Everyone experiences sun power on a daily basis, but not everyone experiences Son power. God’s Word reveals to us that certain steps are necessary in order to experience the full power of Jesus Christ. Failure to understand these steps and properly apply them will short circuit the Son Power working in our lives.
Step #1: Experiencing Spiritual Birth
All things related to our relationship with God begin with spiritual birth. Jesus tells us that one must be “born again” to see the kingdom of God (see John 3:1-18). Those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, experience spiritual birth. Have you taken this important first step? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and asked him to be the Lord of your life? If so, you are a part of the family of God! If not, take time right now to go to, “Begin Your Relationship with God.”
This important first step enables us to have the relationship with God that he desires to have with each one of his children. This step allows Jesus to give you access to the Son-powered life.
It is critical that we have a proper understanding of what our salvation in the person of Jesus Christ really accomplishes. God, the Father, has “qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12–14, ESV).
Our eternal salvation is a done deal. The Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness. He has transferred us to the kingdom of his Son in whom we have the forgiveness of sin. These are all works of God, accomplished without our help. I find it interesting to note that each one of these verbs is in the past tense.
Furthermore, Paul tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise.
—Ephesians 1:13, NKJV
We are secure in a new relationship with the King of Kings. Christ himself purged our sins. It is a finished work that he has done on our behalf. He daily saves us from the foolishness of trusting in ourselves. In truth, we are “signed, sealed, and delivered” for shipment to the kingdom of God. In the same way that we trust in Jesus Christ’s power on the cross for our salvation, we must trust him for power through the Holy Spirit to live each day in the life he has designed for us.
Step #2: Depending on the Holy Spirit
When we accept the life God has for us through a relationship with Jesus Christ, everything changes. The Holy Spirit begins to work in us to transform our lives. Without this work, there is no capacity for living a Son-powered life. The Holy Spirit is the game changer. He is the great enabler. It is he who generates in us the power to live the life God has planned for us. A relationship with Jesus is just the beginning, each one of us needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit as well.
The Holy Spirit comes to live in the heart of every believer, “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6). We are made alive by the Holy Spirit, and with him working in our lives we have a God-given desire to have a living relationship with the Father.
The Holy Spirit shows us that trusting in self-effort is a dead end. I like to think of self-effort as a dependence on my “three amigos.” The amigos are “Me, Myself and I.” We need to say goodbye to those friends and trust completely in Christ to live his life in us on a daily basis. We need to realize that God has a plan for our lives and he will give us the strength to accomplish his purposes.
The Holy Spirit is at work in and through us. It is his job to reveal things to us as we grow in our relationship with God. We rely on his strength! When that happens, the lights turn on, the engines rev up, the Son rises with power in our heart, and we begin to experience a life that is transformed.
Step #3: Embracing Our Spiritual Identity
As believers, we have been transferred permanently into the kingdom of God’s Son. We now live under a totally different law, the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ. We are no longer under the law of sin and death as long as we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. This is stated clearly in the New Testament when Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2, NKJV).
What we are talking about here is a new world with a different set of rules and laws, a world that we experience while in our earthly existence. The law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ now rules in our relationship with God, and not the Old Testament law comprising the law of sin and death. We are still under a law, but a different law powered and sourced in the person of Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit. This is explained to us in the book of Romans:
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sins control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
—Romans 8:3–4
The law of Moses could not save us because our flesh (or self) did not have the power to meet its demands. The law’s purpose was to show us we needed a Savior. Christ satisfied the requirements of the law for us by paying the penalty for our sin through his sacrifice in our place, we now have a right standing with God as a gift from him.
When we accept Christ’s work on the cross we are raised with him from the dead, our spirit is given new life. The law of the Spirit in which we now live, enables us to serve God in a new way. We have died to the law and have been delivered from it so that we can live in the newness of the Spirit.
This is a critical point, and one that I personally still struggle with. It is difficult to separate works, which is a byproduct from the old way of life, and faith, which is the new way. And yet, we must always keep in mind that Christ came to free us from the foolishness of self, self-works, and self-justification.
It is critical that we embrace our new identity, and celebrate that we are no longer in bondage to the law. Our lives are now established in a new paradigm with new rules. We simply cannot live out the Son-powered life if we do not embrace this new spiritual lifestyle. The Son-powered life is a life possessed by the Holy Spirit of God, controlled by him, and empowered by him. It is only available to us as we trust in him.
Is there anything you need to do to put yourself in a position to experience the Son-powered life?
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