We Have Received a New Position (2)


	We Have Received a New Position (2) Introduction - Our Wonderful New Position When we were born again, we received an entirely new position. We have seen that our former position was truly hopeless and miserable. We were in darkness, we were under the authority of Satan, we were in sin, and we were in death. We were under God's judgment and therefore condemned. We were slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness, and we were children of wrath and sons of disobedience. As fallen and sinful human beings, all of us needed a positional change. According to the Bible, God has "delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13). We have been delivered from our old position and transferred into a wonderful new position. We should not underestimate the significance of receiving a new position, because our position will determine what kind of living we will have. Being born again is like migrating from one country to another. It is like migrating from a poverty-stricken country where there is no hope, to a rich and prosperous country with unlimited hope for the future. We are now in a new "country," a new kingdom with so many riches. Spiritually we have migrated from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. Now in our new position we can enjoy all the marvelous riches which God has prepared for us. In the next two messages we will cover thirty wonderful aspects of our position after being born again. 1. We Are No Longer Condemned In our new position we are no longer condemned. Our old position was one of being condemned. However, according to John 3:18, "He who believes into Him [Christ] is not condemned." And Romans 8:1 tells us, "There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." The very first item in our new position is that we are no longer condemned. 2. We Are Justified After being born again, we are justified. To be justified means that God approves us according to the standard of His righteousness. Formerly we were in sin, and therefore under God's righteous judgment. Now we are acceptable to God, because we have believed in Christ and therefore received His redemption. The Bible makes this clear: "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). "Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1). "Who shall bring a charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who justifies" (Rom. 8:33). Because we are born again, God has declared that we are righteous. This is based entirely on the death of Christ. By believing in the Lord Jesus, we are justified. 3. We Are Delivered from the Authority of Darkness Before we were born again we were in Satan's kingdom, under the authority of darkness. When the Lord Jesus commissioned Paul to preach the gospel to the nations, He told Paul to "open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God…." (Acts 26:18). When we were born again, God "delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:12). In our new position we are delivered from Satan's authority, the authority of darkness. 4. We Are Joined to the Lord In our new position we are joined to the Lord. In our new position we are joined to the Lord. "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17). When we were born again, we were born of the Spirit of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The Lord Jesus is now the Spirit: "And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor. 3:17). The Lord as the Spirit is one with our human spirit, the deepest part of our being: "The Spirit Himself witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16). After being born again, our new position is that we are joined to the Lord in our spirit. 5. We Are in the Triune God The next eight points all concern what we are "in" after being born again. Firstly, we are in the Triune God. Before we were born again we were in Satan's kingdom, but now we are in the Triune God Himself. When the Lord Jesus was still on the earth He prayed to the Father for all of His believers: "That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me" (John 17:21). The Lord prayed for us to be in the Triune God, and this has been accomplished. We know this from Colossians 3:3: "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." After being born again we are in the Triune God. 6. We Are in Life Before we were born again, we were in death: "And you, though dead in your offenses and sins…" (Eph. 2:1). But when we were born again we were made alive: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Eph. 2:3-4). Our new position after being born again is in life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24). Formerly we were in death, but now we are in life. 7. We Are in Light Before we were born again we were in darkness, but now we are in light: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9). "For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:8). "Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light" (Col. 1:12). As those who are born again, we are the "saints in the light." 8. We Are in Grace Formerly we were in sin, and therefore under the law. But after being born again, we are in grace: "Through whom [the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God" (Rom. 5:2). "And the law entered alongside that the offense might abound; but where sin abounded, grace has superabounded, in order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 5:20-21). Grace can be defined as the Triune God Himself as our enjoyment. Because our new position is in the Triune God, we are now in a position of grace. 9. We Are in Hope Before we were born again, we were those "having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). But "we were saved in hope" (Rom. 8:24). "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). We have been born again "unto a living hope." 10. We Are in Resurrection We have seen that formerly we were in death, but now we are in life. This means that we are in resurrection. Not only was the Lord Jesus raised from the dead, but we were raised with Him: "But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6). "If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). When we were born again we became one with the resurrected Christ. As those who have passed out of death into life, we also are in resurrection. 11. We Are in the Heavenlies By being born again we have been seated in the heavenlies, the highest place in the universe. We are one with Christ not only in His resurrection, but also in His ascension. Many Christians are waiting to go to heaven, but the Bible tells us that we have already been seated with Christ in the heavenlies: "And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). It is in this new position that we receive all the spiritual blessings: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). 12. We Are in the Kingdom of the Son of God's Love By being born again we entered into a new kingdom. Formerly we were in the kingdom of Satan, but God "delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:12). Christ is God's beloved Son, and we have been transferred into His kingdom. We have left the dark, Satanic kingdom behind. Now we are in the Triune God, we are in life, we are in light, we are in grace, we are in hope, we are in resurrection, we are in the heavenlies, and we are in the kingdom of the Son of God's love. This is our wonderful new position after being born again. 13. We Are Set Free from Sin The next five points all concern being "set free." By being born again, we are set free from sin. This means that sin cannot bother us anymore. We should remember this whenever Satan comes to accuse us. Whenever we hear the enemy say, "You claim to be a Christian, but look at what you just did," all we have to do is reply, "The Lord has set me free from sin. When I was born again, I was set free." We should answer any accusations with the word of God. We should not be bothered about so many little things that frustrate us. The Bible tells us that we are free from sin: "And having been freed from sin, you were enslaved to righteousness" (Rom. 6:18). "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness…. But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life" (Rom. 6:20, 22). Formerly we were slaves of sin, but after being born again we are set free. 14. We Are Set Free from Death Formerly we were in death, but by being born again we are set free from death: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). 15. We Are Set Free from the World We have also been set free from the world. The Bible tells us that the world is Satan's kingdom: "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Satan is the "ruler of this world" (John 16:11). But by believing in the Lord Jesus we have been set free from the world: "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14). 16. We Are Set Free from the Flesh Formerly we "conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts" (Eph. 2:3). But in our new position we are free from our flesh, so that it can no longer bind us: "But they who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts" (Gal. 5:24). 17. We Are Set Free from the Authority of Satan Formerly we were under Satan's authority: "And you, though dead in your offenses and sins, in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:1-2) We were set free from Satan's power and authority by being made alive: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Eph. 2:4-5). By being born again we entered into God's kingdom, where we are free from Satan's authority. We have therefore been set free from five negative things: sin, death, the world, the flesh, and the authority of Satan. 18. We Are Slaves to Righteousness When we were born again we were set free, yet at the same time we became slaves: "And having been freed from sin, you were enslaved to righteousness" (Rom. 6:18). To be enslaved means that we have no choice. Even when we try to be unrighteous, something within us compels us to be righteous. Now we are slaves to righteousness. 19. We Are Slaves to God Even more wonderful than being a slave to righteousness is being a slave to God: "But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life" (Rom. 6:22). We have been set free from sin, death, the world, the flesh, and the authority of Satan. But now we are enslaved to God. 20. We Have Peace toward God In our new position we have peace toward God. "Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1). This means that we shouldn't be bothered by our personal condition anymore. We shouldn't say, "I'm so poor. I'm so defeated. I have so many failures." According to the Bible we have peace toward God already. God doesn't remember those things, so why should we bother to remember them? If we look at our failures, God says, "I don't see them," then we need to say, "I don't see them." Our Christian life should not be under condemnation, but rather should always be peaceful and restful. Now that we are born again we have peace toward God. To purchase the book Born Again