GOOD NEWS in the Ultimate Game
Who doesn’t want to win in life? The good news for every believer is we are promised ultimate victory and we can walk in that victory right now despite all the relentless opposition we face.
One of my favorite verses in Scripture is 1 Corinthians 15:57: “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So let that truth marinate in your life. You and I are always on the winning team in Christ and can experience that victory every day as we apply God’s winning resources.
Let’s apply this to the incredible challenge you and I face today regarding Manhood and Womanhood. As we highlighted this past Sunday, God’s design for male and female, husband and wife, father and mother is under attack and it appears we are losing the game. But the best and most proper response to this is to remember the victory you and I already have in Christ and to make sure we are applying God’s winning strategy.
Manhood and Womanhood got defiled when Adam and Eve sinned against God which brought about some ugly consequences (like the battle of the sexes in Genesis 3:16). As a new creation in Christ, men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers can now walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4). This newness of life enables every believer to follow God’s design and blessing, being divinely empowered to grow godly relationships in singleness, marriage, family, and in the Lord’s church.
Manhood and Womanhood are constantly being distorted by the schemes of the devil and his demons (John 8:44; Ephesians 6:12). However, in a relationship with our Lord, you are given “the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11) and the ability to “resist him firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8–9). We as God’s people walk in the truth about God’s design, so we know how to avoid being deceived.
Manhood and Womanhood are undermined by disobedience to God’s will and truth about what it means to follow His original design (John 14:15; Luke 6:46; 11:28). When God is disobeyed, you expose your life as a man or woman, husband or wife, father or mother to the destructive consequences of your insubordination to Him. As believers, God has empowered you to “become obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed” and to become “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17–18).
The bottom line is you do not need to work for your victory, but you must learn to live in the victory God has already given you. This happens when you utilize the dynamic resources of His Word, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and brothers and sisters who can encourage you “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
Though our favorite Seattle sports team will let us down in defeat, always remember “but thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14a).
Pastor Jeff