Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been translated from the kingdom of this darkness – this earthly realm – into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
He literally translated us from this earthly realm of darkness into another kingdom of light. We actually went through a “door,” and that door is Jesus. Jesus said,
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells WITH you and will be IN you. (John 14:17, emphasis mine)
Jesus spoke these words the night He was betrayed. He was talking about what would happen after the resurrection. When His flesh was torn, heaven would open up and come down through the gift of the Holy Spirit for all who believe. In the resurrection, God created a dwelling place for His Spirit: our hearts became His home. This new dwelling place is holy as He is holy because the Holy Spirit cannot live in an unholy place. Believer, you ARE HOLY!
He is in us and we are in Him!
The old man who was joined to the flesh ceased to exist. However, in a way that we cannot explain, God allowed the power of sin to remain in the body. Our identity was cut away from the flesh, but the flesh remains. Our flesh was not saved. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom, so we will all get new incorruptible bodies when these corruptible ones die. Until then, the power of sin is confined in the flesh and does not have dominion over us or determine our identity. The new creation never meets the sin in the flesh. That’s why we can never be condemned by it again. Through the cross, Jesus removed our sins as far as the East is from the West from us. He made us alive together with Himself and raised us up together to be seated in Him in heavenly places!
(from pages 161-162 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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