:18)
- We have been given authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19)
John 15:1-8:
- We are united with Him as the vine and the branches are united. The branches are the fruit-bearing part of the vine, so are we the fruit-bearing part of Christ on earth.
- We are the love-revealing part of Him
- We are the part of Him that touches and blesses the world
- We are the part of Him that carries eternal life to the lost through our love, witness, and testimony
- We are the part of Him that shows the goodness of God to the world
This is the reason why we do good works — not in our name, as that would leave the impression that we are good people — but in His name so that He might be glorified in all things.
We overcome the world:
- Because the Greater One lives in us. (1 John 4:4)
- Because we were born of God and have faith in Him. (1 John 5:4)
- Because we believe Jesus is the Son of God. (1John 5:5)
- Because Jesus gave us His name in which is all the power in heaven and earth. (Mark 16:17-18)
- We continue with His work on earth (John 14:12)
- Because we have received power from the Holy Spirit to be worthy witnesses of His resurrection (Acts 1:8)
Memorize & Meditate: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ~John 15:4
Confession: I overcome because the One who lives in me, is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)
