"I am always thanking my God.." - I Corinthians 1:4-5

God has given us “free and open access to His grace,” which is the free unmerited love and favor of God, into a Kingdom which is made without hands.  It is with a thankful heart that we receive this grace and begin to walk in it daily.  

This grace is God’s unchanging love for us based on the fact that He created us to be His sons and daughters from the beginning, there was a bit of a detour when Adam & Eve fell from that grace into sin, but Jesus came to declare to us that the way is now paved with His sacrifice and is available to us if we just believe.  

Jesus not only provided us access but demonstrated to us that the Father has a deep passionate love for us that exceeds any expectations we may have.  The Father’s love for us is greater than anything that can be imagined, after all, He created us to interact with Him on a personal intimate level. 

Our union or unity with Jesus has sealed the deal for us with the Father and has extended forgiveness to us for any past or future sins, there is no longer anything or anyone that can separate us from the love of God.

“Who could ever separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.” Romans 8:35 (TPT)

In Jesus “we have been made rich in every way,” we have a deposit that was left for us that is inexhaustible, riches that far exceed earthly wealth because Christ lives within us and exposes us to His Kingdom where freedom reigns and He commands everything for our benefit.  It is Christ in us which is the hope of glory, and that hope is that we will be transformed into His likeness to reflect the radiance and purposes of God in the earth.

Part of the great wealth we have been given is the ability to speak the mind of God so that others may come to the same saving knowledge of His grace that we have experienced.  These are inspired words that flow from our innermost being where Christ resides and gives hope to others that they too may know of the love that God has for them.  

Another part of that great wealth is to speak healing and restoration in others as we are given the opportunity to interact with others, in God’s design there is no sickness, sickness comes from a fallen world that has been infected by sin.  We can declare the mercies of God upon others that they may receive the healing that they need to live in the freedom of God’s great love. 

“However, there is a wisdom that we continually speak of when we are among the spiritually mature. It’s wisdom that didn’t originate in this present age, nor did it come from the rulers of this age who are in the process of being dethroned. Instead, we continually speak of this wonderful wisdom that comes from God, hidden before now in a mystery. It is his secret plan, destined before the ages, to bring us into glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 (TPT)

All of this comes from our “endowment” of our “intimate knowledge of Him.”  This is our inheritance which was promised from the beginning of time that we would know God and have close intimacy with Him.  

From a first glance this looks like this is either something weird or unattainable which in fact is the truth according to the ways of the world, God never wanted us to depend upon our own mind to make judgments of Him, which is why He sent Jesus to be the living example of what God is like.  Jesus is the true reflection of the living God and as we know Him we receive all of that Godly inheritance in Him. 

“His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he now holds the honored position—the one next to the majestic God [the Father] on the heavenly throne.” 
Hebrews 1:3 (GW)

We are a people who have been given a great gift which is an eternal position in Christ Jesus to receive all of the benefits that God desired us to have since the creation of the world, that gift is His Son residing in us that we may become like Him and take our place beside Him speaking from our personal knowledge of Him.

Paul in speaking to the gathering in Corinth wanted to make sure that they realized not only who they were in Christ, but what was available to them so they could live victorious lives speaking from their personal and corporate knowledge of Jesus residing in their lives.  

His words speak to us too, we also are in Christ and have the same knowledge of Him that we may stand in the victory of Christ Jesus every day.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett