Dangerously Favored: Reigning with Christ
Explore what it means to be 'dangerously favored' by God. Allow Christ to reign in your life, embrace your true identity, and understand the boundless riches of His grace through Paul's powerful revelation.
Is Jesus Truly Your King?
Does Jesus truly reign in you? Have you let Him reign? Is He King over your thoughts and actions? Today, we realize that if Jesus is truly King, He will reign in you. If not, He might just be a member of your body, rather than its sovereign.
Remember, you are not only a part of the body of Christ, but you are also the church. Not just in representation, but physically. Our body is truly a temple in which our spirit lives, and also Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
One thing about our bodies being a temple is that, just like the physical temples we worship in on Sundays, it will pass away.
A sign that Christ is reigning in your life is when you cannot make decisions without Him!
When your 'I love you Lord' is not just in what you say, but in how you act and how you think. Your thoughts should align with His Word and His mind! Remember, you have the mind of Christ! But you have to choose to use it and not revert to your old way of thinking.
The Mystery Revealed
Paul speaks of the promise of God, the mysteries of God, and how these mysteries were revealed to him through divine revelation.
2 Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power.
In Old Testament times, this profound revelation was not accessible to the sons of God. But now, not only can the sons of God enjoy it, but also the Gentiles. God made known His mysteries to Paul by revelation through Grace, which is Jesus. So, knowledge of God comes in Jesus, who is the Word of God.
Paul explains his journey to understanding God, calling himself a 'prisoner of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles.' This doesn't mean he is locked up physically, but rather he is so locked in on all that Jesus has that he cannot get out.
He is doing it not only for himself or because he loves God, but for the Gentiles—for those who don't know God. The more he understands, the more he knows, the more he follows Jesus, the more he can share and bless!
Dangerously Committed
We are dangerous because of who we are following 100 percent. We are dangerous by how committed we are in following Christ. But never fail to realize that as we are following, we are also being followed!
Others follow us not just by our actions, but by watching! The Word tells us there is a cloud of witnesses.
There are so many people watching us! More people follow us by just observing than by literally walking behind us or alongside us. And they are not just witnessing by eyes, but they are witnessing by action—going and sharing what they witness God doing in and through us.
'To Me': A Self-Assessment
Paul says, 'To me, though I am the very least of all the saints...' Why did he say 'to me' and not 'to them' or 'to us'? Even though he was talking to a group of people, his statement was a self-assessment.
It's like he was having a personal conversation out loud. He was in prison, writing from prison, speaking out loud in his mind.
Man in the Mirror
Paul not only knows the Word of God says to test yourself to see if you are still in the faith, but he is doing what it says in James: look in the mirror, look in your spiritual mirror, to see who you are! Do you know who you are?
Knowledge of God and yourself is more important than having knowledge of anyone else! A Christian must know who they are! It is like knowing your name. You are rooted and grounded in that.
So it is the same in Christ: if He says you are blessed, you are! Own it! Even if the physical doesn't reflect it just yet, own that you are blessed, because the truth is, you are! If He says you are healed, you are! So own it!
Take pride in it! If He says you are His, you are! If He says you are blessed, you are! If He said you are great, you are! If He said you are a success, you are! If He said you are an Overcomer, you are! If He said you are more than a conqueror, you are!
I know you don't feel it sometimes. I know your circumstances tell different stories. But your circumstances are just previews to the full movie, or tough scenes that only last a moment, or commercials in your show! It is just a small piece of your life.
God, who sees the end of that movie, already knows where you will end up! His way will lead you to greatness. In God, you are a grenade waiting to be launched, some are arrows about to hit their target, some are rockets ready to launch or airplanes ready for lift-off, others are eagles ready to soar!
What I'm telling you is not to get you excited only, it is to open your eyes to who you are. We all are a part of the best army in the universe! An army that cannot lose is an army commanded by the King of Kings. We all are members of this body, and we have our roles to play. It is key to know who you are.
Circumstances may say you just failed a test, but God says, 'Keep studying; it is all working out for your good!' Circumstances may say someone just broke your heart, but God says, 'No, it is all working out for your good,' even though some of you shouldn't have been there in the first place!
Look in the mirror, see yourself spiritually! See what God says versus what your circumstances are saying! What God says will always outweigh the weight that is on your life!
Strength in Weakness
When Paul says he is the least of all the saints, it is not just to seem humble. He knows that without God he is nothing. Secondly, he knows not to compare himself to anyone. This truly shook me up: Paul is saying he is the least, meaning he is not as strong as we assume. He does have his weak moments.
He is saying that when it comes to his life, yes, he is following God, but it doesn't mean he doesn't have weakness. Yes, he wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, but it doesn't mean he doesn't have trials and tribulations or doesn't go through anything!
Paul is teaching us that one of the greatest ways to encourage someone is to show them your weakness! Now, you can't tell immature people details, but you can tell your mature brothers and sisters what is going on with you. We are all part of this body!
When the arm is hurting, the rest of the body feels it. It may not always know where the pain is coming from, but it feels it! We as believers at times like to act as though we are sinless, even if we do sin less.
Paul is showing us here that your greatest strength is exposing your weakness. This is for those who struggle, for those who are beating themselves up for sins Jesus took care of over two thousand years ago. You are still young, you are still dangerous! Young man, you are still powerful! Young woman!
Be able to be unashamed about sharing your weakness with God and man! And those on the receiving end, deal with them in love! Always boldly come to the King of Kings and share what is going on! Expose it before you are exposed! Share it so you can stop feeling like you are being shared between the devil and God!
Grace Granted and Entrusted
Then Paul goes on to say, 'this grace (favor, privilege) was granted and graciously entrusted.' Ahhh, you can only expose your weakness boldly out of the covering of grace. Each day we are blessed with fresh grace!
Meaning no mercy or grace is of yesterday. God blesses us with new grace each new day! Grace was given, it was granted and entrusted to you to empower you to walk in overcoming sin! Boldly, not with your head down, but with your head held high, not out of your own righteousness but out of the righteousness you have in Christ!
Thanks to what He did on the cross! This grace, Paul says, was granted. How? Through the cross. This grace was graciously entrusted! 'Graciously' is so powerful, because we are saved not of works or deeds.
