Siblings
As the Accuser of Believers (see Romans 12;10), our adversary does not desire the best for us. Often, the devil comes at us, trying to convince us to define ourselves by our past, based on the lies told to and about us. As we consider Today’s Holy Nougat, may we be encouraged.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV
[5] Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
We are in Christ
Of course, the devil doesn’t always have to accuse us for us to be stuck in the past. Sometimes we do it all by ourselves, failing to realize our true identity in Christ. Hence, rather than walk in the joy of of who and whose we are, we remain sidetracked by our sins, and we fail to become all we can be in Christ.
Self-Check
To what extent are we allowing our past or others to define us?
Digging Deeper
In the wider context of 2 Corinthians 13, Paul was actually unhappy with the believers. The enemy of our souls infiltrated the congregation, filling them with questions about Paul’s preaching integrity. They wondered whether Christ was the one speaking through Paul, and even doubted their status as believers. Paul was very frustrated, as it was a longstanding argument. His response, of which our Nougat is part, was aimed at putting an end to their doubts permanently.
We realize that in this rebuttal, Paul invinvited Corinthians to recognize that when Christ lives within, we bear witness to Christ in our lifestyle and speech. He also emphasised that Christ’s indwelling presence is proof of our being ‘in the faith’.
Thankfully, our status as believers is less dependent on our saintly action than it is about our willingness to ‘faith’ (the verb not the noun). Yes, faith is an action word. It may not be so in English, but it is also implied in the word believe. When we faith in Christ, we believe that we well remain ‘in Christ’, despite what our past says about us.
The examination Paul proposed for the Corinthians (and us) as a litmus test of their status is fairly simple. To determine whether we are in Christ is proven by believing that:
a) Y’shua is the only begotten Son of God;
b) He lived, died and rose from death;
c) he did this so in Him we might have direct and eternal access to God; and in believing,
We accept Him as Lord and Saviour. That’s the basic message of John 3:16.
If we find that we cannot honestly agree to those, we might not be encouraged by our Nougat. Rather, we need to ask ourselves why we do not agree with the terms. Depending on our response, we will either find ourselves totally opposed to the Good News of salvation in Christ and His sovereignty; or we will be open to invite Christ into our lives.
The choice is ours.
As believers, we hold firmly to the promise that we are ‘in Christ’, and that our old sin nature no longer defines us. Being in Christ, we know that we are redeemed (i.e., saved from the penalty of sin) by our faith. That’s encouragement for all time.
Point to Ponder
What do we faith? Is this reflected in our daily lives?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
