Christ Our Position
We stand before God in prayer and fellowship because of our position in His Son, not because of our own fitness.
Miles J. Stanford emphasizes the freedom and liberation we have in Christ, urging believers to stand firm in this truth. He highlights that our ability to come before the Father in prayer and fellowship is not based on our own merit but on our position in Christ. Stanford underscores the importance of understanding that all blessings we receive from the Father are by His grace alone, emphasizing that our new position in Christ is the foundation of our relationship with God.
Text
"In [this] freedom Christ has made us free-completely liberated us; stand fast then" (Galatians 5:1, Amp.).
We are never going to be able to stand before our Father in prayer and fellowship because we are fit in ourselves. We finally come to see that we are in His presence because of our position in His Son.
"The ground upon which our Father deals with us is grace. Every blessing we receive of Him as His children is undeserved. In all of our spiritual existence we are debtors to the rich, free, sovereign grace of our Father. And what is it we are privileged to enjoy on that ground, when we enter 'into this grace wherein we stand'? We then have a new position, and that position is the glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
"We are not only pardoned, but justified-made righteous; and this is not merely by that which He has done, or by what He has procured or bestows-but in what He is. 'As He is, so are we in this world' (1 John 4:17). The believer must never lose sight of this fundamental truth: that the basis of his fellowship with the Father is not his own personal holiness, or what the Lord Jesus is in him, but his judicial position before the Father, or what the Lord Jesus is for him. He, 'the Lord our righteousness,' is the foundation and source of everything-of walk as well as of position." -E.H.
"Most look to get victory in order to get peace, but it is peace already made by the Lord Jesus' work and risen life that is ours. Conflict we shall find, but we know that the Father is for us, and that makes all the difference." -J.N.D.
"Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . . righteousness" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Sermon Outline
- I. Our Position in Christ
- A. Liberated by Christ's freedom
- B. Standing before God in prayer and fellowship
- C. Position in His Son
Key Quotes
“In all of our spiritual existence we are debtors to the rich, free, sovereign grace of our Father.” — Miles J. Stanford
“As He is, so are we in this world” — Miles J. Stanford
“Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . . righteousness” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- Recognize that our fellowship with God is based on our judicial position, not our personal holiness.
- Find peace in the Lord Jesus' work and risen life, not in our own victory.
- Understand that our righteousness comes from the Lord Jesus, who is our righteousness.