Lesson 1 Identified with Him

     As Christians people, we are now identified with Jesus.  What He is, we are.  We've allowed ourselves to identify with the forgiveness of sin part, but not much else.  We read the truth of God's Word in the scriptures, but still stumble at the power of what it says.
     Not only is Jesus identified with us, but we are now identified with Him according to 2Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified) which says that, "For our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him, we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
     We've somehow believed that Jesus bore our sin, but we've had a hard time believing we were made righteous in Him.  One of the greatest weapons the enemy uses against today's Church, is a sin conscience instead of a righteous conscience.
     Isaiah 54:14-15 (Amplified) says that, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order) you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you."  Verse 15 goes on, "Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you."
     The Word says that we are to establish ourselves in righteousness.  To the unrenewed mind of the believer, saying we're now righteous seems prideful or arrogant.  Really though, it's either false humility or simply doubt that makes us say that we're still somehow not right with God.  We've allowed Jesus to identify with us on the cross, but haven't allowed ourselves to be identified with Him.  We'll say we believe Jesus was made sin with our sin, but then stagger at the truth that we were made righteous with His righteousness.
     So many things in our lives depend on understanding our righteousness with God.  Not understanding our place with the Father hinders everything we do as Christians.
     Ephesians 6:14 (Amplified) tells us to, "Stand therefore (hold your ground)having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.  The King James Bible calls it the "breastplate of righteousness."
     This is a vital part of our armor of warfare.  The sword of the Spirit is the only part of our armor that is offensive. Everything else from our armor is defensive.  If we don't have the breastplate of righteousness in place, then we're open to the lies and accusations of the enemy.  We are without defense.  Even our shield of faith isn't working to quench the "flaming missiles" of the enemy.
     The breastplate is the only thing covering a soldier's heart.  Even today, our military wears body armor to protect their most vital body parts.  Unless we trust in and understand our armor, we've made ourselves vulnerable to the enemy.  Unlike the armor the military wears, our armor is spiritual armor.  Their armor must be put on manually and ours must be applied by faith.
     If we don't have faith in our right standing with God, then we make ourselves open for the enemy to stop whatever we're doing.  This lack of faith in our right standing with the Father has hindered our ability to pray in faith.  It has hindered our ability to lay hands on the sick because we didn't feel worthy of faith.
     Psalm 23:3 (Amplified) says, "He refreshes and restores my life (myself); He leads me in the paths of righteousness (uprightness and right standing with Him- not for my earning it, but) for His Name's sake."
     Romans 5:1 (Amplified) says, "Therefore since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us (grasp the fact that we) have (the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
     Our righteousness, our right standing and our right to stand clean before God, depends on our faith through Jesus.  By faith in Jesus, grace has already made this true, but our faith in this truth is what makes us stand strong in Him.  We read where we were made righteous with Him, but continue feeling unworthy or unrighteous because of our failures.  This comes down to our faith. Will we have more faith in our failures than we do in His success?  Which of these positions is your faith in?
    The position of understanding makes all the difference in our walk with God and our place of authority over the enemy.  Ephesians 6:12 (Amplified) says, "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents) but against the despotisms, against the powers, against (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere."
     Without understanding our righteousness in Christ, the enemy can bully us into his realm of thinking.  If satan can convince us we're not righteous, then he can take away our very assurance of peace and confidence in our walk with the Father.  This understanding of righteousness had everything to do with our faith in prayer and almost everything in our walk with God.