"Victory over the Darkness" (I)

select quotes from Neil T. Anderson's Victory over the Darkness

~ Introduction ~

“We must have a true knowledge of God and know who we are as children of God. If we really knew God, our behavior would change radically and instantly. Whenever heaven opened to reveal the glory of God, individual witnesses in the Bible were immediately and profoundly changed… [The] greatest determinant of mental and spiritual health and spiritual freedom is a true understanding of God and a right relationship with Him.” (17)

~ Who Are You? ~

“[On] the external plane… Happiness is equated with good looks, relationships with important people, the right job and a fat bank account. Life devoid of these ‘benefits’ is too often equated with hopelessness. What about life in God’s kingdom? The success-equals-happiness and failure-equals-hopelessness equations don’t exist. Everyone has exactly the same opportunity for a meaningful life. Why? Because wholeness and meaning in life are not the products of what you have or don’t have, what you’ve done or haven’t done. You are already a whole person and possess a life of infinite meaning and purpose because of who you are—a child of God. The only identity equation that works in God’s kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning.” (26)

“[A] great number of Christians are trapped in [a] downward spiral. We fail, so we see ourselves as failures, which only leads to more failure. We sin, so we see ourselves as sinners, which only leads to more sin. We have been deceived into believing that what we do determines who we are. That false belief sends us into a tailspin of hopelessness and more defeat. On the other hand, ‘The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God’ (Rom. 8:16). God wants us to know who we are so we can start living accordingly. Being a child of God who is alive and free in Christ should determine what we do. Then we are working out our salvation (see Phil. 2:12), not for our salvation.” (27)

Who I Am In Christ (pp. 38-39):

    I Am Accepted

        I am God’s child (John 1.12)

        I am Christ’s friend (John 15.15)

        I have been justified (Romans 5.1)

        I am united with Christ, and I am one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6.17)

        I have been bought with a price; I belong to God (1 Cor 6.20)

        I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Cor 12.27)

        I am a saint (Eph 1.1; 1 Cor 1.2; Phil 1.1; Col 1.2)

        I have been adopted as God’s child (Eph 1.5)

        I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph 2.18)

        I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (Col 1.14)

        I am complete in Christ (Col 2.10)

    I Am Secure

        I am free from condemnation (Rom 8.1-2)

        I am assured all things work together for good (Rom 8.28)

        I am free from any condemning charges against me (Rom 8.31-34)

        I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8.35-39)

        I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Cor 1.21-22)

        I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil 1.6)

        I am a citizen of heaven (Phil 3.20)

        I am hidden with Christ in God (Col 3.3)

        I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1.7)

        I can find grace and mercy in time of need (Heb 4.16)

        I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5.18)

    I Am Significant

        I am the salt and light of the earth (Matt 5.13-14)

        I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life (John 15.1, 5)

        I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15.16)

        I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1.8)

        I am God’s temple (1 Cor 3.16)

        I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5.17-21)

        I am God’s coworker (1 Cor 3.9; 2 Cor 6.1)

        I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Eph 2.6)

        I am God’s workmanship, born anew in Christ to do His work (Eph 2.10)

        I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph 3.12)

        I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4.13)

~ The Whole Gospel ~

“Many Christians are not living free and productive lives because they don’t understand who they are and why they are here. Who they are is rooted in their identity and position in Christ. If they don’t see themselves the way God sees them, to that degree they suffer from a false identity and poor sense of worth. They don’t fully understand the gospel and the dramatic change that occurred in them the moment they trusted in Christ.” (42)

“Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn’t exist before… Understanding your identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. People cannot consistently believe in ways that are inconsistent with the way they perceive themselves. You don’t change yourself by your perceptions. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess. The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can’t change God and he can’t do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a life, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn’t true.” (46-47)

“Every believer is identified with Christ…

  In His death (Rom 6.3,6; Gal 2.20; Col 3.1-3)

  In His burial (Rom 6.4)

  In His resurrection (Rom 6.5,8,11)

  In His ascension (Eph 2.6)

  In His life (Rom 6.10-11)

  In His power (Eph 1.19,20)

  In His inheritance (Rom 8.16-17; Eph 1.11-12)” (51)

Who Am I? (pp. 51-52; supplement with pp.38-39)

        I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15.16)

        I am a slave of righteousness (Rom 6.18)

        I am enslaved to God (Rom 6.22)

        I am a son of God; God is my Father (Rom 8.14,15; Gal 3.26, 4.6)

        I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Rom 8.17)

        I am a temple—a dwelling place—of God; His Spirit and His life dwell in me (1 Cor 3.16; 6.19)

        I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6.17)

        I am a new creation (2 Cor 5.17)

        I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5.18,19)

        I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal 4.6,7)

        I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph 3.1; 4.1)

        I am righteous and holy (Eph 4.24)

        I am chosen by God, holy and dearly loved (Col 3.12; 1 Thess 1.4)

        I am a son of light and not of darkness (1 Thess 5.5)

        I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb 3.1)

        I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life (Heb 3.14)

        I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ (1 Pet 2.5)

        I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet 2.9,10)

        I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Pet 2.11)

        I am an enemy of the devil (1 Pet 5.8)

        I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns (1 John 3.1,2)

        I am born of God, and the evil one—the devil—cannot touch me (1 John 5.18)

        I am not the great ‘I Am’ (Exod 3.14; John 8.24,28,58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor 15.10)

“Because you are alive in Christ, every one of [the above] characteristics is completely true of you, and you can do nothing to make them more true. You can, however, make these traits more meaningful and productive in your life by simply choosing to believe what God has said about you.” (52-53)

“The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity. Commenting on Romans chapter 6, John Stott states that the ‘necessity of remembering who we are’ is the way ‘Paul brings his high theology down to the level of practical everyday experience,’ and he continues his summary: ‘So, in practice we should constantly be reminding ourselves who we are. We need to learn to talk to ourselves, and ask ourselves questions: “Don’t you know? Don’t you know the meaning of your conversion and baptism? Don’t you know that you have been united to Christ in His death and resurrection? Don’t you know that you have been enslaved to God and have committed yourself to His obedience? Don’t you know these things? Don’t you know who you are?” We must go on pressing ourselves with such questions, until we reply to ourselves, “Yes, I do know who I am, a new person in Christ, and by the grace of God I shall live accordingly.”’” (53-54)