Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says,"And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Without Jesus, we cannot defeat the master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness. We must understand who we are in Jesus and who we are wrestling against.
He gave us His authority, when we were born again and became made one with Him. We have the same name, the same power of attorney and the same authority, just like a husband and wife sharing the same covenant. In Ephesians 5:22 (Amplified) Paul said, "This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning (the relationship of) Christ and the Church." Paul gave instructions to the wife and husband in Ephesians 5:21-33 and comparing that covenant with our relationship with Jesus and His relationship with us. Paul compared Jesus with the husband and declared that Jesus will carry out His end of the covenant. The Church, however, hasn't fully understood our part as the Bride of Christ. We have failed to understand Him enough to know what God's will is for us and this makes us hesitant in doing what a wife would do in the absence of her husband.
My wife conducts herself the same in my absence, that she does in my presence. She uses my name to always bring honor to the name she has taken, my name. She's chosen to submit to my name and has never taken back her maiden name. There were many times early in our marriage, where we were unsure of what the others need or wants were, but we've grown in our relationship and know each others need fairly accurately.
Paul prays, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, for the Church (the Bride of Christ) in Ephesians 1:17 (Amplified), "(For I always pray to) the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation (of insight into mysteries and secrets) in the (deep and intimate) knowledge of Him." Only a wife can know the "deep and intimate knowledge) of her husband. As their relationship grows, they truly become one in spirit and love. We've neglected the intimacy of our relationship with God and we've been afraid to trust the Spirit to make us one,.
It's by our understanding this "great mystery" Paul speaks about, we can know the authority we've been given in His Name. We no longer have our maiden name of "sinner," but the Holy Name of Jesus! We've used Proverbs 31:10-12 (Amplified) as a text for mothers and wives on Mother's Day, but this scripture is really speaking about Christ and His Bride, the Church. Thus, it says, "A capable, and intelligent and virtuous woman-who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls." Verses 11-12 go on, "The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of (honest) gain or need of (dishonest) spoil. She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her."
Paul describes the perfect relationship between a husband and wife. This description can also be found in Proverbs 31:20 which says the wife "opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy (whether in body, mind, or spirit)." This scripture shows that the very texts given to a virtuous woman for her husband, are given as to the Church and Christ. We are the Church, the virtuous woman.
My wife and I shared my last name, immediately exchanging vows and pronounced "man and wife." We had a growing process and needed to learn more about one another. We have become one with Jesus, the very same moment we exchanged our vow to receive Him as our Lord. We will never be more "one" with Him, than we are now. We need to become much more aware of who we are, rather than who we were.
As new creations and members of God's family, we must take this joint-seating, along with His Name, in order to operate here on earth and establish His Kingdom over the "master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness." We do not have the authority over them, in our maiden name, but only in His Name. As mere men, we cannot exercise our own authority, but only His authority,. The establishment of men who are ruled by "this present darkness and rulers, is only subject to a Higher authority. Through our marriage to Jesus, we've been granted His authority to bring about His will into this present darkness.
The new creation that Paul speaks about in 2Corinthians 5:16-17 (Amplified), isn't something we will be someday, but is something that now is. Paul says, "Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a (purely) human point of view (in terms of natural standards of value) (No) even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a Man, yet now (we have such knowledge of Him that) we know Him no longer (in terms of the flesh)."
Many of us still think of Jesus as the Man Who walked on water and not as the Christ Who created the water. We continue to identify more with the flesh and Blood Man, more than with the Risen Christ. We say that "someday, we'll have what Jesus made for us." His Name will never by anymore power in eternity, than it currently is. He is the Word of God, "yesterday, today and forever." He always was and will always be, the Word of God. He has made us, now, one with Him, in the Word. When we speak the Name of Jesus, we speak God's Word. When we speak His Name, it changes and creates on this earth. "His Name, and faith in His Name, has made this man whole," according to Acts 3:16.
When we understand our position in Him more clearly, we will have faith in His Name, and more. My wife never doubts whether my name will work on her behalf. My name is her badge of security, when she presents it in my name. She doesn't need to bring me into the bank, store, gas station, or anywhere else, because she can present her identity and our names are one. When they see her name, it's my name and she is recognized as Mrs. James L. Hayes. She isn't me, but she has my name, my authority, and my permission to do as she wills, because she represents my will in all she does.
If the Church would merely receive this simply truth and become as secure in Him as we are in our earthly relationships, then we would see a great change in how we live here and now on earth. Although Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, His authority is spread throughout the universe. I don't need to have Him appear on my behalf, when I come against the "rulers of darkness." All I need do it present the Name, that I have taken as my own when I was born again, just like a husband and wife. The Name is all I need to have on my behalf, because we have "become one."
As new creation people, we were restored everything God intended for His children, when He first created the earth for us. All of the "rulers of this present darkness" are subject to the Mighty Name of Jesus that we received at our new creation birth. We haven't dared place ourselves in such a "high" place by calling ourselves what God has made us to be. If my wife would be offended by someone calling her "Mrs. Hayes," then I would feel hurt and insecure about our relationship and love for her. Why would she be afraid to speak with boldness, the name she has taken as her own? Why would I be upset because she felt secure enough to walk in the name that I have given her?
Something is amiss in the way we see ourselves, in our relationship with Jesus. We have more faith in winning the lottery, than in having a prayer answered from the Father. Many have ceased praying, because we've lost faith in ever receiving an answer to our prayer. Religion teaches that we "will never know what God might do." My wife knows what I will do and isn't afraid to ask or move in faith because of it.
We struggle over elections and the things happening in our country right now, but don't seem to spend much time in prayer or faith in God changing things. Ephesians 6:12 (Amplified) tells us, "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents) but against the despotisms, again the powers, against (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (super-natural) sphere."
Don't trust the flesh, trust the Name by which you are known and called, His Name.
No comments:
Post a Comment