Dearly beloved, one thing you need to realize about salvation in Christ, is that the Believer has being called out of this world;

We are no longer members or citizens of this world, we are members and citizens of a new kingdom;

You see, by reason of salvation in Christ Jesus, we switched kingdoms;

The word 'translated' means 'transferred'. So we have been transferred into the kingdom of Christ. To transfer means to change space, to change location - from a place to another.

So we see that at Salvation, the Believer was translated from one kingdom into another, from the kingdom of darkness (which operates in this world) into the Kingdom of Christ.

Good. Now you have an understanding of who you are, you are a man from Heaven, you have a different life, you live differently from the men of this world, and you approach things differently compared to how the men of this world approach things. Hence, the Prophet testified of us before time that we are they that live by faith;

The Apostle Paul then went on to restate the same;

The writer of Hebrews restated the same;

Now, what does it mean to live by faith?

This means that you are not going to consider what you feel, you are going to consider what you believe!

Beloved, stand firmly on this revelation, and ignore whatever the health challenge is, just ignore it! If you could believe the report the doctors gave you that you have stones in your gall bladder, how can you not believe the word of God (that brought about your Salvation) that you are a member of Christ's body, therefore the condition of Christ's body is the condition of your body? - Think on this

The Bible says that the Believers form up Christ's body. That means you and I who believe are Christ's body. Question, can Christ be sick? No! That means, the Believer cannot be sick! You've got to stand on this irrespective of what you feel, and damn the result the doctor gave you, damn how your body feels, and move on in full assurance, knowing that Divine life is at work in you. This is faith! You cannot die of a sickness having this kind of understanding.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Greetings dearly beloved of God in Christ. Grace be to you and peace from God our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's examine our opening Bible passage;

Let's take a look at this passage from other Bible translations for a clearer view;

Here, godly sorrow is described as 'sadness that is used by God to bring a change of heart'.

Here it says that 'God designed us to feel remorse over sin in order to produce repentance that leads to victory [over the sin]'.

Here it says that 'the kind of sorrow God wants makes people decide to change their lives [to live a life that aligns with the salvation he/she has received in Christ]'.

Here it says that 'sadness as intended by God produces repentance [change of life/behaviour].

Here we are informed that godly sorrow results in healing and wellness in the Believer.

Waow! Having examined these different Bible translations of our opening Bible passage, we can understand that godly sorrow which springs up in the soul of the Believer when he has done something ungodly is for the purpose of restoring that Believer in the way of the Lord. When godly sorrow strikes, the Believer is put in a reflection mode; that's not the moment to be consumed by sadness, but rather, use that sadness (godly sorrow) to your advantage. As your mind go over what you have done, be intentional in reflecting on what the WORD says about you in the aspect where you have erred -  begin to meditate on the WORD and ponder on your realities in Christ in the aspect where you have erred. That sadness which is godly sorrow is not meant to consume you, it's not meant to kill you, it's not meant to afflict you with pain even though it is painful, but rather it is a godly tool used by the Holy Spirit to bring the Believer into a place of doctrinal reflection, where the Believer begin to clearly see and understand his divine nature in Christ; and by that understanding, his soul has clearly discerned how he ought to walk next time. I tell you, that Believer will leave that place a transformed man, and he will shine the light of Christ more brightly than he first shinned it. - Think on these words

Godly sorrow is for the advantage, transformation in character, and total restoration of the man in Christ. Hallelujah! Glory to God.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

It's important to note that the sacrificial work of Christ for us which He carried out through His death burial and resurrection purchased for us

> Identity

> Inheritances &

> Abilities

Identity speaks of who we are in Christ; Inheritances speaks of what we have in Christ; and Abilities speaks of what Christ can do through us or what we can do as men in Christ. In this teaching series so far, we have been looking at our identity in Christ, that is, who we are in Christ; but right now we will be looking at what we have in Christ - which is our inheritance in Christ. The blood of Christ purchased for us several inheritances, but in this teaching right now, I will be showing you one. But before I get into that, let's take a review of Bible passages we have examined during the course of this teaching series that shows us our identity (who we are) in Christ;

Waow! These and more as revealed in the Bible are who we are in Christ. Now let's take a look at what we have in Christ, let's take a look at one inheritance we have in Christ;

It's important to note that in this verse, 'redemption through His blood' and 'the forgiveness of sins' are not two concepts, but the Apostle is saying the same thing. The redemption we have through Christ's blood is the forgiveness of our sins. The Colossians rendering puts it clearer;

Take note of the word 'even' used in the verse above, it means 'which means'. So if we rephrase the above Bible verse, it says,

Let's view that Bible verse in the Amplified Bible translation;

You see... So we see that the meaning of 'redemption through the blood of Jesus' means 'the forgiveness of our sins'. So when you say "I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus", what you are saying is "my sins are forgiven". Hallelujah!

Dearly beloved, we have the forgiveness of sins in Christ. Notice he didn't say God will give you forgiveness when you ask Him for it, rather he says you have forgiveness! He speaks of it in the present tense; he says "In whom we have!". Beloved, we have! Forgiveness is a present day reality for the Believer, it's an inheritance of the Believers; when you came to Christ at salvation, you came into the forgiveness of sins, you came into the possession of the forgiveness of sins as an inheritance. God is not going to forgive the sin of any Believer today, because He has already given to the Believer forgiveness as a gift, as a possession, as an inheritance, because he's in Christ. - Think about it

Dearly beloved, are you hurting in your heart as a result of sin you committed? Are you held gripped by guilt in your conscience and you have been asking God to forgive you your sin, and you are not even sure He has heard you, and you don't know when He's gonna hear you so you can stop praying that prayer? All you needed to know was that God has already given you the gift of forgiveness in Christ! All you have to do to experience its effect in your heart and mind is to acknowledge it, acknowledge that you have the forgiveness of sins in Christ, and lo, you are healed! You are free! Peace comes. Glory to God forevermore. Amen.

Beloved, think on these words; and the Lord himself gives you peace. Amen.

Greetings dearly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

You must be careful to note that the Apostle didn't say 'work for your own salvation', but he said "work out"! There's a difference between to work for, and to work out! - Selah

All these are showing to us that Salvation is the sole work of Jesus; you don't work for Salvation, rather you receive it, by believing!

(Showing you that Salvation is received, not worked for!)

So you see, we have established that salvation is not worked for, rather salvation is received, because salvation is the work of Christ, not the work of man! So now, let's look at what working out Salvation means;

Take note of the words "so walk ye in Him".

To work out your own salvation means to live out your realities in Christ. So therefore, our opening Bible passage is an admonishing to the brethren to live out the realities of who they are in Christ. In other words, let the things you have received at Salvation show in your conducts; let who you have become in Christ reflect in how you live your life. That's the message of our opening Bible verse.

He told them "work out your own salvation". Meaning, show forth your Salvation in your conducts; that Salvation you have received in Christ, walk in it. You see, it's simple. And this brings to mind the teaching of the Apostle Peter;

That word 'the praises of Him' depicts the virtues or characteristics of God. So Believers are to live out the God life which they received at Salvation. That's the teaching of the Apostle Paul in our opening Bible verse {Philippians 2 vs 12}; he wasn't asking them to work to be saved; but rather, now that you are saved, live out your Salvation.

Right now I want us to examine Colossians 2 vs 6 which we earlier read;

The above phrase speaks of 'the manner at which Christ was received'. So if we are to rephrase that Bible verse with this understanding, it reads

The above statement is an admonishing which means that the Believer is to live his life in the same manner at which he received Christ. Uhmmm. So question, How did we receive Christ?

So we see that we received Christ by believing in Him - believing in His death burial and resurrection. So we received Christ by trusting the facts of His death burial and resurrection. Hence the Apostle Paul says, just as you received Christ by trusting Him, also, live out your Salvation by trusting Him. How do you live out your salvation by trusting Christ? Trusting Christ is trusting what He has made you by His sacrifice. So to live out your Salvation by trusting Christ, is to live from the knowledge and consciousness of who you are in Christ. This is the definition of 'to live by faith'.

We live by faith - meaning, we live our lives from the consciousness of who we are in Christ. This is the admonishing of the Apostle Paul as we have seen in our opening Bible passage {Philippians 2 vs 12}. He wasn't asking them to work to be saved; but rather, now that you are saved, live out your Salvation. That is what it means to work out your Salvation. And he admonished that it should be done in reverence and honour of the Lord. "Fear & trembling" as used in the verse means "Reverence & Honour". That means, when the Believer lives out his realities in Christ, he honours the Lord. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Dearly Beloved, this is our reality in Christ; we are Lights, you are Light. We are in the kingdom of light, and we ourselves are lights;

The kingdom of God is referred to as God's marvellous light. Our kingdom is Light; we ourselves are Lights. Waow! Imagine how pure you will live everyday walking with the consciousness of this reality which is yours in Christ. - Think about it

Dearly beloved, this is who you are, Light! Now you know who you are, that means you now know how you ought to live, you now know how you ought to behave yourself in this world. Remember, now that you are born again, you need to know the details of your new birth; because it's only when you know who you are, that's when you know how you ought to behave. If you don't know who you are, you will live in a way that you are not, because you know not who you are. Now you know who you are, you are light in the Lord! Therefore walk as a child of light.

Now you are light in the Lord, therefore walk as one! It's simple. Living according to what the Gospel says you are is what is called 'to live by faith'.

To walk by faith means to live from your reality in Christ. You are not living according to the human senses, you are not living in accordance to the human nature, but you are living in accordance to what the Gospel says you are. - Think about it

> I am only human, I cannot be perfect

> I have a weakness for women, I cannot pretend, this is who I am

> I know I tell lies, but I am human

These and more are traits of the human nature, and a man who lives his life according to the dictates and realities of the human nature is walking by sight. To walk by sight is to walk according to the human senses or human nature.

> I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, I have no fellowship with darkness

> I am the light of the world, immorality doesn't work with me

> I am born of God, I am an offspring of Truth, I cannot lie

The man walking by faith refuses to recognize the presence and doings of the human nature, but rather accepts the truths of the Gospel, he believes the realities that the Gospel has spoken of him, and he lives his life from those realities! - Selah. When you live your life from the realities of the Gospel concerning you, those truths become your empowerment to truly and effectively live them out! That's when you realize that it's cheap to live a pure life! You'll find out that walking in righteousness is easy; that's because the truths of the Gospel is the foundation upon which you are living. - Think on these words

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Greetings dearly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Read carefully and attentively, as I unpack to you the mysteries of Christ's grace in this teaching series. It is well with you. Amen.

Beloved, as a new creature in Christ, born again; you need to know that you are born with a new life and for a new life.

This life is called Eternal Life.

The word "everlasting" and the word "eternal" speaks of the same things - Living/existing without end.

Eternal life means "existing forever". So the Believer will exist/live forever. Hallelujah! For this purpose death will be destroyed;

death is called an enemy! That speaks volume; that shows us that God is not responsible for the death of men or anything, because death itself is an enemy of God and His church. Hence, God will not use the tool of His enemy to carry out His agenda. Let that sink! God is not responsible for the death of any man; rather, God has purposed to destroy death so that it will cease to have power over men. The men who will be beneficiaries and partakers of this deathless existence are those who have received Eternal Life by believing in the resurrection of the Son of God (Jesus) from the dead. - Selah

Meaning the man who has eternal life will not perish, but he will exist forever. Hallelujah!

The new life we have received in Christ has a nature, it has characteristics. Until you know the nature of your new birth in Christ, until you know the characteristics of your new life which you have in Christ, you cannot live the new life which you ought to live out as one who is in Christ. - Selah

In the next part of this Article, we will continue from here and begin to explore our identity in Christ; because it's only when a man knows who he is, that is only when he can know how he ought to behave, as you cannot expect a certain conduct from a person who doesn't know that that is who he is. - Selah

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Observe these words;

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Greetings dearly beloved of God in Christ. Grace be to you and peace from God our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For a long time, it has been erroneously taught in the churches of God all over the world that our opening Bible passage implies that Jesus was materially rich when He was on earth. Really?! They also explain to the brethren that Jesus became poor (materially) for them that they might be rich (materially). What an error! Right now, let's carefully look through the Bible and see what It truly says on this subject. Read with an opened mind void of doubts and despise. Okay. God is with you.

How did He become poor for our sakes? Did He empty His Bank accounts to give to us money? Is that how He became poor? This clearly tells you that this riches being talked about here is not material riches, it's not material wealth. - Selah

What riches is the Apostle talking about?

If we became materially rich by Jesus' sacrifice, why does the Bible record clearly and unarguably that there were poor saints in the Church? If they became materially rich by Christ becoming materially poor for us, why were they poor saints? of which the Apostle Paul was urging the brethren to give in order to support these poor saints? This tells you that there's more to that verse than it literally appears. - Selah

So evidently and obviously, the Apostle Paul wasn't in anyway depicting that Christ was materially rich, but rather He was reminding the brethren of Christ's sacrifice for us all, in that He layed down Himself for us so that we might be saved; commending them to embrace that attitude in their response to giving to the needs of others who were poor. That's it. You see now... 

From the verse 3 of that 2 Corinthians 8, you will clearly see that that discussion was because there was a giving project ongoing in that Church (Corinthian Church) which was for the ministering / helping of the poor saints in Jerusalem. The same giving project was also going on in the Roman Church, of which I showed you the Bible Passage above. Now let's see 2 Corinthians 8 vs 3 to 4;

You see? So the Apostle Paul in the verse 9 was commending the brethren to the great sacrifice of the Lord, how that He didn't consider Himself, but He considered us, and He layed down His life for us that we may live; urging the brethren by this exhortation that they be like minded towards the brethren in Love and Sacrifice. Simple! He never intended to mean Christ was materially wealthy on earth. - Think about this

The Apostle Paul's usage of the words "rich & poor" as seen in our opening passage was simply a figure of speech (A metaphor,) a descriptive figure of speech; using the description of the sacrificial work of Christ for us to urge the brethren on how they who are rich should also be sacrificial for others who are poor, so that they can be sustained and have just as Christ was made sin for us (became poor) so that we could become Righteous (Rich). See this;

It's clear here: Christ who is Righteousness (Rich) became sin (poor) for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God (Rich) in Him. You see that? So it's evident that the Apostle Paul used a metaphoric figure of speech in 2 Corinthians 8 vs 9 to further enlighten and urge the brethren to be sacrificial towards one another in accordance to the footsteps of Christ. - Selah

You Might Want To Read This Paragraph Again!

Having this understanding, let's read our opening Bible passage again;

You get it now? It's clear now that the Apostle Paul never intended to communicate that Christ was materially rich, but using the terms (Rich & Poor) of the matter which was on ground (Contribution for the poor saints), he explained the sacrificial work of Christ with a metaphor by his usage of "Rich" & "Poor", which he interchanged for the words "righteousness" and "sin", as seen in 2 Corinthians 5 vs 21 which we saw above. Let's see it again;

He was rich.

He became poor (For our sakes).

That we through His poverty might become rich.

You see it now? It's clear.

It was an exhortation of Love and Sacrifice to the Church for the poor brethren, and not to imply that Jesus was materially rich on earth. - Selah. If truly He was rich (materially) and became poor so that we could become rich (materially,) why are many Christians financially broke? If truly it was a material dealing the Apostle spoke about, no Christian should be poor. - Think about it

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.