For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17
One of the precious principles that we need to remember in this life is: everything in the Kingdom of God is to be received, and not to be achieved. In addition to this, we cannot release what we have not received. In Matthew 10:1 it says, “ And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” The Twelve received authority in the Presence of Jesus as He commissioned them to do the works of the Kingdom. And Jesus went on to say, “freely you received, freely give.” We cannot release or give what we have not received from Him. The measure that we receive from Him in the secret place is the same measure that we are able to release to the world.
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father as Priest and King in the heavens. As the High Priest in the heavens, He completed the sacrifice necessary for the redemption of mankind and He’s been given all the power and authority in heaven and on earth and now He sits on the throne ruling and reigning as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Our measure of receiving from heaven is the measure of our reigning in life. This is an important key in living out the Kingdom lifestyle. Heaven is the model and the pattern for earth. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Let Your Kingdom come, let Your Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” As priests, ministering before God in worship and intercession in the secret place, we receive from heaven the very answers that would address the needs here on earth.
Jesus modeled the priestly and kingly lifestyle. Both aspects are essential to us walking this earth because “as He is so are we in this world.” He said I only say what I hear my Father say, I only do what I see my Father do. This is the lifestyle that we are called to live. This is Jesus’ secret – His hidden life with the Father. In the same way, as priests, we should see and hear God first so we can go and do.
The Kingdom of God is the total answer to the total needs of man. Jesus made the way for us to access heaven and live in its reality in the Spirit and be able to experience our inheritance as sons of God here and now. Through Him we have access to the heavenly resources needed to transform this earth and make it look just like heaven. We received what Jesus accomplished, the finished work of the cross, by faith in the place of intimacy. In a race, we start from the starting line, but in Christianity we do start from the finish line- the finished work of Jesus. That’s why Christian life is all by faith and all by grace.
After receiving from heaven, we are to rule and reign here on earth, exercising the authority given to us. We have been commissioned to destroy the works of darkness, and set the captives free. We take every land for our King and expand the borders of His Kingdom as we go and proclaim the Good News. We bring His Presence to the widows and orphans, the lost, the least, the forsaken and the sick. We mark people for blessing and declare over them their destiny that God has for them.