Living from Tetelestai: It Is Finished

TETELESTAI — IT IS FINISHED! These were not words of defeat. They were the declaration of a completed work. Jesus did not say, ‘I am finished.’ He said, ‘It is finished.’ The price had been paid, sin had been dealt with, and the work necessary for our redemption had been accomplished. The Christian life is therefore not a life of trying to complete what Jesus left unfinished. It is a life of faith in what Christ has already accomplished. Living from Tetelestai means approaching life from the consciousness of Christ’s finished work. You pray from your position in Christ. You resist condemnation because ‘there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). You stand against the curse knowing that ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). You approach God confidently because you have been brought near through Christ (Hebrews 10:19–22). Stop measuring your relationship with God primarily by your feelings. Feelings can change, but the finished work of Christ does not change. When the enemy reminds you of your past, remember Tetelestai. When condemnation speaks, remember Tetelestai. When circumstances seem contrary to God’s promises, continue to trust in what Christ has accomplished. You are not fighting for redemption; you have been redeemed. You are not trying to earn righteousness; in Christ, you have been made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). You are not trying to become accepted by God; you are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). This is how we live from Tetelestai: not striving to make Christ’s work complete, but believing, receiving and walking in the reality of His completed work. Today, live with the consciousness that Jesus has paid the price. Let your prayer, worship, service and obedience flow from gratitude for what He has accomplished. TETELESTAI! IT IS FINISHED!