SPRINGBOARD DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MONDAY 16TH JANUARY, 2023

*"Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loves me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him"* (John 14:23).

                After salvation, it is fundamental for the believer to know that God’s purpose concerning him has already been fulfilled in CHRiSt. CHRiSt's finished work is the accomplishment of God’s preordained plan for man. When He brought us into oneness with Himself at salvation, we became partakers of that preordained purpose in CHRiSt. *"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved"* (Eph. 1:4-6). The believer’s responsibility therefore is to cultivate an intimacy with the Holy spirit as he keeps interfacing and meditating on God’s word, if he desires to enjoy the benefits of his oneness with the Father. This is the only way he can be synchronized with the will, purpose and timing of God. As we’ve seen in our theme text, presently, the believer is God’s abode; he's God’s headquarters. 

               Jesus further affirmed this when He said, *"I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast sent me, and has loved them as thou hast loved me"* (John 17:23). Jesus is affirming the Father’s love for us which is a prove of the oneness and fellowship we now enjoy with Him. Where the believer is not living in the consciousness of his aliance with the Father, he cannot be effective in his faith walk. It is when we understand the immensity, infinitude and unconditional nature of this oneness with God, that the believer will be able to take advantage of it. In 2 Peter 1:4, the Apostle Peter says we’re now partakers of God’s divine nature; it means we have been brought into a vital fellowship of the God-kind; a togetherness with Deity. In the above referenced text, the phrase ‘divine nature’ is the Greek "theiosphusis" which means "an associate of the God-kind". It means at salvation you were born into God's class which is why the Father can have fellowship with us. It is also important to know that this oneness and fellowship is the explanation and summary of your life in Christ and it is a product of God’s love.

               Some Christians  believe that you can lose fellowship with God when you sin, and you need to confess your sin to God and obtain forgiveness to become righteous again. They claim that your relationship with God is not broken when you sin, but fellowship with Him is, so you need to confess your sin to restore fellowship with Him. But in reality, both the words “relationship” and “fellowship” share the same Greek root word "koinonia". This means that even if you fail, relationship and fellowship with God are not broken. Why? Because your sins and failures have all been paid for at the cross. How can you ever lose your righteousness in CHRiSt when it is based entirely on His perfect work and not your imperfection? To see how we have everlasting righteousness in CHRiSt, look at the prophecy in the Book of Daniel about Jesus’ work at Calvary. *"Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness"* (Daniel 9:24). The above text describes Christ' mission in no uncertain terms: “...to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness”. 

              Beloved, we can rejoice today because Jesus has fulfilled every iota of this prophecy! The blood of Jesus puts an end to sin and gave us everlasting righteousness! Listen carefully to this: Jesus does not have to be crucified repeatedly whenever you fail because every sin has already been paid for on the cross. We need to trust in just how complete and perfect His finished work is. Today, as a believer, you are righteous not only until your next sin. You have everlasting righteousness!

*REFERENCES:* Ephesians 5:30; 

1Corinthians 6:17

*PRAYER: Father, I thank you for the privilege of oneness with you - GLORY!*

🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰

*#theRISINGDOME*

*#southgateUNIVERSE*

*#soulsNATION*

*#iconoCLAST*

*#inCHRiSted*

*#exaggello*