Faith, Feelings, and Faithfulness / Part One

The Foundation of Christ 

Everyone has a challenge that they are facing. The natural realm is saying one thing and Spirit realm is saying another. There is pain when what you are seeing with your natural eyes doesn’t line up with what you hope for.

Blessing Us Was God’s Heart

Where much of the body of Christ has connected with what we already have in Christ, we need to realize that we do not need to contend with God for what we already have. It was God’s idea to bless His kids before we even “needed it.” Romans 8:31-32 (NKJV) says:

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

The Word also says that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) and that we have already been given everything for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

Starting with a Solid Foundation

Because we have seen the gap between God’s promise and our experience, we have come up with multiple theological explanations that have gotten us off track. Either we have interpreted the problem to be because God is displeased with us or our behavior, or we feel that the enemy is holding back our blessing, which only empowers a defeated enemy.

In the first case, we have inadvertently maligned the goodness of God, causing ourselves to make up for the lack. In the second case, we have unintentionally magnified in our minds an accuser and thief, real or imagined, to have power to withhold what God has freely given. Both of these are off and subvert our ability to experience what has freely been given us by birthright.

Born in Blessing

A birthright is given by virtue of birth, not by any performance on our parts. Much of the church still feels like orphans trying to get into the family, or black sheep trying to curry favor with a disapproving rejecting Father, inhibiting our ability to receive.

Starting off with the wrong premise leads to  the wrong conclusion. So, what is the “right premise” to start off with? Well, we need to start with the beginning. Most people understandably start off with Genesis 1 – the creation. But there is a more foundational beginning in John 1:1:1-2 (TPT):

1 In the very beginning the Living Expression was already there.

And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God.

2 They were together—face-to-face, in the very beginning.

In verse 1, “Living Expression” is the Greek word, “logos,” also translated “Word.” This can also be translated “Message” or “Blueprint.” The Passion Translation elaborates so beautifully in its footnote:

Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, the creative Word, and the Word made visible. He is the divine self-expression of all that God is, contains, and reveals in incarnated flesh. Just as we express ourselves in words, God has perfectly expressed himself in Christ.

Starting with Christ 

So, where do we start? We start with the Godhead as manifested in the Person of Christ.

Revelation 22:13 (VOICE) says of Christ:

13 I am the Alpha and Omega, the First One and the Last One, the beginning and the end.

So, what does this do with the gap between grace promises in the spiritual realm manifesting by faith in the natural realm – EVERYTHING!

John 1:3 – 4 (TPT) says:

3 And through his creative inspiration

    this Living Expression made all things, 

    for nothing has existence apart from him!

4 Life came into being because of him,

    for his life is light for all humanity. 

5 And this Living Expression is the Light that bursts through gloom —

    the Light that darkness could not diminish! 

So, everything finds its fullness and completion through the revelation of God, exquisitely made flesh in the Person of Christ. One of the sweeping purposes of the incarnation of Christ is so that we could begin to comprehend Father God accurately (Hebrews 1:3, John 14:7,9).  Jesus is the perfect representation of God the Father.

2 Peter 1:2 (TPT) says:

2 May grace and perfect peace cascade over you as you live in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

It is important to know God because it is through the knowledge of God that grace and peace are manifested. We ALL need grace and peace!

Everything We Need

What happens as you live in the rich knowledge of God and Christ?  Grace and perfect peace cascade over you! Isn’t that amazing?!!

2 Peter 1:3a goes on to say,

3 Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. 

That is a whopping truth.

Sit with it a bit. It is worthy of some mediation!

And this is where I will start again in the 2ndblog in this series next week.

Stay Tooned!

– Catherine