◄ What Does 2 Corinthians 1:21 Mean? ►

We are positioned in Christ, and identified with Him by the Spirit of God, the moment we trust the Lord Jesus as Saviour. He baptises us into the body of Christ, for it is by the power of one Spirit that we have all been baptised into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, whether bondmen or free, and we have all been given to drink of one Spirit.

Once we have been born again and saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are to be established in our faith. We are to grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for the rest of our lives. Just as we were saved by the grace and power of God, so also, we are to be established by that same grace and power, through the ongoing process of sanctification.

We are not to remain in spiritual infancy. We are not to stay a baby Christian for the rest of our time on earth. We are to develop spiritually and progress in the faith. Having been born into the family of God we are to grow up into mature sons. We are to be transformed, day by day, into the image and likeness of Jesus.

However, it is not through self-effort that we grow in grace and understanding. The only way to develop in our Christian faith is by the power of God within. The only way to mature in our Christian walk is through the power of the Spirit of God. Just as God established Paul in his Christian faith and consecrated him as apostle to the Gentiles, so too we are established in Christ and sanctified - through the power of God within. 

It is God Who calls us, saves us, sanctifies us, and anoints us. It is God who establishes us and brings us to spiritual maturity. We are not in a position to save ourselves, and similarly, we are not able to sanctify ourselves or establish ourselves in our Christian walk and spiritual growth. Paul makes it very clear that we are established and anointed by God - not ourselves. "Now it is God Who establishes us and confirms us in fellowship with one another in Christ - and it is God who has anointed us and empowered us with the gifts of the Spirit."

Once we are saved, we are to be firmly established in the Word of the Father, established in our new life in Christ and established in the truth of the Spirit. Because we are saved, we have received spiritual gifts and been given precious promises in the Word of God, which have become ours in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Because we are children of God, we have been given everything we need for life and godliness, and all we need to do is to appropriate what is ours through the power of God, Who establishes us.

It was through Paul and his co-labourers, that the gospel was taught to these believers in Corinth.. and God was glorified through their faith in Him. Although Paul was the chosen vessel through whom much of the gospel of grace was revealed, to the post-Cross Christian Church... God is no respecter of persons.. and Paul, Silvanus, Timothy, and other co-labourers in the gospel, needed to be established in the faith, in the same way that you and I also need to be established - for as Paul wrote, "He Who establishes us, with you - in Christ.. is GOD."

It was God who established Paul and his co-labourers in his faith, and it is God Who started a good work in you and me, Who will establish us in our faith. It is God Who confirmed Paul's position in Christ, and the same God confirms our own identification with our heavenly Saviour. The word 'established' is a business word or legal term, which indicates a 'guarantee' or an 'assurance'.

God, Himself has guaranteed our ongoing and eternal security, in Christ - and His Word can never be broken. How blessed we are to have been given such security in our soul, and to have God's very seal of ownership, eternally stamped upon our lives. And remember... God's Word can never be broken, for all His promises are "YES" and "AMEN" in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Heavenly Father, as I consider all that has been given to me by grace, through simply trusting in Christ as my sin-sacrifice and heavenly Saviour, I humbly bow in grateful praise and thanksgiving for Your goodness and grace, towards a sinner such as I. Keep my heart broken before You and keep the Cross of Christ ever before my eyes, knowing that I am established in Him, and eternally secure by Your grace and mercy, through faith in Christ. May I die to self and live for Him alone, and may I grow in grace to Your praise and glory. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.