It is finished: 2 Misconceptions

The finished work of the cross is the most important thing to understand . . . period.  There are a number of things that are included in the finished work of Christ.  1).  That Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sin but that he actually defeated the power of sin itself.  Because of that we can live outside of sin's control and power; in other words it is possible to not sin. 2). That in Jesus we have actually been made into new creations, holy and righteous.  This is not a righteousness from ourselves from works, but by faith in the finished work of Jesus. I am righteous because Jesus paid for me and made me righteous.  This holy standing with God is not affected by my actions, good or bad, and it is in believing this truth that I can actually begin to manifest a holy lifestyle. 3).  That Jesus sacrifice has given us access into living the way that he lived.  Not only in holiness but also in the supernatural.  His sacrifice purified us so that we could receive the Holy Spirit, and just like Him we are commissioned to destroy the works of the devil. That means that we have been given access into healing, prophecy, and all the other spiritual gifts through His authority that is in us.  We also have access into the fullness of joy, peace, and character that he himself possesses.

The finished work of the cross is rarely taught however, and many believers are beguiled into thinking that they still have some part to play in saving themselves, climbing up into the glory, or making themselves pure.
There are two major ways that the church has fallen into deception in regards to what Jesus accomplished on the cross.  I do not mean to categorize every church or believer but to give a rough outline that may help you better understand where you are at in terms of the fullness of Christ's sacrifice.  The first deception comes in thinking that Jesus didn't actually 'finish' the job and that we will always struggle with sin and never walk as Jesus did until we go to heaven. The other misconception is that Jesus made a holy divine life available, but that we still play a part laying hold of it.  This group believes that one must fast, pray, strain, or make some sort of effort to grasp hold of the inheritance that is actually given to them freely.

The first deception occurs within many of the evangelical churches that are spread across the country.  Within these these communities, their theology limits the work of the cross, believing that the fullness of the kingdom is reserved for heaven alone.  Much of their theology formed based on their own experience.  Because they never experienced freedom from sin, theology was created to make room for continual struggle.  Likewise since they never experienced the miraculous, they never expected that it should be a normal thing, or even possible for that matter.  In this way many people have built their theology around unbelief rather than faith. The nature of faith is that it believes beyond experience and beyond circumstance.  It literally pulls the reality of heaven into a collision with the reality of the world. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)."  These communities always tend to, unintentionally, give more power to the devil than to God.  They will justify sickness, death, and tragedy to the will of God.  They believe that they will never understand the will of God, choosing to live in the Old Covenant reality rather than the new (Isaiah 55:9, Colossians 1:26)." This mind-set always leads to uselessness, ineffectiveness, and feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, and insecurity (2 Peter 1:8).

In some cases these churches have theology that seems to include the fullness of Christ but they still do not expect it experientially.  They will say that it is through Christ's sacrifice that we have a relationship with God, but they never actually experience that relationship because they think it is primarily cognitive in nature. Even though they honor Him with their lips, their hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8).  If someone actually begins to experience more intimacy or breakthrough in certain areas, and then goes to encourage others that there is 'more' to a relationship with God then they have experienced, conflict, bitterness, and envy will arise because they 'intellectually' believe they have experienced everything there is.

The second misconception is often times found in more 'charismatic' circles. In these cases they believe that God has made available every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  They believe in all of the spiritual gifts, manifestations, and the tangible fruits of the spirit.  Their mistake comes in thinking they still need to do something to enter into this reality.  They fast, pray, strain, and altogether make a big effort to become more passionate and radical for God; in so doing they expect that after their effort they will be blessed with more breakthrough in areas of purity, healing, joy, or other such spiritual realities.  Although these groups often do see miracles and experience more of the fullness, they are deceived into thinking it resulted from their own effort. This group has a tendency to be prideful because they think it was by their effort that they now have authority over demons, or peace that passes understanding. In reality, their efforts have only led to accepting a reality that needed no effort on there part in the first place.  God came to pursue man because we could not pursue God.

This is the truth, that Jesus paid it all.  He has given us access into the fullness of the divine life (Ephesians 1,  2 Peter 1).  His sacrifice has allowed us to live as he lived and to do the things that he has done (John 20:21, John 14:12).  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one may boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10)."  If you are not experiencing part of the fullness of Christ's sacrifice, the answer is not to try harder.  For you are a citizen of heaven seated in heavenly places.  What you need is a renewal of your mind to help you agree with the reality that already fully exists.  This is a work of the spirit that inspires us to live in faith that manifests the kingdom of heaven in our lives.  The only process we are promised is to move from glory to glory into every increasing glory (2 Cor. 3).  This process is only unpacking the incredible reality that we already fully exist within.  We come to know the truth and the truth sets us free (John 8:32). 

Faith comes by hearing, hearing what? The good news. What is the good news? That Jesus has cleaned you up, placed you in heavenly places, and put you right at the center of the presence of His father. Now you can effortlessly sink into your identity in Christ, and begin to see the fruits of heaven produced in your life!!

"To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust (2 Peter 1:1-11)."