Greetings to you, dear friends! I am happy to meet with you on the pages of „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! Yesterday we talked about the character of a person as the foundation for life-giving spiritual authority and ministry. That is why God made men in His image and according to His likeness. We also know that after the fall of man death came to the earth along with sin and disobedience. From that moment death started reigning on the earth. And only through the acceptance of grace and the gift of righteousness, were men able to return to their original purpose in God.We read about this in Romans (5:12-19):
« Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous ».
If we carefully read this passage of Scripture, we can see that it talks about „reigning”. This word implies authority, and authority is what God gave man right after He created him. But when sin entered the world having taken away the image and likeness of God from people, death began reigning on earth instead of life. Everything changed when Jesus Christ came to earth. His mission was to restore the lost image back to us: «For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ» (Romans, 5:17).
It turns out that men can once again reign when their nature is changed after receiving the gift of grace and righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus. This tells us that if we want to reign in life (or fulfill our purpose in God), we must cultivate the nature and character of God in us. It is not enough to develop our talents and anointing. God’s character and nature must first manifest in us before God’s power and anointing can work through us. In other words, the fruit of the Spirit must first manifest in us before the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit can work through us. This is extremely very important. If we only develop the anointing and power, we really cannot minister the life of God to others around us; we can only destroy. God’s character and nature is the proper foundation for every spiritual authority and ministry. We must understand that as God’s kings we are given authority to expand the territories of God’s Kingdom. But in order to function as kings for God, we must first function as the priests of God. God’s priests are to draw near to God and be clothed with His nature. Please remember this: Our kingly authority is based on our functioning as priests. We will continue on this tomorrow. But do not forget that the character and nature of God is something we must pursue. They are the foundation of our ministry – something we really must strive for if we truly want to fulfil our mission and purpose on earth and impart life to every person God brings our way. God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
