BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

will be ours when Jesus returns. That "earnest," along with the life and glory of God that's within us, is enough to defeat anything the devil or this world can bring against us. It's enough to empower us to live victoriously and to give us the boldness to say in the face of any challenge, "We are more than conquerors through Christ!" "But Gloria," you might say, "you have to remember that even as believers we're still just earthly creatures." No, we're not. We're new creations! God has "raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We've been seated with Him "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" (Ephesians 2:6, 1:21). As Christians, we're citizens of the kingdom of God. His kingdom isn't someplace we're going to go someday when Jesus returns or after we die. It doesn't just exist in a place called heaven. God's kingdom is wherever He and His Body exercise dominion, and right now, He is exercising His dominion right here on earth through us. I'm telling you, we ought to be excited about this! As the Church, even on this side of the fi nal Resurrection, we have so much going for us that when it comes to fi ghting our enemy, the devil, it's not even a fair fi ght! Operating In a Whole New Realm I know what you might be thinking. If it's not a fair fi ght, then why do believers seem to be getting beat up so much of the time? Why aren't we all walking in constant, glorious triumph? Because we are living far below our privileges. We are just barely walking in the resurrection life and power God has made available to us. To walk more fully in that power, we have to learn to operate in a whole new realm—the realm of the spirit. Before we were born again we didn't know anything about that realm. Because sin had darkened our hearts and deadened us to God, all we could do was operate in the fl esh and in the realm of the natural. When we gave our hearts to Jesus, however, that situation changed. Spiritually, we became "dead…unto sin, but alive unto God" (Romans 6:11). We experienced the fulfi llment of what God said in Ezekiel 11:19-20: "I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their fl esh, and give them a heart of fl esh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God" (NKJV). Notice those scriptures say that God has given us a new heart and a new spirit. They also tell us He has done that for a reason: so we can walk in His ways! So we can learn how to walk with Him in the realm of the spirit! That's what the Holy Spirit is in us to do. He's here to teach us how to live and serve the Lord according to Romans 7:6: "not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]" (Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition). As those who have God's Spirit dwelling in us, we're not in the same position people were under the Old Covenant. All they had was God's written law. They couldn't live in close fellowship with Him because He's a spirit and they were still operating in the realm of the natural. They were still trapped in the fl esh. As New Covenant believers, however, we're "not in the fl esh" (Romans 8:9). We're "born of the Spirit." We not only have the written Word of God, we have the Author of that Word living inside us. He's in us 24/7 to reveal to us what 2 8 : B V O V 2 Even while you're still on earth, your spirit is seated in heavenly places in Christ. (Eph. 2:6) 3 You don't have to live according to the dictates of your fl esh anymore, you can walk in the realm of the spirit. (Gal. 5:16) 4 Your mission now is to reveal on the outside the image of Jesus you have on the inside. (Rom. 8:29) 1 Through the new birth your spirit has already been resurrected. (Rom. 6:4) 5 The Holy Spirit inside you will teach you how to fulfi ll that mission and live in resurrection life. (Rom. 7:6) POINTS TO GET YOU THERE: God has given us a new heart and a new spirit.... He has done that for a reason: so we can walk in His ways!

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