The Scriptures are all powerful in breaking down strongholds, raising up those who are pressed down, and guiding us into experiencing the Lord’s victory over all things. In this segment we set forth a series of subjects with appropriate Scriptures that strengthen faith, and lead to overcoming in the Lord.
Subject areas will be changed regularly, and previous scriptural readings and commentaries may be accessed by clicking different weeks in the calendar below.
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“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” Matt 7:22-23.
The reason why Jesus said that He never knew them, was that He did not initiate their works, which were initiated by their flesh, without reference to Christ. Such works are lawless works initiated by Antichrist. Those who call down the Spirit to witness His power without reference to Christ, do not receive the Holy Spirit, but a spirit of the Antichrist.
….“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-14.
The Holy Spirit is the power agent of the Holy Trinity, but He has subjected Himself to the authority of Jesus, who said, “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak…”and, “He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” Jesus is the head and guardian of the Holy Spirit’s actions. He accompanied the disciples, confirming the truth of their ministries by directing accompanying signs of the Spirit. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Mark 16:20. When people call down the Spirit without reference to Jesus, the spirit they receive is the spirit of the Antichrist.
….“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-14.
The Holy Spirit is the power agent of the Holy Trinity, but He has subjected Himself to the authority of Jesus, who said, “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak…”and, “He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” Jesus is the head and guardian of the Holy Spirit’s actions. He accompanied the disciples, confirming the truth of their ministries by directing accompanying signs of the Spirit. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Mark 16:20. When people call down the Spirit without reference to Jesus, the spirit they receive is the spirit of the Antichrist.
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die [spiritually]; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom 8:13.
If you live according to the flesh, to satisfy the desires of the body and mind, you will die spiritually, as in losing spiritual discernment. Paul says that you must put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. You cannot control the desires of the flesh by self-effort, because that is using the flesh to tame the flesh, and the result is continual failure. It is only by testifying to what Jesus has done for us on the cross, that enables the Spirit to make it a reality in our lives. The Holy Spirit releases His power to verify the veracity of the scriptural word.
“And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”” 1 John 5:6-7.
“…knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin…reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:5-11.
What is our ‘old man?’ Our old man is who we were before being saved. Before being saved, we were subject to the curse of the Fall, whereby we fell into bondage to Satan, and the law of sin and death. Sin reigned in our mortal bodies without our capacity to overcome it. This reading provides a foundational truth that releases the faith to overcome the reign of sin in our mortal bodies. It is not overcoming sin by our willpower, but by receiving the truth that our old man was incorporated into Christ’s death and burial, and claiming it verbally by faith, that its actions are made null and void.
“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do…for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Rom 7:15-19.
In the Seventh Chapter of Romans, Paul shows us that our old man under the bondage of sin, may still reign in us after becoming a Christian, until it is put to death by the Spirit. In this reading, Paul expresses his dilemma at his failure to overcome the power of sin by his willpower, that is, by the earnest action of the flesh.
“Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Rom 7:20-23.
Paul asks, why he is doomed to continual failure. He then has a surprising revelation, that as a legacy of the Fall, there is a law of sin in his members that compels him to sin. When Adam and Eve disobey Gods direct command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this gave Satan the right to implant a law of sin, or a propensity to sin in man’s nature. There was now a compulsion to satisfy the desires of the mind, the body, and to obey the impulses of the soul that he could not overcome.
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:3-4.
How do we overcome that nature of sin implanted into our nature? Paul tells us how in Romans 6:3. Our old man, with its law of sin, was incorporated into Christ's death and burial, which occurred spiritually in our baptism. How was our old man incorporated into Christ’s death and burial? To receive this by faith, we need a foundational truth that we can stand on. On the cross, it was not Jesus being judged, but mankind, or more correctly, the sin of mankind. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21. Jesus was corporate man on the cross, bearing the label of ‘the sin of mankind.’ Jesus was mankind on the cross, we are mankind, and so have been incorporated into his death, for “…if One died for all, then all died…” 2 Cor 5:14.
“I [the old man] am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I [having been saved] live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me [Christ has become my life]: and the life which I now live in the flesh [as a natural person] I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20. KJV.
Other translations say ‘have been’ crucified, whereas this is ‘I am crucified, which is in the present continuous tense. We ‘have been’ is an historical fact, but this is now a continuing state we can claim and walk in. We can declare in our prayers, ‘my old man has been crucified in Christ, and I am no longer subject to the law of sin in my members.’ In this reading from Colossians, Paul declares that our old man died, but we now have a new life, which is raised and settled with Christ in God. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Col 3:2.
When we testify to the death and burial of our old man, the Holy Spirit can undertake a work to make it a practical reality. This does not happen instantly, but the more we testify in faith, the weaker the action of the old man becomes.
“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 6:10-11.
The Scriptures declare that your old man, laden with a sin nature, was crucified with Christ. This provides us with a foundation for faith to proclaim that you are “dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Rom 6:13-14.
In our morning prayer, we should not only claim the death of our old man with the law of sin, but to present our members to God “as instruments of righteousness.”
“… you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph 4:22-24.
Paul is speaking to Christians who had not known and claimed the death of the old man, and their former misconduct was apparent, and their deeds still corrupt. He tells them to put off the old man, in this case a preliminary instruction until they had received the truth of the death and burial of the old man.
They are told to put on the new man, which was raised and united with Christ as they came out of the baptismal waters. Their minds had been closed to further truth, and they were told that before they could receive these blessings, they had to be renewed in the spirit of their minds to enable them to receive and appropriate the truth.
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Rom 13:14.
Here is the consummation of their spiritual search for victory over persistent compulsive sin. There is a consistent Scriptural message, that in Jesus Christ, by the power of His indwelling life, we have all that is needed to overcome all things.
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4.
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. Eph 2:8-10.
No one can be saved by good works or their own righteousness. Our salvation rests squarely on believing that Jesus Christ has borne the punishment for our sins on the cross, making us righteous before God. God sends forth saving truth to those who are seeking, and even gives the faith to believe and receive it.
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Rom 10:8-10.
Here, the pathway to salvation is set forth. First, we believe with our hearts the gospel truth all that the Bible says about Jesus, that He is the Son of God, born to a virgin, that He revealed God to us by His teaching and miraculous signs and wonders, bore the punishment for our sins on the cross, and was raised from the dead. Next, we should state the confession of our belief with our mouths, preferably before a witness. Finally,’ we should accept our salvation as an accomplished fact, and make Jesus the Lord of our life.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24-25.
Here, two essentials for salvation are set forth. We must believe in God: that He is the one and only God, creator of heaven and earth, the upholder of all life, and the source of all provision and blessing. We believe that He sent forth Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of mankind. Secondly, we should believe the gospel truth as presented by Jesus.
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40.
It is God’s will that everyone should see Jesus Christ and receive His salvation. To see Jesus is to see Him as the Son of God, sent forth by God to be the Saviour of mankind. To believe in Christ is to believe all that the Scriptures say about Him.
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
On the cross, Jesus represented the whole of mankind. He was corporate man, bearing the responsibility for man’s sin, and submitting Himself to the penalty of death as God’s just judgment of sin. Only the death of Jesus, God’s own Son, could pay the debt of the sin of mankind, and God will accept no other basis for our salvation. Only those who accept the death of Jesus Christ as the basis for their righteousness and acceptance by God can be saved.
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.…” Rom 3:23.
It is often thought of a clean-living person, who is admired and liked by all, as being heaven bound. But there is no person in the world who is without sin, and our holy God cannot dwell in the presence of sin. No worldly standard of righteousness or holiness is acceptable in God’s sight. Only God’s righteousness, acquired by believing that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross has cleansed us from all sin, is acceptable to God.
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36.
The two alternatives are clearly presented. To believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, sent forth by God to be the redeemer and saviour of mankind is to inherit eternal life. To reject the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ is to open oneself to the judgment of God, which is eternal damnation.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”
Eph 2:4-7.
Even when we were dead in our sins, without spiritual life, and without hope, by grace God sent forth His word of truth and saved us. 'Heavenly places' is a spiritual position where we are partakers of all the blessings of our redemption, eternally righteous and blameless in God’s sight, reconciled to Him and accepted as His children, with our names written in the book of life. Seated with Him is to take our eyes and mind away from our earthly existence where everything is temporary and constantly changing, and maintain our spiritual position where all our spiritual blessings are settled with Christ in heaven.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-13.
Christianity is more than going to church on Sunday and trying to live a good life. Jesus said that He came to give us life and that we might have it more abundantly. He came to impart His own life in us and invited us to feed on Him or draw on His life continually to meet our needs. It follows that He who has the Son is a partaker of His life now, and His eternal life after death.
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom 5:10-11.
This reading tells us that now, having been reconciled to God and eternally saved, we are continually saved by the power of Christ’s life within us. The word saved has additional meanings -- healed, preserved, and made well. The life of Jesus in us is referred to as a fountain of living waters, from which we are invited to partake of freely. Jesus said that he came so that we may have abundant life to meet each need.
“So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31-32.
This reading does not say that all those in his household were saved without each person having to make the decision to believe in the Lord, but it does show us God’s desire to direct His saving grace to all members of a family. It also highlights the responsibility of fathers, as heads of their families to present salvation truth to each member of his family.
“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
Jesus is the way to salvation. There is no other name in heaven or on earth by which man can be saved. He is the fulfillment of the gospel truth that all who believe in His death on the cross are saved. He is the life. The abundant life that He came to give us is His own life. He that has the Son has that life. 1 Jn 5:12.
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.
Jesus came to impart His own life to us. The abundant life in the reading emanates from the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus in us. As it is received and nurtured in us, it fills our whole being and is manifested in all of our activities, enabling us to meet all needs and bear fruit to His glory. It is a small foretaste of the eternal life that we will experience with Jesus after our resurrection. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12-13.
“I am the true vine...Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1.
Jesus uses the analogy of the vine and its branches to describe the necessary relationship we must have with Him to receive His life, and by it bear lasting fruit. If a branch becomes detached from the vine it loses life-giving sap and dies. Similarly, it is only when we reject all self-dependence and are united with Him and drawing on His life, that we can bear fruit.
“…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” Eph 3:16-17.
The life of Jesus abiding in us is received by faith. Faith believes the word of God, accepting those things not actually seen or experienced as though they were. The word says that by the life of Christ in us, we can accomplish that which we are incapable of in our own capacity. So when we are confronted with situations that are beyond us, by faith we act believing that Jesus will release His life-giving power in our circumstances to fulfill our needs. Faith grows as we experience the blessings of life from Christ.
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
Col 2:9-10.
All the attributes of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is in us. The fullness of the Godhead is at Christ’s disposal to meet our needs. There is nothing impossible for Him, and in no way can He fall short. Paul says that we are complete in Him, lacking nothing. That is, we are completely equipped by Christ’s life in us to meet every situation that befalls us. Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil 4:13.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20-21 [KJV]
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24-25. In our case, the grain is our ‘old man’ or carnal self-orientated nature that must be ‘put off,’ by declaring it to be crucified with Christ. This paves the way for it to be put to death by the Spirit. The life of Jesus in us is then released, and enabled to bear much fruit without our fleshly interference.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. Eph 2:8-10.
No one can be saved by good works or their own righteousness. Our salvation rests squarely on believing that Jesus Christ has borne the punishment for our sins on the cross, making us righteous before God. God sends forth saving truth to those who are seeking and even gives the faith to believe and receive it.
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.” Rom 10:8-10.
Here, the pathway to salvation is set forth. First, we believe with our hearts the gospel truth, all that the Bible says about Jesus, that He is the Son of God, born to a virgin, that He revealed God to us by His teaching and miraculous signs and wonders, bore the punishment for our sins on the cross, and was raised from the dead. Next, we should state the confession of our belief with our mouths, preferably before a witness. Finally, we should accept our salvation as an accomplished fact, and make Jesus the Lord of our life.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24-25.
Here, two essentials for salvation are set forth. We must believe in God: that He is the one and only God, creator of heaven and earth, the upholder of all life and the source of all provision and blessing. We believe that He sent forth Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of mankind. Secondly, we should believe the gospel truth as presented by Jesus.
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40.
It is God’s will that everyone should see Jesus Christ and receive His salvation. To see Jesus is to see Him as the Son of God, sent forth by God to be the Saviour of mankind. To believe in Christ is to believe all that the Scriptures say about Him.
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
On the cross, Jesus represented the whole of mankind. He was corporate man, bearing the responsibility for man’s sin, and submitting Himself to the penalty of death as God’s just judgment of sin. Only the death of Jesus, God’s own Son, could pay the debt of the sin of mankind, and God will accept no other basis for our salvation. Only those who accept the death of Jesus Christ as the basis for their righteousness and acceptance by God, can be saved.
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.…” Rom 3:23.
It is often thought of a clean-living person who is admired and liked by all, as being heaven bound. But there is no person in the world who is without sin, and our holy God cannot dwell in the presence of sin. No worldly standard of righteousness or holiness is acceptable in God’s sight. Only God’s righteousness, acquired by believing that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross has cleansed us from all sin, is acceptable to God.
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36.
The two alternatives are clearly presented. To believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, sent forth by God to be the redeemer and saviour of mankind is to inherit eternal life. To reject the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ is to open oneself to the judgment of God, which is eternal damnation.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” Eph 2:4-7.
Even when we were dead in our sins, without spiritual life, and without hope, by grace God sent forth His word of truth and saved us. Heavenly places is a spiritual position where we are partakers of all the blessings of our redemption, eternally righteous and blameless in God’s sight, reconciled to Him and accepted as His children, with our names written in the Book of Life. Seated with Him is to take our eyes and mind away from our earthly existence where everything is temporary and constantly changing, and maintain our spiritual position where all our spiritual blessings are settled with Christ in heaven.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-13.
Christianity is more than going to church on Sunday and trying to live a good life. Jesus said that He came to give us life, and that we might have it more abundantly. He came to impart His own life in us, and invited us to feed on Him, or draw on His life continually to meet our needs. It follows that He who has the Son is a partaker of His life now, and His eternal life after death.
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom 5:10-11.
This reading tells us that now, having been reconciled to God and eternally saved, we are continually saved by the power of Christ’s life within us. The word saved, has additional meanings - healed, preserved, and made well. The life of Jesus in us is referred to as a fountain of living waters, from which we are invited to partake of freely. Jesus said that he came so that we may have abundant life to meet each need.
“So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31-32.
This reading does not say that all those in his household were saved without each person having to make the decision to believe in the Lord, but it does show us God’s desire to direct His saving grace to all members of a family. It also highlights the responsibility of fathers, as head of their family, to present salvation truth to each member of his family.
“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
Jesus is the way to salvation. There is no other name in heaven or on earth by which man can be saved. He is the fulfillment of the gospel truth, that all who believe in His death on the cross are saved. He is the life. The abundant life that He came to give us is His own life. He that has the Son has that life. 1 Jn 5:12.
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