Let’s not be like the Galatian Christians. Christ became of no effect to them. They fell from grace—they deprived themselves of the ministry of the Holy Spirit from Whom they received daily grace for daily living. You and I need not spend one day in darkness and defeat if we will be obedient to God and listen to His Spirit.

We read in Romans 8:13-14: “...if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

The word sons in the Greek means “mature sons” of God. “For they [our earthly fathers] verily for a few days chastened [or disciplined] us after their own pleasure; but he [God] for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10).

The Holy Spirit is here for our profit. He is here to instruct us. The word chastened does not mean He makes us sick or knocks us in the head. It means He teaches, instructs, admonishes, corrects and disciplines us. “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:17-18).

God teaches us to profit. He is in us to teach us to profit in all things, first of all spiritual things. When we profit in spiritual things, profit in the natural realm is the byproduct.

He will teach us how to be holy as He is holy. We are to be separated from the world so we live like the Father instead of like the world.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Hebrews 12:11-15).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Galatians 5:4 in Wuest reads: “You are without effect from Christ, such of you as in the sphere of the law are seeking your justification. You have lost your hold upon [sanctifying] grace.”

They were no longer seeking after the Spirit; they were seeking after keeping the law for their justification. They had lost their hold upon sanctifying grace.

What does the word sanctify mean? “To set apart.” Paul was saying to them, “You have lost your hold upon the grace of God by the Spirit of God that sets you apart from the world.”

Most Christians have never entered into the fullness of grace in daily life because their understanding and expectation of grace stops at the new birth. They only have known enough to get born again. Most Christians do not even know enough to walk in divine health. But when they die, they will go to be with the Lord.

Galatians 5:5 in Wuest reads: “For, as for us, through the agency of the Spirit, on the ground of faith, a hoped-for righteousness we are eagerly awaiting....”

We allow the Spirit of God to minister grace to us on the ground of faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith gives us access into the grace of God. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What is faith? Hearing and obeying God’s Word—the written Word and His Word in our hearts. Faith demands action. We must hear the guidance of the Spirit and obey it, and that obedience opens the door and gives us access to grace—the wonderful favor of God. To walk in the grace and favor of God is to walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

As we cooperate with His Spirit and be obedient, grace overtakes us and we walk in the goodness of God. The moment we begin to seek Him, the Holy Spirit begins to minister grace in our lives. We would never be able to become mature sons and daughters of God without the grace of God. He could have given up on us, but His grace continued after us. He lovingly waits for us to receive that grace. He wants to bring to pass in our lives everything Jesus bought and paid for on the cross. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. He destroyed Satan’s kingdom. We have already absolutely been made free in every area of life.

Our obedience to God—obeying His voice and keeping His commandments—causes us to live in the earth like we were already in heaven. How can that be? Because heaven is in us. The Holy Spirit is in us. He is the earnest of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). Wherever the Holy Spirit is given dominion in the life of a believer, the kingdom of God—the dominion of God—is manifested.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Let’s look now at 1 Corinthians 2:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).

God’s Spirit is in us to reveal the wonderful things that God has already prepared for us. The treasure house of heaven is open to us. God’s communion and grace, His divine favor and blessing, is to be continually enjoyed in our lives. That is walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). He wants His Church—the glorious Church, His special people—to repossess this place spiritually. It does not belong to the devil. It belongs to God. Satan stole it from God through Adam’s sin and disobedience. God wants us to take it back by His Spirit in obedience to Him.

Remember, by one man’s trespass, death reigned. By one man’s disobedience, sin reigned. But I want to announce this:

For if, because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness (putting them into right standing with Himself) reign as kings in life through the One, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One (Romans 5:17, The Amplified Bible).

God by His Spirit is teaching us to walk with Him here so the kingdom of God can be manifested and the earth filled with His glory. We take the people of this earth from the hands of the devil as we are controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

The following prophecy from Isaiah 54 is
no longer speaking of Jesus on the cross. It is
speaking of the Resurrected Jesus—the
Redeemer. He is no longer speaking to Israel
but to the Church of Jesus Christ.

In a little wrath I hid my face from
thee for a moment; but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord thy Redeemer...And all
thy children shall be taught of the Lord;
and great shall be the peace of thy children.
In righteousness shalt thou be
established: thou shalt be far from
oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
and from terror, for it shall not come
near thee.

Behold, they shall surely gather
together, but not by me: whosoever
shall gather together against thee shall
fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created
the smith that bloweth the coals in the
fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument
for his work; and I have created
the waster to destroy.

No weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper, and every tongue that
shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This is the heritage of
the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness
is of me, saith the Lord.
(Isaiah 54:8, 13-17)

Notice in verse 8, “but with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the
Lord thy Redeemer.” The Redeemer is talking
here. When we read this, we are reading from
the mouth of God. This is what God Himself
has said.

“And all thy children shall be taught of
the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy
children.” Who are those children? We are.
The believers—the Body of Christ, the children
of God as a result of the new birth.

“In righteousness shalt thou be established.”
This is for us right now, here on
earth. We have already been established in
righteousness. Romans 5:17 says, “For if by
one man’s offence death reigned by one; much
more they which receive abundance of grace and
of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

I have some revolutionary news for
you today. God wants you healthy!
Every day!

Oh, I know that, you may quickly
think, I know God will heal me when I
get sick.

Yes, that’s true, He will. But that’s
not what I’m saying. I’m telling you
God’s perfect will is for you to live
continually in divine health. His will
is for you to walk so fully in the power
of His Word that sickness and disease
are literally pushed away from you.
Isn’t that good news?

You’ve probably heard a lot about
God’s healing power, but there is a difference
between divine healing and
divine health. Years ago, the powerful
preacher John G. Lake put it this way,
“Divine healing is the removal by the
power of God of the disease that has
come upon the body. But divine health
is to live day by day, hour by hour in
touch with God so that the life of God
flows into the body just as the life of
God flows into the mind or flows into
the spirit.” (John G. Lake: His Life,
His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith
[Fort Worth: Kenneth Copeland
Publications, 1995]).

I agree that it is wonderful to get
healed when you’re sick, but it’s more
wonderful to live in divine health. And
that’s what God has always intended
for His people.

Even under the old covenant God
promised His people immunity from
disease. Exodus 23:25 says, “And ye
shall serve the Lord your God, and he
shall bless thy bread, and thy water;
and I will take sickness away from the
midst of thee.”

That promise is even stronger
under the new covenant. Isaiah,
looking forward to what Jesus would
accomplish at the cross wrote,
“Surely he [Jesus] hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows…. He
was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was
upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).

The Apostle Peter, looking back at
the same event wrote, “Who his own
self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to
sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed”
(1 Peter 2:24).

Were healed! That’s past tense. Jesus
finished your healing on the cross. He
paid the price for you to be whole. He
bought righteousness for your spirit,
peace for your mind and healing for
your body.

As far as Jesus is concerned, you’re
not the sick trying to get healed. You’re
the healed and Satan is trying to steal
your health. I remember when Ken and
I realized that, it changed everything
for us. We quit trying to talk God into
healing us and began instead resisting
sickness and disease the way we
resisted sin.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

1 Chronicles 16:15, 20-22
KJV—Be ye mindful always of his covenant;
the word which he commanded to a thousand
generations.… When they went from nation to
nation, and from one kingdom to another
people; He [the Lord] suffered no man to do
them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their
sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and
do my prophets no harm.

AMP—Be mindful of His covenant forever, the
promise which He commanded and established
to a thousand generations.… When they went
from nation to nation, and from one kingdom
to another people, He allowed no man to do
them wrong; yes, He reproved kings for their
sakes, saying, Touch not My anointed, and do
My prophets no harm.

Moffatt—Never forget his compact, the
pledge he gave for a thousand generations.…
[They wandered] from one nation to another,
and from realm to realm...he would not let a
man oppress them, he would punish kings on
their account, saying, “Never touch my chosen,
my prophets never harm.”

NIV—He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand
generations.… They wandered from nation to
nation, from one kingdom to another. He
allowed no man to oppress them; for their
sake he rebuked kings: “Do not touch my
anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

Psalm 37:28
KJV—The Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh
not his saints; they are preserved for ever.

AMP—The Lord delights in justice and forsakes
not His saints; they are preserved forever.

Moffatt—The Eternal, who loves honesty,
never forsakes his faithful band.

NIV—The Lord loves the just and will not
forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected
forever.

Psalm 95:7
KJV—He is our God; and we are the people of
his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

AMP—He is our God and we are the people
of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Moffatt—The Eternal is our God, and we the
people whom he shepherds.

NIV—He is our God and we are the people of
his pasture, the flock under his care.

Isaiah 54:17
KJV—No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith
the Lord.

AMP—No weapon that is formed against you
shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against you in judgment you shall show to be in
the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security,
triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal
Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the
righteousness or the vindication which they
obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to
them as their justification], says the Lord.

Moffatt—No weapon forged against you shall
succeed, no tongue raised against you shall
win its plea. Such is the lot of the Eternal’s
servants; thus, the Eternal promises, do I
maintain their cause.

TLB—No weapon turned against you shall
succeed, and you will have justice against
every courtroom lie. This is the heritage of the
servants of the Lord. This is the blessing I have
given you, says the Lord.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

One of the first steps to becoming
righteousness-conscious is to learn the
difference between having your sins forgiven,
and having your sins remitted. Remitted is a
word that should never be used in connection
with a believer because a man’s sin is remitted
only once.

When sin is remitted, at the moment of
salvation, the Word tells us we become “a
new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).

You see, the problem we had before we
were saved was not all those little individual
sins we committed. They were only the
symptoms. The problem was the condition
of our hearts. The problem was our sin
nature. No matter how hard we tried to be
good and act right, that nature kept us
imprisoned in sin.

But when we made Jesus the Lord of our
lives, our sin nature died and a righteous
nature was born in us. Sin no longer had
dominion over us. Righteousness set us free!

That kind of freedom wasn’t available to
people in Old Testament days. Back then,
before the blood of Jesus had been shed, there
was a “reckoned righteousness” with God,
gained through the blood of sacrificed bulls
and goats. Those sacrifices covered the individual
sins, but they didn’t change the hearts
of people. People kept on committing the
same sins every year because their nature was
still the nature of sin.

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews
10:4). But what the blood of bulls and goats
could not do, Jesus’ blood did. “This man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat
down on the right hand of God.... For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified” (verses 12, 14).

How long will Jesus’ sacrifice for sin last?
Forever. You are forever righteous through
the blood of Jesus.

I know you still miss it and sin sometimes.
But even when you do, it’s not the
same because your heart is different. God
doesn’t see you the same way He did before
you were born again.

Think of it this way. If you’re a parent,
you may know your child has done something
wrong, but as far as you’re concerned,
he’s still your child and he’s wonderful. He
may need to be corrected, but there’s nothing
wrong with him. You know he wants to
please you. He just needs more training so
he can learn to do things right.

Do your children fall out of good standing
with you just because they mess up?
Certainly not. It’s the same way in the family
of God. Once you’ve been born again, your
nature is changed. You don’t want to sin even
when you do sin.

And when you do sin, you have Someone
on your side. “...If any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”
(1 John 2:1). “If we confess our sins,
[God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
(1 John 1:9).

While remission changes your nature,
forgiveness erases your mistakes. And that’s
the final word on sin. God has taken care of
the sin problem forever. When Jesus became
sin and put sin away, the sin problem became
a closed issue with God.

You can still sin if you choose. God won’t
stop you. The Holy Spirit will deal with you
if you’ll listen...but if you won’t, you can do
what you will. But you don’t have to sin. You
don’t have a sin nature anymore. You have
a righteous nature.

God “hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).
You’ve been translated out of one kingdom
and into another one.

People are so worried about the devil.
They’re fighting the devil and bombarding
the gates of hell all over the place. But I like
what one author wrote: “If you really understand
your righteousness in Christ and your
authority as a believer, you will pay no attention
to the devil. You’ll just go on and do
your job.”

Jesus said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall
from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall
by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:18-19).

Satan has no authority over you unless
you give it to him. Jesus has stripped him of
all authority and placed it in your hands. As
He said in the Great Commission, “All power
is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go
ye therefore...” (Matthew 28:18-19).
That’s good news, Church! Let’s tell it!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“Go ye therefore and teach all nations
that God is mad at them.”

That’s not what Jesus said in the Great
Commission. But all too often, that is the
message traditional religion has preached.

People (believers and unbelievers alike)
have been told how unworthy they are.
They’ve been told what sorry creatures
they are. They’ve been told they don’t
act right or talk right or pray right.

Sound familiar? If so, I have some good
news for you today: God is not mad at you.
In fact, He’s not mad at anybody!

The Bible says He [God] “was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Every person ever born on this earth has already
been guaranteed by God, the right to stand
before Him without any sense of guilt or shame.

Every person, no matter how covered in sin he
may be, qualifies to receive God’s righteousness.
Not everyone takes advantage of it, but everyone
has the opportunity.

Statements like that shock religious people.
Do you know why? Because, as Romans 10:3
says, “They being ignorant of God’s righteousness,
and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God.”

That’s what religion always does. It tries
to establish its own righteousness, its own
rules, its own right-standing with God.
Religion says, if you act right, talk right,
dress right and look right, then God will
give you favor.

But God isn’t religious. He says, I don’t
want you to establish your own righteousness.
I want to give you Mine. But before you can
receive it, you have to quit trying to establish
your own.

You can’t earn the righteousness of God.
There’s nothing you can do to deserve it. It’s
God’s gift. All you can do is receive it.

When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord,
God declared me righteous. I didn’t look very
righteous. I called on liquor stores back then.
Alcohol was my business. I sold it and I
drank it. But the day I submitted to Jesus,
my life changed.

I went back to work the next Monday
morning in those same liquor stores. I didn’t
know a thing about the Bible. I only knew
I was different. Soon, I began to tell people
that I had two kinds of spirits, alcoholic
spirits and the Holy Spirit. “Which one do
you want to hear about first?” I’d ask.

I found that many of them were interested
in Jesus. They weren’t interested in religion,
but they were interested in knowing that God
was no longer “imputing their trespasses” to
them. They were interested in knowing that
He had settled the account of the whole
world’s sins. That was good news!

The sad thing is many believers—people
who have already been made righteous in
Jesus—don’t fully grasp that news. They
don’t realize God isn’t mad at them. They
don’t realize they can go boldly before the
throne of God without shame—dressed in
the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

That’s because they’ve been taught to focus
more on how they’ve messed up than on what
Jesus has done for them. They’re more sin-conscious
than they are righteousness-conscious.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries