WHY YOU
WERE CREATED, AND WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST
Ephesians
2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.
Ephesians 3:8-12 Though I am the
least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of
telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I
was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the
Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
God’s purpose in all this
was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the
unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This
was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of Christ and our
faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently
into God’s presence.
Ephesians 4:24 Put on your new
nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Colossians 3:10 Since God chose you to be the holy people he
loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience.
John 17:23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience
such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love
them as much as you love me.
Romans 8:15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you
fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his
own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."
Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose
them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many
brothers and sisters.
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us
with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the
coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in
his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
WHO THE DEVIL IS AND OUR AUTHORITY OVER HIM
ISAIAH 14:12-15 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining
star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who
destroyed the nations of the world.
For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my
throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away
in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be
like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the
dead, down to its lowest depths.
EZEKIEL 28:13-17 You were the model of perfection, full of
wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your
clothing was adorned with every precious stone—red carnelian, pale-green
peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis
lazuli, turquoise, and emerald—all beautifully crafted for you and set in the
finest gold.
They were given to you on the day you were created. I
ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You
had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. “You
were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil
was found in you.
Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I
banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty
guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.
Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your
wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and
exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your
dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. I
reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All
who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and
you will exist no more.”
REVELATION 12:7-9 Then there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost
the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great
dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the
whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the
devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your
stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers
of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
LUKE 10:19 Look, I have given you authority over all the
power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them.
Nothing will injure you.
MATTHEW 18:18 “I
tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in
heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
Heaven in this verse is the Greek word Ouranos : the aerial
heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where
thunder and lightning are produced
JAMES 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.
You are a son and daughter of the living God. Maker of Heaven
and Earth. The One Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come. You can do all
things through Christ who strengthens you. There is power in the Name of Jesus.
It is not just a song, it is the truth. It is the Name above all Names.
Read and Reread who you are in Christ. Stand firm. You are a
warrior in Christ who will not fail because He will never fail you.
----In love, your sister in Christ.