The Daily Word of Righteousness

A Badge or Competence?

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)

The Christian fulfillment of Canaan of the Old Testament land of promise is "all things," especially the entire material creation. The Kingdom of God is the rule of God in Christ in the saints over all the works of God's hands.

Before God permitted Joshua to go across Jordan, God spoke to him concerning the need for courage and for adhering strictly to the written Word of God.

Joshua had served under Moses for many years. Unlike Saul at a later date, Joshua was not plucked suddenly from the ranks of Israel and placed over the Lord's people. He had served his apprenticeship. The Lord was satisfied that Joshua was ready to lead Israel.

The Lord needs people who are prepared to take the Kingdom.

The creation of God is in terrible bondage today. Only the Church, the Body of Christ, has the authority to release the creation. Christ remains seated at the right hand of God while His possession, the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth, agonizes in spiritual chains.

The blood of Jesus has purchased redemption for every human being who is willing to accept it. Satan and his demons have no authority over any individual who chooses to call on the name of Jesus.

The full price of redemption has been paid for two thousand years. Yet the earth gropes in spiritual blindness. What, then, is delaying the release of the material creation?

The reason the earth remains in darkness is that the members of the Body of Christ are immature in the things of God. They have not had created in them the conquering personality. They speak of going to their eternal home in Heaven, not realizing God has given the world to them. They are not soldiers, they are sheep. We are living in an hour when Christ will convert His sheep into soldiers.

To be a member of the Lord's army, of the Body of Christ, requires more than a uniform. To be a coheir of Christ Jesus requires more than a title.

A license to practice medicine is much more than a uniform or a title. It is a testimony to the fact that the doctor has spent many years in rigorous training and now is able, through education and experience, to prescribe and treat various sicknesses and disorders.

When God testifies we are a coheir of Christ Jesus He is not giving to us "by grace" a uniform or a title. He is declaring that we shall be prepared by Himself, through education, experience, and the transformation of what we are, to rule the nations of the earth.

Many Christian people are saints in name only—by "uniform" and "title" only. The conquering personality has not been formed in them as yet.

Christ Jesus will not lead an army of believers who are warriors by title only. He will come against the rulers of the world at the head of an army of saints in whom the conquering personality has been formed.

No human being can become a warrior, a saint, a "mighty man of valor," by imputation (ascribed mightiness).

If going to Heaven to live forever were our goal it might be enough for us to make our statement of belief in Jesus. Because our goal is to be in union with God through the Lord Jesus, to be in union with one another, to fill the universe with the image of Jesus, and to rule all the works of God's hands, it is not sufficient that we make our statement of belief in Christ Jesus. We also must follow the Holy Spirit every day of our life as He creates in us the conquering personality.

Do you want the real thing so you can help turn this mess around? (from The Conquering Personality)