Live Up to Your Spiritual Heritage

by Alexandra Copeland

 

The Book of Acts in the New Testament tells us about Saul, a man that once hated believers of the Lord Jesus Christ. He persecuted them, but then was converted to be a believer himself. Acts 9:1 says that Saul was eager to kill believers, known as the followers of the Way, so he sought cooperation to arrest them. In route to Damascus to carry out his mission, a light began to shine from heaven, and it was shining all around Saul. This was truly a supernatural encounter, and one can imagine that Saul was quite beside himself when this happened. Acts 9:4 says that Saul fell to the ground, hearing a voice that said to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

We must take note here that Jesus Christ had already ascended to heaven when Saul had this experience. The physical body of Christ was no longer on the earth, yet he posed this question to Saul in a very personal way. In making Saul’s transgression personal, Jesus Christ testifies of the great and extraordinary truth of what his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension accomplished for us, God’s people. Saul was persecuting believers living within the earth, but because we are sons and daughters of God, because we have the Spirit of Christ living inside of us, persecuting believers is the same as persecuting Christ himself; for we are one and the same because of what Christ accomplished through his finished work on earth.

We were utterly lost in sin before Jesus came. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for the world’s sin; that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life. Because of this, Romans 8:11 tells us that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, now lives in us. We now carry the spiritual seed of God, as His children.

You and I cannot explain all the details of this great mystery of what God has done through Christ, but we know his blood cleansed our sins and made it possible for us to spiritually reconnect with Heavenly Father. 1Corinthians 2:7-8 says that God kept this mystery for our glory even before time began. Only the Father knew it. Only God knew what He had in store for our salvation and glory. And this passage says that if the devil had known that we, you and I, would be God’s sons and daughters just like Christ, then he, the devil, would never have crucified Christ. Now, because of the new birth reality, and because we can now have God’s seed within us through the person of the Holy Spirit, there are millions of Jesus Christ replicas walking around in the earth.

This gives us some idea of the destiny that God has planned for each of us. It is so awesome that He has protected the mystery of it throughout the expanse of time, and He didn’t reveal it until the finished work of Christ. Saul persecuted many of God’s people, but even if he had only persecuted one born-again believer, he was actually persecuting Christ. The number has no bearing, for Christ lives within every son and daughter of God through the salvation that he has made available.

Jesus Christ told Saul in Acts 9:5-6(NLT), “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men that were traveling with Saul were left speechless because they heard the voice of Jesus but didn’t see anyone. When Saul stood up from the ground, he was blind and remained that way three days. During this time, he didn’t eat or drink.

This record in the Book of Acts also tells us that there was a believer living in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord had spoken to him in a vision. At the same time, Saul was praying to God, having been shook to his very core by this amazing encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. God instructed Ananias to go to Saul and lay hands on him so that his sight could be restored. Ananias followed God’s directive. Saul’s sight was restored, and he received the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

It is so important that we ask ourselves a critical question; why did Ananias need to lay hands on Saul for him to receive his sight? Why didn’t our Master Jesus simply restore his sight without the assistance of another human being? There are many mysteries regarding the wisdom of God that we won’t know in this lifetime, but the things in His Word are for our learning and knowing. Through His Word, we know that our Heavenly Father has restricted and limited Himself according to His statues and laws. He decreed that humans would exercise dominion and authority in the earth. Humans are the ones to carry forth His Will within this natural dimension, and Heavenly Father proved this by becoming a human in order that he might redeem us. God’s Word is perfect, and He will not violate His law.

Jesus Christ said in Luke 10:19(NLT), “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”  Heavenly Father desires us to increase in faith, spiritual strength, and in the knowledge of His Word so we can activate the plan He has for our lives. Ephesians 3:20 tells us, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” We are God’s sons and daughters. Romans 8:29 says that He knew us in advance and chose us to become just like His Son; this way, His Son is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

God didn’t rise us up to be spiritual weaklings, not able to do anything substantive for His Kingdom. No! Quite the contrary. We are more than conquerors through Christ. Romans 8:19(NLT) tells us, “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.” We must stop asking God to do the things that He’s empowered us to do. If we need it, He will send a legion of angels to come to our defense and help us carry forth the mission we’ve been given. But we must never underestimate the truth that God works through us, and the more we yield to His Will and Plan, the more we yield to His Spirit, the more we will witness His amazing power. Let’s strive to carry forth the mission of Christ in the earth, then we’ll live up to the spiritual power and heritage we’ve been given. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.