10/17/2021
As Christians we speak with the authority of Christ, and not with any power of our own. We do nothing except through Jesus who is in us, and we in Him. Does this sound familiar? Well, it should because Jesus tells us the very same thing about His relationship with God, and the authority He has received from Him. Jesus took on the authority of God, and we assume the authority and power of Christ, but neither of these can be accomplished without absolute love… the Seal of God.
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
John 14:10 ESV
In this way we present our credentials to all of creation, and beyond. We speak in the name, of Jesus. We carry a letter that identifies us as having the authority of Christ. However, our authority is written first on the parchment of love that originates in Heaven with God Himself, flows through Jesus, and is now manifest in the world through us. Just as Jesus loves and obeys God, we are to love and obey Him. This is how emissaries function, and act… they have no power outside the law and commandments of those who have sent them. We act in the name of Jesus, but also in the name of God under whose auspice He reigns…
“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
John 17:11 ESV
This is our lineage, and our chain of command, not as generals in some man, or nation’s army, but as the children of God; princes, and princesses of the great I Am who carry their Father’s seal into the far reaches of His creation, and represent Him there. We take His love, which is within us, and make it known to all who would obey and love Him with all their heart, mind, souls, and strength. In this way they receive the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and are presented to the God of Abraham… just as we have been.
““Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””
John 14:1, 6-7 ESV
So Jesus has no power except what has been given Him by His Father…
““I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.”
John 5:30-31 ESV
And we have no ability, not even to ask in prayer, unless we do so to though Christ…
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:13-14 ESV
But, what are the credentials we present to the world? What is the seal that we possess that closes every prayer, and communication we send? Our credentials are written in the Word of God, and signed in the blood of His Son. Our seal is absolute, and everlasting Love… placed on our finger by God Himself through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son Jesus Christ.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
If we love, and obey God, and Jesus, then we speak with their power, and we carry in us the authority of Christ. Are we presenting the holy credentials, and wearing the seal that signifies our position as sons and daughters of God, and as the heirs, and joint heirs of Christ? Do we act as they would have us act, and exercise their will in full life obedience? When we are told to ask, and act, in the name of Jesus it means far more than to just say His name… it is to be Him.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to redeem us from our fallen state of sin, and to restore us as your children in every sense. Thank you for the love you have for us, and for allowing us to love you in return with every sinew our being… all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank you for sealing us with your love and sending us, through the command of Jesus, into the world with your Word, and His Gospel; just as you sent Him to us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us, and does not wish that any should perish. Praised be your name for every soul won to you as a result of the good news of Jesus that has been presented by your obedient children. Merciful and good are you who abides in your son, and He in you, full of love are you for sending Jesus to abide in us and we in Him, and amazing is your grace that brings us together as one. Wash us clean Lord in the blood of Jesus, and transform us into new creatures… your children. Do all of this Father, so that you will be glorified in it. Pronounce us worthy, and seat us at your table forevermore! Hear our praise and worship for all eternity as we express our love for you.
““I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””
John 14:18-21 ESV
Rich Forbes