“Established In Righteousness” by Nancy Dufresne

In the teaching last month, I wrote about being “in Christ.” I want to continue along that line this month.

Isaiah 54:14 (AMPC) reads, “You shall ESTABLISH YOURSELF in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

Your redemption REPOSITIONED you – FAR from oppression, destruction, fear, and terror!

But notice in this verse that we are instructed, “…establish yourself in righteousness….” No, we aren’t trying to establish a righteousness of our own, but we are to establish and build in our spirit the truth that Jesus already made us righteousness – it is a free gift from Him (Rom. 5:17). We aren’t righteous because we have done everything right, but because HE did everything right, then credited it to us as though WE did everything right!

At the new birth, He MADE us righteous! He made us right with God! The Blood of Jesus cleansed us and made it as though we never missed it! His Blood cleansed us and cleansed our past record. His Blood washed away all sin of the past so that we could walk free from any shame, guilt, condemnation, or sin-consciousness.

We are to believe, think, speak, and act as one made righteous – right with God. Then when the devil, who the Bible calls “the accuser of the brethren,” comes with accusations, guilt, shame, and condemnation – accusing us with our past sins, faults, failures, and weaknesses, we are to answer him with what the Word says, “I am cleansed and made righteous, and I refuse to take that thought against me!”

Anything that puts you down, accuses you, and brings you under condemnation is the devil and must be resisted!

To not fall prey to the accusations, guilt, shame, and condemnation the devil brings against us, we must establish and build in our spirit that Jesus already made us righteous.

The way to establish yourself in righteousness is to establish in you who you are in Christ! That’s the way to live far above oppression, destruction, fear, and terror (Isaiah 54:14, AMPC). Feed and meditate on the scriptures that contain the phrases “in Him, in whom, through Him, etc.” These show us who we are in Him and who He is in us. (A complete listing of “In Him” scriptures is posted free of charge on our website at dufresneministries.org to download or print out.)

Hosea 4:6 warns us, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” If we don’t establish ourselves in righteousness, then ignorance cuts us off from enjoying who we are in Christ, and the devil will take advantage of us and bring condemnation and sin-consciousness to rob us of our faith.

God told that first generation of Hebrews that were delivered out of Egypt that He had given them the Promised Land – aland that flowed with milk and honey. But that generation didn’t establish what God said to them in their spirit, so they were robbed of what God had given them – they never arrived. They were cut off from entering the Promised Land because they didn’t ESTABLISH what God said IN them – they didn’t build it in their spirit and hold to it.

The key to walking in victory every day in this natural arena is to know who you are in the spiritual arena – you are IN CHRIST! We must learn all that belongs to us because we belong to Christ and because we are one with Him.

When we know who we are in Christ and what belongs to us because we are in Him, faith issues become a thing of the past. We come into the highest order of faith when we know who we are in Christ and conduct our daily life in line with that.

In Christ, no need goes unmet. In Christ is complete and total victory – healing, health, wholeness, abundant provision, wisdom, understanding, revelation, total peace and joy, and all blessings and benefits.

Outside of Christ is where unanswered needs are. Outside of Christ is where lack, sickness, and disease are, but we are not outside of Christ – we are IN Him! And we resist any flow that is not of Him!

We are to think, speak, and act as one IN Christ and only accept what comes from Him. We are to confess who we ARE in Him, what we HAVE in Him, and what He can DO through us.

As we establish ourselves in righteousness, that’s the end of struggle! There is no struggle in Him!

We don’t struggle to be “in Him” – we ARE in Him! Therefore, we don’t struggle to receive what belongs to us because we are in Him. We accept what belongs to us, and we confess what He has already made ours, and then we simply rest and recline ourselves on Him – on who we are in Him and who He is in us, partaking of the privileges that come from Him. We only accept what comes from Him!

As we establish ourselves in righteousness, we come to see who He already made us to be, and we begin to live as rich as we are – we are IN HIM!