Who God Says I Am

Identity in Christ

I have told this story before of hearing a working definition of faith that I like to use, and here it is again.

At a church which I was attending services there was an interim pastor, Pastor Alan Furst, who shared this take on what faith is. It resonated within me, and I’ve hung onto it and used it ever since I first learned it. He said faith is the total of these three things:

Believing that God is who He says He is
Believing that I am who God says I am
Believing that God will do what He says He will do

Today we are going to deal with part two, believing that I am who God says I am. We can read all the verses but still not believe them. We can even understand all the verses but still not believe them. And even after we intellectually believe them, we must work them into our spirit until there is absolutely no doubt in our beliefs whatsoever. The beliefs need to be a portion of the abundance of our heart. (review Episode 15 and Luke 6:45) We are responsible for creating the abundance in our heart.

This episode will be very simple. You will hear the summary of a verse, and then the scripture address to which it refers. Here is my reasoning for this:

You can mark the start point of the list and listen to it as often as you wish – getting it into your mind and heart
You can listen to a portion of the list for an area you need affirmation and strengthening in your spirit
You can look up the individual verse in the translation of your choice and study it
You can take the verses you need to hear more regularly, record them in your own voice, and listen to them repeatedly until they are in you

I will note the start times of the different segments of affirmations on our notes page, Virtual Study With .us.

However you decide to use this episode, listen through it at least once after asking Holy Spirit to reveal the love of the Father to you. You may choose to replay a segment or pause and dwell on any “aha” moment.

One last note: I am reading these as if to current believers, those who have surrendered to Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. If you have not yet done so, please take time to do it now. Believe in your heart that Christ Jesus died for the forgiveness of your sins and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead.

God has so great a love for us, His creation, that He sent His only begotten Son into this world to redeem us and to restore us to a right relationship with Himself.

The Son was willing to come into this world, His creation, to lay down His life for our sake. He laid down His life both in the living of it and in the dying.

In life Jesus showed us how we ought to live in intimacy with the Father, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and loving one another.

In His death Christ Jesus gave His life for us, sacrificing his body which was bruised, wounded, and pierced as He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.

He paid a debt He did not owe to pay our debt which we could not pay. He restores all who will believe to a right relationship with God free of all fear and condemnation.

God raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father on the throne in heaven.

Receive this message into your heart and confess it with your mouth. Turn away from sin and sinful lifestyles and habits and turn toward God and His great love for you. Answer the call of Christ Jesus, “Come, follow Me.”

Let’s begin examining what God has to say about us.

Podcast start points for each segment.

Acceptance starts at 06:52
Significance starts at 09:33
Security starts at 13:30

Concerning My Acceptance by God

I have been forgiven.
- I have been redeemed, through the blood shed by Christ, the forgiveness of my sins. (Colossians 1:14)
- I have been redeemed, purchased with a price, made His own. (1 Corinthians 6:20)
- Being in complete, perfect love, all fear is cast out with its thought of punishment. (1 John 4:18)
- The Father does not judge me as He has given all judgment into the hands of the Son. (John 5:22)
- The Son did not come to judge and condemn me, but to save me. (John 12:47)
- As I confess my sin, Jesus forgives my sin and cleanses me from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9)
I am justified.
- I have been acquitted and declared righteous; I am in right standing with God. (Romans 5:1)
- In Christ I am approved and acceptable in right relationship with God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- Believing in Christ, I am not judged, and I have no condemnation nor rejection. (John 3:16-18)
I am God’s child.
- As He planned, I have been adopted by God because it pleased Him to do so. (Ephesians 1:5)
- I now belong to God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19)
- I now share citizenship with the saints, no longer an outsider. (Ephesians 2:19)
I am united to the Lord.
- United to the Lord, I have become one spirit with Him. (2 Corinthians 6:17)
- I am a member of Christ’s body with a place and function. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
- I am made complete in Christ, filled with the Godhead. (Colossians 2:10)
I have access to God as a friend.
- Christ Jesus calls me His friend. (John 15:15)
- I can approach the Father by access through the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18)
- Because of my faith in Christ, I can approach God with boldness of free access, without fear. (Ephesians 3:12)
- I can draw near to the throne of grace fearlessly, confidently, and boldly. (Hebrews 4:16)

Concerning My Significance in Christ

I am a child of God.
- As I have received and welcomed Jesus as Lord, He gave me the right to become a child of God. (John 1:12)
- By the Spirit whom I have received, I am a son of God. (Romans 8:14-16)
- Because of the quality of the love the Father has shown me, I am permitted to be called a child of God. (1 John 3:1-3)
I am a friend of Jesus.
- Jesus made known to me what He heard from the Father; He calls me His friend. (John 15:15)
I am chosen.
- Christ chose me and called me to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
I am God’s handiwork.
- Created by God, recreated in Christ, to do good works which He prepared for me. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am made new.
- In Christ I am a new creation, the old has passed away. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am a saint.
- As Paul wrote to living believers, to the saints. (Ephesians 1:1)
I am a citizen of heaven.
- We are citizens of the state which is heaven. (Philippians 3:20)
I am seated with Christ Jesus.
- I’ve been raised up and seated with Him in Heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6)
I am a part of Christ’s body.
- I am a part, with a function, of Christ’s body. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
I am a part of God’s Temple.
- I am a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
- I am a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within me. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
- The Father and the Son have made their home within me. (John 14:23)
I am a witness of Christ’s.
- Empowered by the Holy Spirit, I am a witness for Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am a minister of reconciliation.
- Christ reconciled me to Himself and gave me the ministry of reconciliation for others. (2 Corinthians 5:18)
- I am an ambassador for Christ and the gospel unto reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
I am a co-worker of God.
- I am laboring together with God, His fellow worker. (2 Corinthians 6:1)
- I am a fellow worker of and for God. (1 Corinthians 3:9)
I am a branch of the Vine.
- In Him I bear abundant fruit. (John 15:5)
I am the salt of the earth.
- Abiding in God, I am the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
I am the light of the world.
- Abiding in God, I am a light to shine before men and to glorify God. (Matthew 5:14-16)
God is not ashamed of me.
- Christ is not ashamed to call me one of His brethren. (Hebrews 2:11)
- God is not ashamed to be called my God. (Hebrews 11:16)
- The Father loves me because I love Christ Jesus. (John 16:27)
- The Father loves me as He does Christ Jesus. (John 17:23)

Concerning My Security in God

I have been redeemed by Christ.
- I have been redeemed, through the blood shed by Christ, the forgiveness of my sins. (Colossians 1:14)
- The Father has drawn me out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred me into the kingdom of the Son. (Colossians 1:13)
- I am born of God, preserved against the evil one by Christ. (1 John 5:18)
- The evil and wicked one has no right to lay hold of or touch me. (1 John 5:18)
- I am a child of God by rights given me by God. (John 1:12)
- In Christ I am a son of God by faith. (Galatians 3:26)
- I, with all believers, am one in Christ. (Galatians 3:28)
- In Christ, God is always with me and wants to provide for my every need. (Luke 15:31)
I am no longer under condemnation.
- There is now no condemnation as I am now in Christ. (Romans 8:1)
- The law of the Spirit of life has freed me from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:2)
- I am now free from any condemning charges brought against me. (Romans 8:33)
I am sealed and secured in God.
- God has established me and confirmed me in Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:21)
- God has consecrated me and anointed me with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 1:21)
- God has acknowledged me as His own and has put His seal upon me. (2 Corinthians 1:22)
- God has secured me and guaranteed the fulfillment of His promise through giving me the Holy Spirit in my heart. (2 Corinthians 1:22)
- I have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)
- The Holy Spirit, in whom I am sealed, is the guarantee of my inheritance. (Ephesians 1:14)
I am united with Christ.
- My new life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
- Being baptized in Christ, I have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
- I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me with His sufficiency. (Philippians 4:13)
- I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, discipline, and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
God has got me.
- No one and nothing, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, can separate me from the love of Christ. (Romans 8:35)
- At God’s throne of grace, I may receive mercy and appropriate help that is well timed. (Hebrews 4:16)
- Because I am loved by God and I am called by Him, I am assured that all things will work together for good. (Romans 8:28)
- With God being on my side, who can stand against me? (Romans 8:31)
- I am confident and assured that God who began a good work in me will bring it to perfect completion. (Philippians 1:6)

From FathersLoveLetter.com

FATHER’S LOVE LETTER

An intimate message from God to you.

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. _{Psalm 139:1} I know when you sit down and when you rise up. _{Psalm 139:2} I am familiar with all your ways. _{Psalm 139:3} Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. _{Matthew 10:29-31} For you were made in my image. _{Genesis 1:27} In me you live and move and have your being. _{Acts 17:28} For you are my offspring. _{Acts 17:28} I knew you even before you were conceived. _{Jeremiah 1:4-5} I chose you when I planned creation. _{Ephesians 1:11-12} You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. _{Psalm 139:15-16} I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. _{Acts 17:26} You are fearfully and wonderfully made. _{Psalm 139:14} I knit you together in your mother’s womb. _{Psalm 139:13} And brought you forth on the day you were born. _{Psalm 71:6} I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. _{John 8:41-44} I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. _{1 John 4:16} And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. _{1 John 3:1} Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. _{1 John 3:1} I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. _{Matthew 7:11} For I am the perfect father. _{Matthew 5:48} Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. _{James 1:17} For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. _{Matthew 6:31-33} My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. _{Jeremiah 29:11} Because I love you with an everlasting love. _{Jeremiah 31:3} My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. _{Psalm 139:17-18} And I rejoice over you with singing. _{Zephaniah 3:17} I will never stop doing good to you. _{Jeremiah 32:40} For you are my treasured possession. _{Exodus 19:5} I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. _{Jeremiah 32:41} And I want to show you great and marvelous things. _{Jeremiah 33:3} If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. _{Deuteronomy 4:29} Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. _{Psalm 37:4} For it is I who gave you those desires. _{Philippians 2:13} I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. _{Ephesians 3:20} For I am your greatest encourager. _{2 Thessalonians 2:16-17} I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. _{2 Corinthians 1:3-4} When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. _{Psalm 34:18} As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. _{Isaiah 40:11} One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. _{Revelation 21:3-4} And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. _{Revelation 21:3-4} I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. _{John 17:23} For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. _{John 17:26} He is the exact representation of my being. _{Hebrews 1:3} He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. _{Romans 8:31} And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. _{2 Corinthians 5:18-19} Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. _{2 Corinthians 5:18-19} His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. _{1 John 4:10} I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. _{Romans 8:31-32} If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. _{1 John 2:23} And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. _{Romans 8:38-39} Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. _{Luke 15:7} I have always been Father, and will always be Father. _{Ephesians 3:14-15} My question is… Will you be my child? _{John 1:12-13}

I am waiting for you. _{Luke 15:11-32}

Love, Your Dad … Almighty God

Verses from the list above (from the ESV)

Colossians 1:13-14

English Standard Version

¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

English Standard Version

¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 John 4:18

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¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

John 5:22

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²²For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

John 12:47

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⁴⁷If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

1 John 1:7-9

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⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 5:1

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5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we^[^a^] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21

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²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

John 3:16-18

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¹⁶“For God so loved the world,^[^a^] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Ephesians 1:5

English Standard Version

⁵he predestined us^[^a^] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Ephesians 2:19

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¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,^[^a^] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

2 Corinthians 6:17

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¹⁷Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

1 Corinthians 12:27

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²⁷Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Colossians 2:10

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¹⁰and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

John 15:15

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¹⁵No longer do I call you servants,^[^a^] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Ephesians 2:18

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¹⁸For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 3:12

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¹²in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Hebrews 4:16

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¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 1:12

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¹²But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Romans 8:14-16

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¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons^[^a^] of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

1 John 3:1-3

English Standard Version

3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears^[^a^] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

John 15:15-16

English Standard Version

¹⁵No longer do I call you servants,^[^a^] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Ephesians 2:10

English Standard Version

¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

2 Corinthians 5:17

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¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.^[^a^] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Ephesians 1:1

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1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful^[^a^] in Christ Jesus:

Philippians 3:20

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²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 2:6

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⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

1 Corinthians 12:27

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²⁷Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1 Corinthians 3:16

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¹⁶Do you not know that you^[^a^] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19

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¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

John 14:23

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²³Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Acts 1:8

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⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

2 Corinthians 5:18

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¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

2 Corinthians 5:20

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²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 6:1

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6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

1 Corinthians 3:9

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⁹For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

John 15:5

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⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Matthew 5:13

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¹³“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Matthew 5:14-16

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¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[^a^] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Hebrews 2:11

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¹¹For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.^[^a^] That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,^[

Hebrews 11:16

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¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

John 16:27

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²⁷for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

John 17:23

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²³I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Colossians 1:13-14

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¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 John 5:18

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¹⁸We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

John 1:12

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¹²But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Galatians 3:26

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²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Galatians 3:28

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²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[^a^] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Luke 15:31

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³¹And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

Romans 8:1-2

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8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^[^a^] ²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you^[^b^] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:33

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³³Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

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²¹And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, ²²and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Ephesians 1:13-14

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¹³In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee^[^a^] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,^[^b^] to the praise of his glory.

Colossians 3:3

English Standard Version

³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Galatians 3:27

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²⁷For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Philippians 4:1

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4 Therefore, my brothers,^[^a^] whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

2 Timothy 1:7

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⁷for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Romans 8:35

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³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Hebrews 4:16

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¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Romans 8:28

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²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,^[^a^] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:31

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³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be^[^a^] against us?

Philippians 1:6

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⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.