Sunday, April 6, 2008

Shalom,

I hope you've been looking into the "In Him" Scriptures for yourself! Find them, highlight or underline them, meditate on them until they become real to you. When you do, you will have so much confidence in who YOU are in Him and how God sees you through Him! Today we'll look at 1 Peter:

1 Pet 2:24 (KJV)
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

This verse starts with: Who His own self (verse 21 shows us that this is referring to Jesus) "bare", the Greek word, anaphero, which means: to take up, to bear, to carry, to take upon oneself, to place on oneself anything as a load to be carried, our (He had NONE of His own!) "sins", the Greek word, hamartia, which means: to miss the mark, to err, to violate God's law, in His own body on the tree "that", the Greek word, hina, which means: in order that, so as, so that, to the intent that, we "being dead", the Greek word, apogenomenos, which means: absent, deceased, to be removed from, to depart, to sins, "should live", the Greek word, zao, which means: to live , to enjoy life, to have true life, to be active, blessed and endless in the kingdom of God, to be in full vigor, to be fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful and efficacious, unto "righteousness", the Greek word, dikaiosune, which means: equity of character, Christian justification, the condition acceptable to God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting,: by Whose "stripes", the Greek word, molops, which means: a bruise, a wound that trickles blood, a wale (a streak or ridge made on the skin especially by the stroke of a whip), "ye were healed", the Greek word, iaomai, which means: to cure, to heal, make whole. The Amplified Bible says it this way:

1 Peter 2:24 (Amplified)
24He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.

Another, similar verse is found in Matthew's Gospel:

Matt 8:17 (KJV)
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

This verse begins with (so) That "it might be fulfilled", the Greek word, pleroo, which means: to make replete, to cram, to furnish, satisfy, execute an office, finish a task, verify a prediction, to consummate, to complete, to carry through to the end, to bring to pass, which was spoken by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, Himself "took", the Greek word, lambano, which means: to take up a thing to be carried, to take in order to carry away, to make one's own, our "infirmities", the Greek word, astheneia, which means: feebleness of mind or body, disease, sickness, infirmity, weakness, and "bare", the Greek word, bastazo, which means: to lift (with the idea of removal), to take up in order to carry or bear, to bear what is burdensome, to bear away, to carry off, our "sicknesses", the Greek word, nosos, which means: a malady, disease, infirmity, sickness. The Amplified Bible says this:

Matt 8:17 (Amplified)
17And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.

So what should our confession be from these two verses of Scripture? We should be saying this:

By HIS stripes I WAS healed! God's Word tells me that I was healed almost 2000 years ago by the stripes that Jesus bore. If I was healed THEN, I AM healed NOW! Healing belongs to me because I am in Christ.

God remembers when He laid on Jesus not only the sins and iniquities of us all, but ALSO, AT THAT SAME TIME, all of our sicknesses and diseases! Jesus remembers that he bore them for us. That is why the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write, "...by Whose stripes ye were healed." This belongs to us because we are "in Christ". He provided it for us. Confess that Jesus is your redemption. Confess that you are redeemed. Confess that satan has no more dominion over you. Now hold fast to that confession. You have been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness. Refuse to allow satan to dominate you. Don't accept sickness--reject it! It no longer belongs to you! Hallelujah!

Keep searching out the "in Him" Scriptures to find out what else He has provided for you. Find out who you are "in Him" and BE that person!

Shalom in Him!