Forerunner Christian Fellowship – Mike Bickle
The Reign of Grace: Walking in Victory (Part 2) Page 4
The Reign of Grace: Walking in Victory (Part 2)
I. the importance of Romans 3-8
A. The Holy Spirit desires to bring transformation to society and to our personal lives. We do not need to pursue one at the expense of the other. We do not have authority to bind in our culture that which binds us in our private lives.
B. In Romans 3-8, Paul systematically outlines the principles necessary for our personal transformation. It describes who we are in Christ, in our new position before God, in which we received great spiritual wealth referred to as the riches of God’s grace (Eph. 1:7; 2:7). Paul outlined the new power, desires, and insights that we can experience in our daily life. We need to hear these truths repeatedly until they become alive in us, filling us with living understanding.
C. The foundational truth is the revelation of God’s grace that enables us to reign in life and gives us confidence before God. All changed the day we were born again. Every believer became an heir to great spiritual wealth—abundant grace and the gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:17).
17 Those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ…18 Through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all… (Rom. 5:17-18)
D. Receiving the gift of righteousness: the legal implications. We are in a new position to stand in the Father’s presence with confidence. Our new position is based on a historical event in which a legal transaction or exchange occurred in God’s court. Jesus offered His blood for us as our legal substitute. Jesus paid the debt of our sin that was required to legally satisfy the claims of justice in God’s court. Jesus, the innocent one became guilty and we, the guilty ones became innocent.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… (Rom. 8:1)
E. A legal transaction occurred in God’s court that provided us with the gift of righteousness. The new covenant is both a love letter and a legal declaration before the throne of God. We have rights and privileges, but they have to be accessed or claimed.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin [Jesus] to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)
26 That He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:26)
F. God clothes us in the free gift of Jesus’ righteousness. God put His righteousness on us like a garment on the day we were born again. He now He sees us through His own righteousness.
1 He clothed me with the garments of salvation…with the robe of righteousness. (Isa. 61:1)
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Gal. 3:27, NAS, NIV)
G. God’s righteousness was imputed or credited to our account (Rom. 4:6, 11, 23-24). In other words, He put it on our legal account before His court (Rom. 4:3-5, 9-10, 22; Gal. 3:6; Jas. 2:23).
3 Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness…5 To him who does not work [earn it] but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness…6 David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven…24 It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord… (Rom 4:3-7, 24)
H. Grace gives us the gift of righteousness to lead us to living in righteousness. We must understand our legal position with imputed righteousness and living condition with imparted righteousness. Paul did not separate imputed righteousness from imparted righteousness from each other. They are a dynamic part of each other by being together as one great reality in the grace of God.
I. Receiving the gift of righteousness: the emotional implications. God enjoys and delights in relating to us from the moment we are born again. (He does not delight in all that we do). He delights in the relationship, though there are actions and attitudes that He is not pleased with.
J. Free gift: We receive God’s righteousness freely, fully (100%), and instantly (at our new birth). Our weakness in the follow through of our sincere desire to obey God affects what we experience in God now, but it does not affect our legal standing before God.
K. Reign in life: To walk in victory when facing trials, temptations, and fear and to operate in supernatural ministry to help others (praying, prophesying, evangelizing, healing, etc.). When rightly understood and responded to, this victory is within the reach of every believer.
II. The reign of sin and the reign of grace
A. Paul made a declaration that where sin abounds, grace abounds more (Rom. 5:20-21). He applied this declaration by saying that in the same way that sin reigned in our lives before our salvation, even now grace reigns in us. In other words, as the dominion of sin brought damage and loss to us, so now the dominion of grace brings restoration and blessing, in a greater measure.
20 Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life… (Rom. 5:20-21)
B. The reign of sin: We were under condemnation (judgment) before God. We were powerless before sin (at the heart level), and sickness, fear, and lack. We had no ability to challenge Satan’s attack against us. We were under darkness without the ability to understand the Word, or to receive divine direction for our life. We were destitute without hope of a good future in God.
C. Under the dominion of sin we have automatic sinful responses at the heart level. We were powerless before sin in our heart. When the impressions and promptings of sin arose in our heart, we had no ability to overcome them. We had no ability to challenge Satan’s attack against us.
D. The reign of grace: It includes forgiveness, new power, new desires, and new insights. We have new abilities to resist sin and Satan. We are all equipped to reign in grace. This passage is foundational to our identity before God. Do not ask God for these—thank Him for them.
20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things…27 The anointing…abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the anointing teaches you concerning all things…you will abide in Him. (1 Jn. 2:20, 27)
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