Scriptural Keys for Overcomers
The Lord guided me to put together this doc years ago. I have functioned in its truths at ever higher levels since my earliest years in congregations of believers. The results: increasing freedom from prejudice, freedom from the enemy’s relentless lies against the saints, and freedom to grow in I Corinthians 13 “charity.” I Peter 2:22 TLB happens: “Now you can have real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred . . . “ And, too, we have the promise of I Timothy 1:5 TLB: “that all the Christians there will be filled with love that comes from pure hearts . . . clean minds . . . .”
PART A
Confess/declare the following Scriptures aloud before every Body of Christ gathering. Let your mind be renewed to the truth of who your brothers and sisters are in Christ. See them and think about them not as they appear to be but as they are in the finished work of Christ. Envision them according to where they are headed not where they are today. Take every thought about fellow believers (that does not line up with the Word) captive to the obedience of Christ. Cast down every picture, every imagination, every high thing that exalts itself against the true knowledge of God—who they really are in Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5.) Remember the battle to stay in the truth is in your mind. “Call those things that are not as though they were or call things not being as being.” (Romans 4:17 KJV and the Recovery Version.) Pray your brothers and sisters forth i.e. pray and labor that Christ “be formed in them.” Be like Paul in Galatians 4:19 KJV, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” Walk by faith in what the Word says about the church and not by sight or appearance. Forgive what is not like Jesus. [Remember Satan is “the accuser of the brethren.” (Revelation 12:10.)] Love the brethren higher. War for them—bind and loose in the unseen realm to gain their freedom.
Walk before an Audience of One: the Lord. Minister as if unto Him. Look only to Him for affirmation and reward. Note John 5:44 AMP—“you who [are content to seek and] receive praise and honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and glory which come from Him Who alone is God?”
In Christ, there is freedom to become “His masterpiece”—one “recreated in Christ Jesus.” From Eph. 2:10: “For we are his workmanship/masterpiece, recreated in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Romans 12:2 JB PHILLIPS instructs: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within . . .” But also, don’t let the church world and its less than spiritual culture in spots press you into its mold. The overcomers in Revelation 2 and 3 overcame the carnal church in addition to the world, the flesh, the devil.
Your place in the body of Christ is first of all “in Christ” not in a particular clique or ministry. Abide in the Vine. Stay so very close to Christ Jesus. Let God’s life flow through you to the hurting, needy, lowly. Be “ultra-Spirit-led” as the Lord leads you to one member of the Body then another. Take a low spot. Serve.
In and around people, especially around the Body of Christ, 1 Peter 5:5 AMP is mandatory: “Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another.” Wear a servant’s garb by praying for the needs of others, and watch any inflated emotion, caused by an inordinate focus on yourself. Always go low in terms of position. Continuously confess aloud Philippians 2:3, “I consider others (name them) more excellent—more highly than myself.” I encourage: keep at this confession until it is grafted into your soul. Verse 4 explains how to obey verse 3: Regard the virtues of others. Look to their interests above your own.
Always remember Jesus, our Pattern Son, loves the church. He gives Himself in intercession for her. He “nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes” her. Jesus died for the church. [Eph. 5 Amplified.]
John 21:15-17: “Jesus said . . . ‘do you love Me . . . ? Then feed My lambs’ . . . Jesus repeated . . . ‘do you really love Me? . . . Then take care of My sheep’. . . Once more He asked . . . ‘Are you even My friend? . . . Then feed My little sheep.’ [Feed or get nutrients to the Body. Light. Life. The Truth spoken in love. (Eph. 4:15 TLB.)]
And note the Apostle Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 2:7, “But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother nursing and cherishing her own children.”
Ask for the shepherding ability of David. From Ps. 78:72, “He cared for them with a true heart and skillful hands.” PLEASE DON’T BEAT THE SHEEP with your words. Ps. 23:4 describes a shepherd’s tools, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” The ROD is the direction, correction, and discipline necessary to lead “the sheep” into the fulfillment of their destinies in God. It’s to be used in / with pure agape love. See also Hebrews 12:5-13. The STAFF represents authority over the enemy. Use your spiritual authority to set free and bring healing to still captive Christians. See Luke 9:1.
It’s absolutely necessary to abide in God—to remain connected to the Lord as your Life Source—ever drawing from Him. Stop and refuel in God; don’t keep going when you are out of “oil.” See Matthew 25. Practice radical leaning and great dependency on the Beloved at all times. See Song of Songs 8:5.
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Declare to the enemy—the accusing spirits: “NO breaking the bond of perfectness.”
And do say “yes” to 1 John 3:16 KJV: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.“
PART B
Insert the name of your church in the blanks below. // Claim and apply these Scripture references to the Body of believers.
Romans 8:17 _______ are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:23 _______ has and enjoys the firstfruits of the [Holy] Spirit [a foretaste of the blissful things to come]
Romans 8:37 We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:38-39 neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Cor. 5:20 Christ’s ambassadors.
Gal. 3:26 sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:28 for you are all one in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ.
Eph. 2:6-7 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together – giving us joint seating with Him – in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One. He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
2 Cor. 10:12b However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely.
1 Cor. 12:27 Now you (collectively) are Christ’s body and individually) you are members of it, each part severally and distinct—each with his own place and function.
1 Thess. 2:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else just as ours does for you.
Phil. 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.
Phil. 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.
Gal. 5:26 Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.
Gal. 6:4 without [resorting to] boastful comparison with his neighbor.
Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory—honor, splendor and heavenly bliss! No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Eph. 2:10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time) that we should walk in them—living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.
Col. 3:10 have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Col. 3:12 God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.
Rom. 6:14 not under law but under grace.
Rom. 6:18 slaves to righteousness.
Rom. 7:6 dead to what once bound us; now we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
Rom. 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Rom. 8:4 do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Rom. 8:14-15 those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. We have received the spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry Abba (Father)! Father!
Eph. 1:1 to the saints (the consecrated, set-apart ones)
Phil. 1:6 that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Jude 24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory—with unspeakable ecstatic delight—in triumphant joy and exultation to the one only God, our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority before all time and now and forever—unto all the ages of eternity. Amen—so be it.
Phil. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ who by the power that enables him to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His heavenly body.
1 Cor. 6:17 united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit.
Eph. 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
1 Cor. 15:22 in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Cor. 15:57 He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Col. 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Col. 1:22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
Col. 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
John 1:16-17 For out of His fullness (abundance) we all received—all had a share and we were all supplied with—one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
For while the law was given through Moses, grace—unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing and truth came through Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 3:16 Do you not discern and understand that you [the whole church at Corinth] are God’s temple (His sanctuary) and that God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you—to be at home in you [collectively as a church and also individually]?
2 Cor. 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Eph. 2:19-22 fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!
Gal. 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Rom. 14:1 Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters.
Eph. 4:32 And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tender-hearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted) forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Heb. 10:24 Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Heb. 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
Heb. 13:1 keep on loving each other as brothers.
James 2:1 don’t show favoritism
James 2:8 love your neighbor as yourself
I Peter 1:22 love one another deeply from the heart.
James 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
Romans 5:11 We also rejoice in God through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 5:17 how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Rom. 6:5 if united with [Christ] like this in His death, we also are certainly united with Him in His resurrection
2 Cor. 2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life.
Eph. 5:25 just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water by the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Rom. 9:26 sons of the living God
Rom. 9:30 have obtained a righteousness that is by faith.
Rom. 9:33 the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
Rom. 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Rom. 12:16 Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Rom. 12:18 Live at peace with everyone.
Rom. 13:9 Love your neighbor as yourself.
Rom. 1:6 called to belong to Christ Jesus.
Rom. 1:7 loved by God and called to be saints
Rom 3:24 justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Rom. 5:1-2 We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
Col. 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved; clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Rom. 6:6 the old self crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom. 6:11 alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Rom. 6:13 brought from death to life.
Ephesians 4:15-16 TLB Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of his body, the Church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
See Basilea Schlink’s series of short writings. The truths she’s penned are most helpful in gaining healing and deliverance for the human heart. Go to Basilea Schlink. Don’t miss “Criticizing: Judging” by Basilea.
"THE SON OF GOD BECAME A MAN TO ENABLE MEN TO BECOME SONS OF GOD." C.S. Lewis
I welcome your suggestions of additional verses pertinent to
"Walking in the Spirit in the Church." Thanks. Katherine
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Blessings in return—
bondslave freedom 