True Life by Kingdom Faith

For more information and to purchase the full version of this book by Colin Urquhart visit the Kingdom Faith Resource Centre: http://www.kingdomfaith.com/ResourceCentre

TRUE

Life

C o l i n Ur q u h a r t

Kingdom Faith Resources Ltd. Roffey Place, Old Crawley Road, HORSHAM West Sussex, RH12 4RU Tel: 01293 851543 Fax: 01293 854610 E-mail: resources@kingdomfaith.com www.kingdomfaith.com First published in Great Britain in July 2001 by Kingdom Faith Kingdom Faith Trust is a registered charity (no.278746) Copyright © 2001 Colin Urquhart All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher. Short extracts may be used for review purposes. Unless otherwise stated, Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Limited.

ISBN 1-900409-28-3

Contents

INTRODUCTION

THE CRUCIAL ACT

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST

WHAT YOU CAN DO IN CHRIST

YOUR PORTRAIT IN CHRIST

CONFESSING WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST

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INTRO

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR PLACE IN CHRIST There can be no greater truth for you to know and understand than your position in Christ. As a believer your relationship with the Father, and your walk of faith depends on this revelation. It is sad that many people who are born again have little sense of their position in Christ, even though this is a key element of New Testament teaching. Ignorance of this essential truth results in many living in false condemnation and spiritual failure. Whereas, they could be full of confidence and thankfulness, for the wonderful privilege given to them the moment they committed their lives to Christ and were placed ‘in Him’ by God the Father. Those who have lived in the good of this place in Christ, testify to the way in which this truth has transformed their lives. They realise that this is the supreme work of God’s grace; that He has taken hold of their lives and placed them in Christ Jesus, despite their sense of inadequacy and unworthiness. No one could deserve to be in such a wonderful position, neither could they earn such a privilege. It is a gift from God to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

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1 THE CRUCIAL ACT Before his conversion to Christ, the apostle Paul was an archenemy of the Christian Church. As Saul of Tarsus, he saw it as his God-given responsibility to persecute the early believers as heretics, and he even consented to their deaths. However, Paul’s personal confrontation with IT IS AN ACT OF GOD Jesus on the road to Damascus radically altered his entire perception of Jesus and those who THE FATHER TO TAKE trusted in Him. He became a chief advocate of HOLD OF YOUR LIFE the faith he had tried to destroy. This happened because he came to understand his position in AND PUT YOU ‘IN Christ, both on the cross and now in heaven. CHRIST’. He learned to live daily in Christ and taught others to do so. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus. (1 Cor 1:30) It is an act of God the Father to take hold of your life and put you in Christ. How can we understand what this means? Take a small piece of paper and place it in your Bible. Now close the book. Imagine the Bible represents Christ, and you are the piece of paper. Your life is now in Christ in the same way the paper is in the book. The paper maintains its separate identity, it does not

10 • TRUE LIFE

become part of the book itself, nevertheless, wherever the book goes the paper goes and wherever the paper goes the book goes! This illustration helps us to understand our position in Christ, but cannot enable us to understand the profound truth that we take on the character of Christ. Every part of the life of Christ is given to those who are placed in Him. We shall understand more of this as we look at the Scriptures covering this subject. First, though, you must be clear that it is God who has chosen to place you in Him. Just as you took the piece of paper and placed it in your Bible; it did not get there by its own effort or design, God has placed you in Christ. His purpose was that in living in Christ you should know that you are living in God and He in you. Jesus said to His disciples: “Abide in me and I in you” (John 15:4) NKJV. Translated literally this means: “Continue to live in me and I will continue to live in you”. Many Christians understand the truth that Christ lives in them because they have received the precious gift of His Spirit, but they do not necessarily understand the complementary truth that they live in Christ Jesus, in God Himself. Paul told the Colossians: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3) We will see what it means to say that we died with Christ so that we can know what it is to live in Him.

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The apostle John says: We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13) Receiving the Holy Spirit, then, is evidence that you live in God and He lives in you. John goes on to say: If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. (1 John 4:15) This is further evidence of this amazing truth. If anyone believes Jesus to be divine, God lives in them and they in Him. Notice that John does not say that the believer becomes God, or even part of God. The believer does THIS IS SOMETHING not become divine. He states clearly that they THAT HAS ALREADY live in God, and God lives in them!

TAKEN PLACE

So if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, are born again and have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, then you can be sure that God has taken hold of your life and placed you in Him. This is something that has already taken place, whether you understand it or not. You do not have to feel in Christ to be in Christ; it is something God accomplished, even though you may have been completely unaware of it. The implications of this truth are immense, for His life becomes your life and He has already blessed you in Christ with every spiritual blessing heaven has to give to God’s children.

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God performed this act at the very beginning of your Christian experience. You now need to discover the full implication of what He has already done, in order to live in the good of your position in Christ! You are not trying to make something happen: you realise this is an event that has already taken place, and you want to live in the good of your inheritance.

For more information and to purchase the full version of this book by Colin Urquhart visit the Kingdom Faith Resource Centre: http://www.kingdomfaith.com/ResourceCentre