by Stefan Misaras, London, UK

We have spent one week in Poland this year at the “Poland Camp” getting into The Significance, Preciousness, and Enjoyment of the Birthright in God’s Economy. What is the birthright, and why is it so important? In the old times, in a family, the firstborn son had “the birthright,” which, according to the Bible, included a double portion of the land (a double portion more than any of the other children/sons/daughters), the priesthood, and the kingship. People fought to have this birthright, and they treasured it very much. For example, Jacob did all he could to get this birthright (though he was the second son in his family, God chose him instead of Esau), Tamar fought to have a son in the lineage of Israel, etc. For us in the New Testament age of grace, to have the birthright means that we have the right and the position, even the responsibility, to enjoy Christ fully with the privileges of being a priest (to bring man to God) and a king (to bring God to man).

Actually, God’s original intention in His creation of man was that man corporately would be “His firstborn,” inheriting the birthright over all the rest of creation. Genesis 1:26 says:

“And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

Though God wanted man to enjoy all the earth and be a priest and king to Him, man fell. So, God came in to redeem and save us. Now, in God’s salvation, we are being recovered to be priests to God to express Him in His image and to be kings to God to represent Him with His dominion, taking full possession of the lost earth for God’s eternal purpose. So, what is our birthright? Our birthright in God’s economy is:

To enjoy Christ as the double portion of the good land:
The real good land is in our spirit, and Christ is the all-inclusive good land for us to enjoy! Lord, increase our enjoyment of You every day! We admit we don’t enjoy You enough, Lord. We want to enjoy You more, in more aspects, in more situations, in more of what You are in Your unsearchable riches!

To be priests to God:
A priest is someone who spends time with God. It’s not about doing something for God – a priest is not someone who does a lot of activities, but someone who spends adequate time with the Lord to be infused by Him, to enjoy Him, and to pray for friends/ relatives/ the ones around him. He brings man to God, and then brings God to man by ministering to others what he enjoyed in God’s presence.

To be a king to God:
A king rules over everything. If we are a priest to God, this will result in us being a king to God. We will study like a king, live like a king, do all things/ say things like a king. We will be under the ruling and reigning of the divine life, and so we will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Kings are dignified persons who do not speak in a loose way nor lose their temper, but reign in life.

Lord, may we, today, enjoy our birthright of enjoying You, spending time with You, and reigning in life over everything in, for, and by You!