2 Corinthians 1:20-22. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him [Jesus]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Have you ever felt like God just keeps saying “no” to you? No to your plans? No to your dreams? No to your wants and desires? Maybe you see God as a withholding God. A giant party pooper. I know we’ve all probably felt this way at one time or another.
But here is the glorious truth about our God – he not only wants to say yes to all of your hopes and dreams, he HAS said the ultimate, final YES to us in Jesus Christ. Christ is God’s great big YES! All the promises of God find their Yes in him.
Every promise made by God to Israel and to us, every story in the Bible, every part of his redemptive plan finds it’s “Yes” in Jesus’ life and death. The resurrection was God screaming YES to them and to us. Yes, I love you. Yes, you’re my people. Yes, I will give you everything your heart wants and needs. And this living and breathing Yes of God lives inside of us. Every promise of God is now manifest in and through our lives as the people of God, the Church of God. And one day Christ will return as God’s final Yes, as he establishes his Kingdom on earth forever.
The result of this is that through him we utter our Amen to God for his glory. Our “Amen” is our yes (that’s what “amen” means) back to God. When we pray, we are agreeing with God and claiming his promises. He has said yes to us, now we say “I agree” or “amen” back to him. God says yes and we say yes. This brings glory to God. Saying this simple word at the end of your prayers is an act of great faith.
Then Paul goes on to give us one of the greatest statements about our union with Christ that he has written so far. God has established us with you in Christ, and he has anointed us and sealed us by giving us the Holy Spirit into our hearts as a guarantee.
Just like Christ is the anointed one (that’s what “Christ” means), we too are anointed kings and priests in God’s kingdom. Because we share in Christ’s life and death we have nothing to fear, nothing to prove, and nothing to lose. Why? Because God has sealed us as his possession and given us the Spirit as the guarantee, or down payment, of future glory. We are “already” anointed and set apart for Christ’s Kingdom, but “not yet” fully glorified. But that day is coming.
The Old Testament story of David illustrates this. David was anointed as king long before he would actually serve as king. He would spend decades being chased through the wilderness by Saul, fighting battles, and facing severe trials. So how could he trust God’s promise through all of that? He too was given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee at the time of his anointing.
1 Samuel 16:13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
The Spirit would empower David to persevere until that day he was to be crowned in glory. In Christ, we too have been given the same Spirit as David. The Holy Spirit of Christ. When we understand this, it makes it harder and harder to see God as a withholding party pooper. God only says “No” to what we ask for that would destroy us. And in Christ, he has said Yes to everything we need, and everything we truly want.
“To live is Christ” means we are the living embodiment of God’s great big YES. All of his promises are fulfilled in Christ and now in us. How do we know? Because he has anointed and sealed us with himself, the Spirit, by the indwelling life of Christ. God has preserved us for future glory. Now we can say yes to God. Yes to serving. Yes to sacrifice. Yes to love.
You
In general, do you see God as saying “No” to you or saying “Yes” to you?
You in Christ
How does it encourage you that God has said yes to you in Christ? How can union with Christ and God’s YES to you in Christ give you the courage to say yes to God today?
Christ in you
Where might you say yes to serving others in love today?
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Playlist: God’s Promises.
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To Live is Christ 