Living Large

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ our lives change.  We have declared Him as Lord, and as such, our lives belong to Him.  We also become the temple of the Holy Spirit, so in short, God Himself comes to live in us. 
 
Paul says in 2 Cor 6 that now is the day of salvation.  Salvation, by definition, means deliverance, preservation, safety, health, and is the present possession of all true believers. We are saved by grace through faith.  Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
The Bible tells us that the gospel is the power of God.  And again, by definition, the power of God is the energy, power, might, great ability and strength to overcome all resistance.  Tying all of this together is to say that as believers we have the power within us, by the grace of God, to live large, to live in His great strength, ability, might, and energy.  So, are we? 
 

In 2 Cor 6, Paul is encouraging the believers in Corinth to do just that. 

2 Cor 6: 11-17 (The Message) –  Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

14-18 Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

“I’ll live in them, move into them;
    I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
    leave it for good,” says God.
 
 We can’t live large without first removing the corruption and compromise from our lives.  Those things we still hold on to that are not of God – bad attitudes, relationships that tear down rather than build up, unforgiveness, entertainment that is full of things that grieve the Lord, worldly wisdom, lying, lust, greed or the love of money, hatred, gossip, etc.  These are the idols we have placed in God’s holy temple (our hearts), these are the idols that keep us living small. 
 
The Lord said to leave these things, to leave the corruption and compromise.  Remember, our lives are not small, but we may be choosing to live them in a small way.  God has a plan and purpose for each one of us, and within that plan and purpose lies the power of God to live large, to live with the strength and ability to overcome any and all resistance.  Even when that resistance is not from an enemy but from our own affections (verse 12).  Not all resistance is outward, but often it is found in us. 
 
1 Corinthians 1:24 tells us that Jesus is both the power and wisdom of God.  In those two things alone, we have everything we need to live a life that fulfills every purpose, every intention, and every plan the Lord has for us.  There is no resistance, no compromise, no corruption too great for the power or wisdom of God.  And we have both when we choose Jesus. 
 

When we choose, also, to remove the idols in our hearts and walk closely with the one that lives in us, we become strengthened from within.  Our foundation becomes solid, and we become strong, bold, courageous, and fearless warriors.  Any outward resistance will be met by a soldier clothed in the full armor of God, always ready to defeat any enemy and to declare the goodness and greatness of the Lord. 

 

Today is the day of salvation.  Today is the day to choose to live in the power and wisdom of God.  Today is the day to open up your life in greater measure to the One who gave you life, defines your identity, and reveals your purpose and destiny in Him. 

 

Ephesians 6:10-20 – 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
 
Quinn Pruett