Redeemed to Reign
Episode 69
Episode 69 – Redeemed to Reign
A Journey from Lost Dominion to Restored Authority in Christ
We started a series on Created to Reign in the last episode. We saw in that episode that God’s plan in creation is that we would have dominion over the earth and reign over His creation.
The Fall: Lost Dominion
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they thought that they could become greater than they already were and become as wise as God. But with that knowledge of good and evil came spiritual death and condemnation and as a result man lost the authority to reign over the earth.
“The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually. Their spirits underwent a complete change. They became partakers of the satanic nature.”
Though created to have dominion over the earth, they lost dominion over creation. They became weak and had to struggle to survive. They could now respond only to their new master, the devil. They were controlled solely by their flesh.
The Reality of Spiritual Death
The spirit of man became so completely alienated from God that spiritual death, the nature of Satan became the nature of every man born into the world.
Romans 5:14
“Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.”
The sin of Adam and Eve affected the whole of nature. All of us. So that from the time of Adam till today, every man comes into the world with the sin nature.
Result: In this state of weakness, condemnation, fear and dominion by the devil, it was impossible for man to reign! He lost the power to reign over the earth.
God’s Redemption Plan
But as we already know, immediately He moved Adam and Eve out of the Garden, God commenced the plan to restore man’s dominion and authority to reign over the earth and that He accomplished His plan when Jesus Christ went on the Cross and took the punishment for the sin of man.
Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, God restored our authority to reign and have dominion over the earth.
By His death on the Cross, Jesus Christ offers us the opportunity to be restored to our original relationship of having dominion over the earth and reigning with God.
The Born Again Experience
How does restoration happen? Simple. By being born again.
What exactly happens when we are born again?
The Born again experience takes place when according to John 3:5-6, the Spirit of God recreates the spirit of man and deposits God’s divine nature into the spirit of man. So that nature of the devil that Adam deposited in us whether we did anything wrong or not, Jesus Christ takes away whether we did anything right or not, and replaces it with the nature of God; making the person righteous and perfect.
By being born again, we have been redeemed and our punishment bought over by the blood of Jesus. Jesus has set us free from guilt and condemnation. His blood provided complete forgiveness for us. Now Satan and the sin nature have no power over us.
The Promise of Reign
“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
Paul in this scripture contrasts Adam’s act of condemnation and the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. Adam’s sin brought universal death. Jesus’ sacrifice brought salvation to those who believe.
The Two Foundation Gifts
Romans 5:17 confirms the authority of God’s children to reign in life through Jesus Christ by receiving two gifts from God:
1. The Abundance of Grace
What does “abundance” of grace mean? Did we get a measure of grace? No. Did we get just enough grace to get saved and no more? No! Having been saved, are we now on our own? No!
“God gave us an abundance of Grace; not because we deserve it, without any strings attached and without measurement.”
2. The Gift of Righteousness
Just like the abundance of Grace, the free gift of righteousness is unmerited, undeserved and unconditional. It is the gift of right standing with God, which we receive through faith in Jesus Christ.
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Grace vs Works
We need to change the mindset that for God to bless us, we need to deserve, earn and merit His favor.
Your works, self-efforts and struggle to perform and impress can rob you of reigning in life by His grace. You cannot earn your salvation and the blessings of God by your own efforts.
If the greatest miracle – being saved from hell – comes by grace through faith, and not by your works, how much more the lesser miracles, such as healing, prosperity, protection.
The Restoration Complete
The implication of the free gifts:
- Our sins have been forgiven so we no longer need to live in guilt and shame
- We have been declared righteous, justified and accepted by God
- We have been given the authority, power and dominion to reign in life
- God’s original plan that man should reign on earth has been restored in us
You Are Redeemed to Reign!
You need a revelation and the understanding that you have been given the free gifts of Grace and righteousness in order to receive the boldness to reign with Christ.
If you are still timid, fearful and under condemnation, then you have not received the gifts of the abundance of grace and righteousness into your heart and reigning in Christ would be a tall order for you.