I was sitting in attendance at the National Worship Leader’s Conference back in June of 2014 when I heard a bold question come out of a bearded, bald-headed, hyperactive, cancer patient, worship leader from the stage,

“What if it’s true?”

God, creation, Jesus, the resurrection, the Kingdom of God–what if all of it is actually true? And what if we lived like it was? Tim Timmons knows how to lead worship and ask great questions…and live like it’s true. Timmons’ story, his example, and his joy caused me to challenge some lingering faulty assumptions I had been operating out of regarding the Christian life. And it was the wrestling with these assumptions that birthed the tune, “Your Power.”

As redeemed believers in Jesus, we live in parallel realities. Think of it like the spiritual version of Stranger Things (but let’s not get too bogged down in the illustration). In one reality, in the “upside-down” realm, we are broken, hopeless, sinful-by-nature creatures on a collision course for death (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 7:17-20). In all senses we’re powerless over our tendency to do the wrong thing. But in the other reality, through the unexplainable power of grace through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we exude life, power, and have full capacity to distribute godly love while rejecting fear (Ro. 8:11, 2 Tim. 1:7).

Paul directly wrestles with these realities in Romans 7 and Philippians 3. In Philippians, referring to attaining Christlikeness, Paul admits that he has “not yet taken hold of it” but then calls us to “live up to what we’ve already attained.” Paul is recognizing that both truths can live in tandem. Paul knew that our gift from the cross is the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). That, through God’s eyes, when He sees us, He sees Jesus, not our mess, not the “upside-down”. The grace of God grants us a new reality, one that is free and perfect and innocent. You and I both know that in no way does our righteousness actually match up to Jesus’, which is why grace is such good news. And so I’ll echo Timmons’ question again, what if the equation below is true?

Reality #1  <  Reality #2

Sin  <  Grace

At times during my walk with Christ I have accidently let Reality #1 override Reality #2. I have let the reality of my sin rob me of the joy of the reality of grace. I have let it disqualify me from Kingdom living. But I need the reminder that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro. 5:8). That even while I’m sinning today, tomorrow, and 6 years from now, that grace has already covered it. As others have said, God doesn’t love my future self more than He loves me at this very moment.

Though I’ve written songs that recognize the first reality, “Your Power” is a song that embraces the second. I believe it’s important as believers to hold both in a careful balance. We need to have awful disgust of our sin to accurately behold the wonder of grace. We also need to hold the first reality closely so that we don’t get fooled into thinking somewhere down the line that our goodness had anything to do with our saved status in Christ. But it’s just as important to embrace the second reality and declare that the first doesn’t have power over us any longer. Though we don’t earn our righteousness, we can walk in step with it. I believe that’s what Paul meant in Philippians 3:16. We can agree that we are righteous and honor it by walking in righteousness. This is what it means to live in response to the gospel. Once we’ve received grace, we can’t help but respond by living gracefully.

Verse 1
No gate of hell can ever win
You conquered death and took on sin
The fate of grace is sealed in blood
Your mercy rushes like a flood
Oh oh oh Your power runs through me

Verse 2
Your living water flows in me
You’ve spoken, “From the law I’m free”
The final war on dark is done
A light has come and You have won
Oh oh oh Your power runs through me

PreChorus
Let’s live up to what we have attained
Let’s make great in history His name

Chorus
Let the Christ in me rise and reign in victory
Death it has no hold on me ‘cause Jesus is alive
Let the Christ in me rise and reign in victory
I’m alive and I believe Your power runs through me
Your power runs through me

Verse 3
On Christ my solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
A living sacrifice I am
My will is yours at Your command
Oh oh oh Your power runs through me

Bridge 1
I’m alive and I believe
That Your great power runs through me
I’m alive and I believe
The dead will rise the blind will see

Bridge 2
I’m alive and I believe
That Your great power runs through me
I’m alive and I believe
In Christ in me my victory

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7:17-20
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Philippians 3:16
Only let us live up to what we have already attained.