Kenneth Copeland - Now are we in Christ Jesus

Now Are We in Christ Jesus

Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the rights of the glory of his inheritance in the saints..For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:16-18,2:10-13).

When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, something happened to you. You were created in Christ Jesus. You were given an inheritance.

Now, you are in Christ Jesus. You are born of God.

In the physical realm, you were born of your mother. You weren't created; you were born. But in the spiritual realm, when you were "born of God," you were re-created by God. A change took place. You were reborn. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that you became a new creature, a new creation. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." One translation says that any man who is in Christ Jesus is "a new species of being that never existed before."

When you accepted Jesus as your Lord, an actual creation took place. The old manyour unregenerated spirit manwas replaced by a new man, created in Christ Jesus. Old things passed away and all things became new. The new birth that occurred in you was done by the creative power of God. It took place inside youin your spirit.

The "creation" that occurs at the new birth is the same type of "creation" that took place in the first chapter of Genesis. The word translated created in Genesis 1:1 gives the impression that before God brought heaven and earth into existence, there was nothing like it anywhere else. The same is true with the "new creation in Christ Jesus." You are a "new species of being that never existed before."

Being in Christ

You are a complete and total individual.

There has never been, and never will be, another person just like you. When you received Jesus as Lord, God brought you into existence by His creative power. You were born of the Spirit of God. A seed was sown in your heartthe incorruptible seed of God's Wordand you were placed in Christ Jesus.

You need to know and understand the reality of being in Christ. It is an outstanding revelation from God's Word that will affect your thinking, your believing, your actions and your speech.

Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." When? NOW. When are you in Christ Jesus? The moment you make Jesus your Lord.

Who is in Christ Jesus? Ephesians 1:10 says,

"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." So it's not just those who have died and gone to heaven that are in Christ Jesus. This scripture says, "all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Verse 13 says, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."

The most effective way that I have found to develop the reality of being in Christ is to begin with the book of Romans and search through all the letters of the New Testament for the phrase, in Christ. For example, as we have read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." Scriptures that refer to being "in Christ," "in Him" or "in whom" occur 134 times in the Bible. Find those scriptures and read them carefully. Study them and run cross-references on them. You can be sure that whatever the Word says about being

"in Christ," it belongs to you because you are in Christ Jesus.

Being in Christ means that you are "the saved." Why? Because you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and have believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Being in Christ means that you are "the healed." Why? Because Jesus went to the cross, bore the curse of the Law, and broke the power of sickness and disease. He was made sick with our sickness; but He didn't stay sick. Today, He is healed; and because we are in Him, we are healed, too!

Being in Christ means you are "the delivered." Why? Because Colossians 1:13 says God has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

Jesus said he was sent to preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18).

All of the power that it takes to save any human being, to heal any human being, to deliver any human being, came into this earth on the Day of Pentecost. When Jesus walked into a place, the power was there to heal the people. Why? Because the power was in Him.

He said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10). Now, that power is in you because you are in Him. Because you are in Christ Jesus, you can live like Him, talk like Him, and act like Him. The Word of God will change youspirit, soul and body.

The Bible says that God sent Jesus that He might become the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29). God planted the seed of His Son, Jesus, in order to get a harvest, and He reaps that harvest as new souls are added to the kingdom of God. The hundredfold principle is now in operation.

You are called a joint heir with Christ Jesus.

The Word says that when you made Jesus your Lord, you became one spirit with Him. You are in Him. God sees you in Jesus. He not only came inside you, but you went inside Him. We have preached that Jesus comes inside a person, but we have thought very little of the fact that we have entered into Him. You are the Body of Christ. Jesus said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7). You are abiding in Him.

Ephesians 1:4 says, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

You are holy and without blame before Him in love. Jesus provided for you that God is your own Heavenly Father. You are no longer without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). You have been accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6). The letter that Paul wrote to the Ephesians was written to you as well because you are in Christ Jesus. It's a letter from God to you saying, "I have accepted you in My Son. You are in the Beloved. You are Mine."

Have you ever heard the phrase; "But I'm so unworthy"? That was true before you got saved.

You were not worthy to receive what Jesus did.

But He did it anyway! Because He died for you, you can live in Him. He made you worthy. You have been created in Christ Jesus and there is nothing unworthy in Him.

You are not worthy because of anything you did, but because of Jesus and what He did for you. Some people say, "Brother, I know we're in Christ Jesus, but I just can't stand up and say that I'm healed." None of us deserves it in and of ourselves, but God knew that. If you have sin in your life, get it out. If you can't receive healing from God because of the way you have been living, quit living that way! Repent and get rid of it! The Word says that God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9). When you confess the sin, He will forgive you. Don't rebel against God. Don't run from God when you sin, run to Him! If you have to rebel, then rebel against the devil, not God.