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The Grace of Giving & Receiving
The Grace of Giving and Receiving – Marilyn Prettyman
I have heard it said or implied by well-meaning people that Jesus was able to resist the devil and do all He did because, after all, He was the Son of God. The implication of this belief is that born again Believers sin (yield to temptation) and are somehow lacking and have limited power because we are men, whereas, Jesus had this God-thing going for Him. Other well-meaning people believe that to identify Jesus as a man somehow makes Jesus less. Both ideas perpetuate a deception on the Church (Believers) that has been orchestrated by the powers and principalities (the devil and his crew) and has, therefore, blinded people from knowing the truth of our rightful identity that Jesus restored to us. The truth is, until we know, have revelation of, the identity Christ restored to us and believe it, we will continue to be reduced to only experiencing and walking in limited victories and power.
First of all, let us shine a light from the Word of God concerning Jesus being a man. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1st Timothy 2:5). “For since death came through a man [Adam], the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man [Jesus]” (1st Corinthians 15:21). God also said of Jesus “You are My beloved Son” (Luke 3:22). A hidden mystery of Christ that needs to be uncovered and become revelation is Jesus was born a child, whose identity was the Son of God, but He was not born knowing His identity. As Jesus grew and matured from a baby to a boy to a man, He came to know His identity as the Son of God, His purpose, and the power He had in this identity. How did Jesus come to find His identity as the Son of God? He found it the same way we will find our identity as sons of God. In Luke 2:46-47, Jesus is found “in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.” In Luke 2:52 “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and men.” Jesus was and is the Son of God, but He had to first find who He was, then BELIEVE IT! He was then able to be and do who He was. Because He found His identity, as well as believe it, He was then able to declare “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are downtrodden” (Luke 4:18).
We born again Believers find our identity by going to the Throne of Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, where, “You are all sons of God through faith [belief] in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). Romans 5:17 tells us – “by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” At the Throne of Grace, with faith in Christ, we see our identity as the righteousness of God (2nd Corinthians 5:21), and in that, we reign in life. When we are born again, we do not automatically know all there is to know about our identity. Jesus grew to know His identity, and in 2nd Peter 3:18 we are instructed to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord…Jesus Christ.”
The Word of God tells us we are righteous sons of God who reign in life. Now, we need to believe it and see ourselves the way God sees us. When Adam and Eve “saw that the tree was good…to make one wise” they ate (Genesis 3:6). Adam and Eve saw the word of the serpent and believed it instead of seeing God’s Word to them that revealed their identity as made “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27).
The scriptures reveal who God says your identity is. SEE IT! BELIEVE IT! As we come to know our real identity, we will increase in the power we walk in. “What is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). This benefits us as well others. When Jesus found His identity, He did not just squander it on Himself, but instead He walked in this identity to benefit all men. Likewise, we are to do the same. Jesus said, “the works I do, you will do also” (John 14:12), and 1st John 4:17 says, “As He is, so are we in the world.” This is the grace of giving and receiving. It is this grace of which we are to excel in, and it begins with knowing the grace of Jesus, knowing our identity within His grace, believing it, and be and do who we are in Him.
Without Jesus having a revelation of His identity, He would have been unable to be and do who He was and is. Without a revelation of our identity, found in Christ, we cannot be and do who we are in Him.
Love,
Marilyn
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