Have you ever read this verse before?
‘…For all the promises of God in HIM are YEA, and in him AMEN, unto the glory of God by us…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
Did you understand it when you read it? The reason many people find it hard to receive from God in the place of prayer…is traceable to the lack of understanding of the above verse! So can we take a quick survey on what that verse really means! Ready? Let’s go!!!
There was a time the blessings and curses for breaking the Law was to be proclaimed to the Children of Israel. So Moses asked the 12 tribes of Israel to divide themselves to 6tribes each. The first 6 tribes would proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim while the other 6 tribes would proclaim the curses on Mount Ebal.
‘…These shall stand upon MOUNT GERIZIM TO BLESS THE PEOPLE, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: And these shall stand upon MOUNT EBAL TO CURSE; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali…’ (Deut, 27:12-13)
So when it was time to declare the curses, Moses made sure all the people must respond…’AMEN’ to the curses!
‘…Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image,… and putteth it in a secret place. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SHALL ANSWER AND SAY, AMEN….Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SHALL SAY, AMEN…..Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SHALL SAY, AMEN….Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. AND ALL THE PEOPLE SHALL SAY, AMEN….’ (Deut. 27:15-18)
And the list goes on and on …with the children of Israel responding with a resounding ‘AMEN’! Hope you’ve gotten that? Ok… But…. When it was time to BLESS the people…. The format changed!!! Do you remember the popular blessings listed in the book of Deuteronomy 28?
‘…And it shall come to pass, IF THOU SHALT HEARKEN DILIGENTLY unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and TO DO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:….AND ALL THESE BLESSINGS shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God….BLESSED SHALT THOU BE in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field….BLESSED SHALL BE the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep….BLESSED SHALL BE thy basket and thy store…’ (Deut. 28:1-4)
And the list of blessings goes on till the thirteenth verse… But… What did you notice? NOBODY SAID AMEN!!! When the curses were declared, everybody said AMEN! But when it was time for the blessings, NOBODY could say AMEN!
Now listen carefully: under the Old Covenant, nobody could say AMEN to God’s blessings because nobody could fulfil the Law perfectly! But they all said AMEN to the curses because it was too sure they would break the law as time goes by!
Now the question is this: are we also under this covenant in which AMEN could only be said to the CURSES? That is where the opening verse of this post becomes highly relevant!
‘…For all the promises of God in him are YEA, and in him AMEN, unto the glory of God by us…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
Wow! To get this this clearer, let’s read this verse from the New Living Translation (NLT) carefully:
‘…For all of God’s promises HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN CHRIST WITH A RESOUNDING “YES!” …AND THROUGH CHRIST, OUR “AMEN” (WHICH MEANS “YES”) ASCENDS TO GOD for his glory…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! Do you now understand what this verse means? The Children of Israel could not say Amen to the blessings because a great condition was attached to receiving the blessings!
‘….IF THOU SHALT HEARKEN DILIGENTLY unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and TO DO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS…’ You must fulfil ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS!!! There is no point saying AMEN! But guess what??? Jesus came to our RESCUE!!! Let me show you that verse again!
‘…For ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN CHRIST WITH A RESOUNDING “YES!” …AND THROUGH CHRIST, OUR “AMEN” (WHICH MEANS “YES”) ASCENDS TO GOD for his glory…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
Can you see the words ‘…IN CHRIST…’ and ‘… THROUGH CHRIST…’ in the verse above? It is because Christ has fulfilled the Law for us, that we can now BOLDLY say AMEN to ALL of God’s promises! Please understand that Christ Did the Work… While we say the AMEN!
‘…AND through Christ, OUR “AMEN” (WHICH MEANS “YES”) ASCENDS TO GOD for his glory…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
Hallelujah! So now, when you see any blessing in the Bible that has a condition attached, say a resounding AMEN to the blessings …because Jesus has FULFILLED ALL CONDITIONS needed to receive ALL of God’s blessings! For example, if you happen to read a verse like:
‘…the effectual fervent prayer of the RIGHTEOUS MAN availeth much…’ (James 5:16)
Don’t start thinking… ‘am I righteous enough to have my prayers effectual and availing much’? Because of Jesus sacrifice for you…. You are forever RIGHTEOUS before God! (2Cor 5:17) Say AMEN to that verse! Go ahead and Pray…. And your prayers will be EFFECTUAL!!! Hallelujah!
What if you see a verse like this:
‘… For thou, LORD, wilt bless THE RIGHTEOUS; With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.’ (Psalm 5:12)
Simply say a big AMEN to it! You are the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST! You are the righteous man/woman referred to in that verse for blessings and God’s favour! And when the devil whispers: ‘…how dare you claim such promises when you still fall short in your moral conducts…? Simply reply him with our opening verse!
‘…For ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN CHRIST WITH A RESOUNDING “YES!” …AND THROUGH CHRIST, OUR “AMEN” (WHICH MEANS “YES”) ASCENDS TO GOD for his glory…’ (2Corinthians 1:20)
That is why you can RECEIVE freely all Jesus has made available for you. It is when you believe that ALL conditions have been fulfilled in Christ that you can now receive the wisdom and direction IN CHRIST to see the manifestation of the blessings in your life!
‘…And because of him you are IN Christ Jesus, WHO BECAME TO US WISDOM FROM GOD, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…’ (1Cor 1:30)
Therefore, keep saying AMEN to God’s promises in your life and enjoy what Jesus has fulfilled for you! Remain under Grace.
Amen.
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