As much as I believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus, it’s the on-going miraculous power of His birth that speaks so much to me. Jesus was born with a purpose in mind – to die for the sins of the world. (John 3:16-17) In view of His wonderful gift of Salvation, I think too many people only think of this gift as “when we get to heaven”. But the Bible has a lot to say about how we are to walk “in this life” in the power of His Spirit – that’s what I call the on-going, or the extended miraculous power of His birth. It’s in this extension of His power that believers are to live now, in this life, that will last into eternity when we leave this earthly realm to enter into the heavenly realm.

Here are some Biblical truths of how we are to walk in this extended power of Jesus. There are many truths throughout the Bible we could mention but today I’m concentrating on the first two chapters in Ephesians. So, let’s begin.

Extended Power given to us:

Ephesians 1:3, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. This means that everything that God has for Jesus is available to us also.

Ephesians 1:4, we have been chosen by Him and we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Verse 6 tells us that believers have been made accepted in the beloved. This means that God is not mad at anyone because of sin – because God has made us acceptable to Him through Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7, we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, and forgiven according to the riches of his grace. This is because Jesus took the penalty of sin and gave us His righteousness. If at any time we do sin, we have the privilege of confessing that sin to Jesus and asking for His forgiveness, and He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Ephesians 1:11, we have obtained an inheritance in Jesus’ saving grace which is forgiveness of sins, healing for our body, soul, and mind, and prosperity. This means that we not only receive this inheritance from heaven through His Salvation gift, but, that we become an inheritance that Jesus gives back to God as part of His family.

Ephesians 1:13, we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. This means that no one; not the devil or any demon in hell, can take us out of fellowship with God the Father and His Son. We can forfeit our fellowship with God by choosing to not staying in close relationship with Him, BUT NO ONE can take us from Him.

Ephesians 2:6, we are raised up and seated with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus. This a positional relationship with God our Father because we have saving relationship with His Son, Jesus. This is not because of any works we have done or do now, but because of the work of Jesus in His submission to die for us, and the power of God to raise us up as joint-heirs with Christ when we accept Jesus as Savior. It is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 8:17)

Ephesians 2:10, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works; we are God’s workmanship. According to the dictionary, workmanship is a skill, a craftsmanship and quality of a piece of work. Hah! We are a piece of work! In a good way. God is crafting us, molding us and shaping us into His very image, from glory to glory He is changing us to be more like Him. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Ephesians 2:21-22, we are being built in Him to fit together to be the habitation of the Holy Spirit. As believers, we are the dwelling place – the temple of the Holy Ghost. This means that what we do and how we live is to be done in a manner that brings glory to God.

This may be a bit of a twist on the power of Christmas because we usually just focus on the miracle of Jesus’ birth, and for sure it is a miracle, but God never intended for His miracle power to stop with the birth of Jesus. His intent was and still is that He would receive back to Himself His prize creation – mankind; and for His children (believers) to live and reign as joint-heirs with Jesus in this life by believing and speaking His truths over their lives.

I do pray that this teaching gives you insight of who you are in Christ and is a reminder to walk according to His Word.  Have a wonderfully blessed day.