Sons and Daughters of the King

Our identity as sons and daughters of the King through Christ affords us full access to everything that is in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, ” Do not be afraid My little children for it is the Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”(Luke 12:32) Not just a part of it but all of it. All that is in heaven is wrapped up in our inheritance. 

Our inheritance is what we administer to this world to transform it. In love, we serve the world and release heaven’s reality to earth. Paul wrote in Galatians and said, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:6-7). From our innermost being comes out the cry of the Spirit of the Son of God. It is the cry for union, for intimacy, for revelation of His glory in and through us! 

As we allow the Spirit to lead us deeper into God we experience the eternal union of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in perfect love. Jesus prayed for this reality saying, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21) Our being one with Him awakens the world into faith – that the Father sent Jesus. 

There is another cry resounding throughout the ages. Paul wrote in Romans that “For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God…the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” (Read Romans 8:19-22). As we embrace our true identity as sons and daughters of God and live in and from Christ, the creation finds freedom from the bondage of sin and corruption. The groaning is for our revealing — to finally live in the newness of life, the new reality in Christ. The Father has set us up to transform a world prepared and longing to see the glory of Christ in us!

May our lives reflect and demonstrate the new living reality we have in Christ. Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away behold new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) May everything we do show the world that indeed Christ is in us and that we are in Christ. 

Understanding the Riches of His Grace

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, he made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us  in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 

 

Ephesians 2:4-10 NASB

Grace is God’s gift to mankind. It is never earned by works but it is received by faith. God’s grace has multiple facets like a beautiful diamond. While we were yet sinners God demonstrated His grace. This is His unmerited favor that Christ died for us. We don’t deserve it but God gave His Son to die for our sins and bring us back into a living relationship with Him by the blood of Jesus. In Christ, He also raised us up and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. His grace did not just save us. His grace brought us back to glory!

It is by His grace through faith that we receive and inherit glorious state and identity in Christ. Without grace, we are hopeless creatures separated from God and headed for eternal judgment. His grace gave us a new life, a new identity, and a new reality! We now live from the reality of heaven as we face the challenges of life here on earth. We are no longer slaves to the forces of this world.  Victory is assured for His grace is enough.

We are His workmanship of grace and we have a glorious destiny that lies ahead of us we are now fashioned unto good works prepared by our Good Father. Oh, the depths of His wisdom and His love towards us!

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

 

Amazing Grace by John Newton

God’s Favor Upon Us

Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us; and confirm for us (or give permanence to) the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands. – Psalm 90:17

The favor of God upon us turns our ordinary works into extraordinary exploits. Any prosaic task has the potential to become a transformative and divinely inspired endeavor with God’s favor. The mundane can become a platform for the miraculous.

With God’s favor, a typical work becomes a catalyst for His mighty works. We see this in David who signed up to bring lunch to his brothers and ended up killing the giant who has been holding up God’s army. The poor widow who is down to her last cup of flour chose to bake bread for the prophet first, and the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry until it rained. The paltry meal, just five loaves and two fish, from the little boy’s hands fed a multitude and the remaining food filled up 12 baskets. These are stories that inspire us and invite us to live the life that He intended for us.

When we have the favor of God upon us, we are positioned to partner with the Holy Spirit in bringing heaven to earth. We are favored and blessed so that the world around us will be transformed by His influence in and through us.

When the favor of God is upon us, the outcome of our works is tilted towards permanence. The temporal becomes empowered by His eternal grace. What our hands touch, our works under God’s blessings, no matter how small it may seem, has the influence and imprints of heaven.