Topic: YOU MUST KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST – Bishop Mike Okonkwo Devotional 20 October 2021 [The Redeemed Evangelical Mission]

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YOU MUST KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

Matthew 3:17 KJV

When Jesus came into the scene, without doing anything and without performing any miracle, God declared: “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” He had not done anything- no miracles, no signs and wonders. Yet, God came and validated Him. I want you to know that, in Christ, God has already validated you.

 
According to Matthew 4:1, Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The devil’s mission was to come after Jesus’s identity: “If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3 KJV). Jesus responded:
“…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 KJV). In other words, “Satan, before you came to deceive me, He who made me has already informed me of my identity. So, I didn’t prove anything to receive my identity and I wouldn’t prove anything to keep it.”

 
Do you think that God didn’t know what Jesus was capable of? He knew that Jesus was His beloved son. So why did the Spirit lead Him into the wilderness? The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to prove to the devil, that “you can’t have this one. Devil, fire your best shot! He already knows who He is. No matter what you do, you cannot make Him fall!” Just like God boasted about Job; He permitted that he be tempted of the devil. Job said he didn’t know what is going on, yet he said: “I know that my redeemer liveth” (Job 19:25 KJV). That was the reason for the temptation- to prove to the devil that he wouldn’t fall and he couldn’t have him. 

So, anytime challenges come your way, it is not meant to pull you down. On the contrary, God is making an announcement to the devil saying: “you see this one? You have lost him!”

Further Reading: Job 1:13-22, Matthew 4: 1-11

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Isaiah 59-61; Evening- 2 Thessalonians 3