In Christ - The Real Me , From Pastor Bob Ordeman
English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.IDENTITY FIRST, THEN MINISTRY
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.IDENTITY before ministry
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Philippians 3:20
But
our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,Like Hebrews coming out of Egypt
And you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
And, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ...
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. (NASB)
You can also listen to an audio 'text to speech' version of the above here:
http://vmars.us/Spiritual/WhoGodSaysIAM.mp3