ICS Daily Devotions
Reign in Your Work
ROMANS 5:15-17 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
We have been justified in Christ which means that we have been made right with Him. Christ has paid for our sins. As a result of this new position, we can do what is right. We can become God’s stewards in the flourishing of creation and humanity because in Christ we reign in life. Reigning in life also includes our work. We can exercise royal power that comes from heaven. The New Testament mandate to “reign in life” (Romans 5:17) is equivalent to the Genesis 1:28 mandate which says, “Be fruitful and multiply….subdue and have dominion…..over every living thing..”. However, this comes with 2 important provisos: the abundance of grace, and through Jesus Christ.
Firstly, the abundance of grace is received when we are justified before God. In today’s workplaces, exercising power like royalty seems incongruous with workplaces valuing equality. For this very reason, we must first receive and know the abundance of grace. We cannot earn grace and it is not transactional. We do not receive it because we deserve it. It is free at God’s discretion. But we need to know that power and grace go together if we are to reign in life. If we were to exercise power like royalty at work, we need the abundance of God’s grace to go with it.
Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all.
Secondly, this new mandate to reign in life including your work, is only to be exercised or experienced through Jesus Christ. We cannot do it alone. So, for those of us who have become new creations in Christ, we are to exercise royal power according to the directions of the King, or in alignment with what His plans and purposes are in our lives and our work.
By receiving the abundance of grace and experiencing it through Jesus Christ, we as God’s stewards, can truly reign in our work.
Sermon Series: Man At Work
