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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1525257
B V O V : 5 by Kenneth Copeland of your natural mother and father when you were born, your spirit took on the spiritual "genes," so to speak, of your heavenly Father when you were reborn. Your spirit took on His hope, His faith, His Love—and all the other spiritual forces that are characteristic of Him. All of them together are called eternal life. The Greek word for it is zoe. It's a word that defi es defi nition. So the best way I can explain zoe is by saying it's the part of God that makes Him God. And He invested zoe in your spirit when you made Jesus The LORD of your life. The tragedy is, most believers have never learned how to take advantage of it. They walk around with the power of God Himself on the inside of them and never do a thing with it. That's why, today, I want to show you how to start tapping in to the power of God within you by focusing your attention on one particular aspect of that power: the force of hope. Why hope? Because hope is one of the three most powerful elements in the universe. It is one of the three eternal and living substances that run the entire kingdom of God. First Corinthians 13:13 says, "Now abideth faith, hope, charity [or love], these three." Take note of that word abide. Abide means "make a home somewhere." So, the Bible is telling us that faith, hope and love make a home together. Gloria and I make a home together. We abide in the same house. We live there together At this very moment, the creative power that made the universe is living inside you. That's a startling statement, isn't it? If it is true, it should revolutionize your life. Think about it. If you had access to the power that created the world, it would be hard to feel sorry for yourself for very long, wouldn't it? You'd look pretty silly sitting around being the victim of circumstances. Here's the amazing fact: If you are a born- again child of God you do, in fact, have inside you His supernatural, creative power. That's not just an exciting idea. It's not hypothetical. It's the plain truth of the gospel. Most believers are shocked when I say that because they don't fully understand what happened to them when they were born again. They don't realize they actually became a new species of being. John 1:12-13 says, "As many as received [Jesus], to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the fl esh, nor of the will of man, but of God." You are born of God! Do you understand that? The moment you received Jesus Christ as your LORD, the Spirit of the living God came to live inside you. Your inner man was reborn in His image. God literally became the Father of your spirit. Just as your body took on the same genes and traits "YOUR SPIRIT TOOK ON HIS HOPE, HIS FAITH, HIS LOVE—AND ALL THE OTHER SPIRITUAL FORCES THAT ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF HIM. ALL OF THEM TOGETHER ARE CALLED ETERNAL LIFE. THE GREEK WORD FOR IT IS ZOE." As you feed on God's promises, hope grows.