5 Amazing Facts About Every Christian

Christianity has gargantuan distinction from the other religions of the world. As a matter of fact, it’s not a religion because at the core of religion is man, but at the core of Christianity is God. God initiated Christianity by raising Jesus from the dead while man initiated religion by various self-decided activites.

For a Christian, there’s hope both in this world and in the world to come. However, for an unbeliever, he’s got no hope at all, not even in this world (Eph. 2:12).

As a result of this, the distinction has to be seen—the distinguishing features that make a Christian distinct from the ordinary people of the world.

Before we get into the distinguishing features that separate a Christian from an unbeliever, we need to know who we’re actually talking about here. Now a Christian isn’t someone who goes to church. He isn’t someone who calls himself a Christian. A Christian isn’t a fellow who doesn’t commit sin. He isn’t a fellow who falsely displays a sanctimonious show of holiness. None of that makes him a Christian—no external show of holiness can ever make anyone a Christian.

Therefore, as enunciated by Paul in Rom. 10:9-10, we see how to become a Christian: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Becoming a Christian requires that you do the things stated by Paul in the verse above: (1) Confess Jesus as your Lord and savior, (2) Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

That’s how you become a Christian. Hence, a Christian is the man or woman, boy or girl who has fulfilled the above requirement. And fulfilling those requirements bestows on him some privileges that further describes him better. They are being enumerated in this article.

1. A Christian has the nature of God: As enunciated in 2 Peter 1:4, a Christian has the nature of divinity that God himself possesses. It reads, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The accentuated words ‘divine nature,’ are from the Greek term ‘theias-phuseos,’ which really means ‘God-kind.’

A Christian is one who has been brought into fellowship or oneness with the God-kind. Such oneness brings him into a fraternity of divinity. This is Christianity: God bringing man into union with Himself; it’s the coming together of divinity and humanity. A Christian is one who has been born into God’s class.

This is the mystery that God hid throughout all ages but decided to reveal through Paul as a message to the gentiles—Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

2. A Christian is superior to Satan: Apostle Paul explains this in Col. 1:13, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” The implication of this verse is that a Christian doesn’t need deliverance from Satan anymore because he’s been delivered already from Satan’s power.

Furthermore, if the Christian has been translated into the kingdom of God’s Son, then we need to know his specific position in terms of authority because it has to be scripturally clear that he’s not still subject to Satan after his translation into God’s kingdom.

Now, Ephesians 1:20-21 tells us Jesus’ present position of authority:

• “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”

Ephesians 2:6 shows our position of authority:

• “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

The inference from both scriptures above is that Jesus has been raised to a position of authority that (1) surpasses all principality, power, might, dominion, or name. (2) A Christian has been raised together with Christ to seat in exactly the same position of authority with him (Christ). That’s one place the devil cannot reach.

The truth is, the devil has no authority because Jesus, after his resurrection, said all authority in heaven and earth is now under his legal possession (Matt. 28:18). And he told us, Christians, to go in that authority (v.ff).

3. A Christian is in fellowship with God: 1 Corinth. 1:9 reads, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” What does it means to have fellowship? The Greek word for fellowship is ‘koinonia,’ which refers to oneness, partnership, communion, and sharing. That denotes that a Christian is in oneness with God.

I know this might stagger the mind to think about a man being in fellowship with God Almighty, but that’s what it is.

In fact, fellowship is the whole essence of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His vicarious suffering and triumphant resurrection brought us, Christians, into oneness with God. It wasn’t as a result of our working our way into it; it happened through His calling in Christ Jesus. It’s a gift of fellowship.

4. A Christian has access to all that God has: Romans 8:17 tells us something profound, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” This infers that a Christian, being an heir God and a joint-heir with Christ, has legal access to all that God owns. And since God owns all things, then all things belong to a Christian.

It’s in the light of this revelation that apostle Paul blurted out “all things are yours” (1 Corinth. 3:21). Why? Because God owns all things, and if we’re joint-heirs with Christ, it means we also own all things, too.

A little understanding of how a joint account operates help us understands this concept better. A joint account allows more than one person to own and manage it. There’s no restriction regarding who can be an owner, which can include spouses, friends and business partners, among others.

Everyone named on the account has equal access to funds regardless of who deposited the money. And as a joint-heir with Christ, a Christian has legal access to all that God has.

After Jesus died and resurrected, it occurred that Mary had come looking for him in the tomb where he’d been buried. But Jesus appeared to her while she was meandering around that vicinity because it was apparent Jesus wasn’t there anymore—he’d resurrected.

Jesus approached her, and on seeing Jesus she got a little excited and wanted to touch him, but Jesus said these words: Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God (John 20:17). The implication of this is that, after Jesus’ resurrection, we became sons of God like Jesus. That means we’re now like brothers to Jesus because God is our father.

Little wonder Jesus isn’t ashamed to call us brethren as is written in Hebrews 2:11, “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

Therefore, it’s legal for a Christian to have access to all that Jesus has because he’s Jesus’ brother; a join-heir with him.

5. A Christian is as righteous as Jesus: 2 Corinth. 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The righteousness of God is perfect. And a Christian has been made that righteousness. From the verse above we can infer that it was an exchange: Jesus took our sin, and we took his righteousness.

What does it mean to be righteous? Some believe it means to live right, but that’s erroneous. Right living isn’t righteousness; it’s only a product, a fruit of righteousness. Righteousness isn’t something that should be associated with actions; what people do or don’t do. Righteousness is essentially a nature; a divine enablement to do right that a man gets when he becomes a Christian.

A Christian doesn’t have two natures but one. He has the divine nature of God which is the nature of righteousness. Because no unrighteousness can be found in God. And due to the perfect nature of God’s righteousness which we have in Christ, a Christian is as righteous as Jesus is.