SPIRITUAL CURRENCY (PART 1)

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

As human beings, we all have needs and wants which need to be met. Unfortunately, we all don't have all the resources we need to address our needs and wants readily at our disposal. In the quest to address this major challenge over the years, the concept of money evolved. Money then became the currency with which we can buy or acquire the resources - products and services - which we do not have to satisfy our needs and wants.

Money as currency, as you know, is peculiar to nations, kingdoms, regions et cetera based on their geographical area and geopolitical dispensation. Every kingdom, nation, region et cetera, have their own form of currency. In Ghana we have the Cedi, Nigeria has the Naira and most European countries have the Euro as their currencies. In the same way, as Christians, we also have our own currency. This is because we have our own kingdom which is the kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:19 says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household. Being fellow citizens with God's people means belonging to God's kingdom.” God's kingdom is not earthly, it is not physical; it is spiritual. Although we live in a physical world, we are not of this world according to 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 which says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” and 1 Peter 2:11 which says, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in this world …”. By this, we establish the fact that our currency is different from any other kingdom's currency; it is not identifiable with the physical world.

Having said that, what then do we trade with in the kingdom of God? Although we belong to God's kingdom which is spiritual, we live in a physical world so what do we trade with spiritually in a physical world? What is our spiritual currency?

According to Ephesians 2:14, before we became fellow citizens with God's people, which is belonging to God's kingdom, we were aliens and we only came to be part of God's kingdom through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26 reads, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”. So it is by faith in Christ Jesus that we are justified to belong to God's kingdom. This makes us the Just of God. As discussed earlier, every kingdom has her own way of doing things according to her geographical and geopolitical dispensation. Therefore, according to Galatians 3:11 which says, “… the just shall live by faith”, we as Christians, being the Just of God and belonging to His kingdom do the things we do which include trading by faith.

This is because if you “live by” a particular activity you get all the money, food, clothing and any other thing you need by doing that particular activity. Your totally existence is based on that activity. In short, our spiritual currency is faith.

With all that have been discussed so far, how then does it work? Although we belong God's spiritual kingdom, we live in a physical world so how do you trade spiritually in the physical world? How is it possible to buy wine and milk representing our physical provisions to satisfy our physical needs and wants without money and cost in a physical world as established in Isaiah 55:1? How can you do that knowing that in this physical world you can't just walk into a supermarket and start picking up things saying, I am buying without money and without cost. This little exploration will reveal the answer.

First of all, it is essential to know that everything we need and want has already been made available to us in the spiritual realm - the kingdom of God. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” The word “blessed” which is in the past tense means that the provision has already been made. Also, the word “every” means that this provision includes all we would ever need and want. Finally, the phrases “spiritual blessings” and “heavenly realms” reveal the fact that everything that we need and want are already available in the spiritual realm.

Mark 9:23 which reads “'if you can?' said Jesus, 'everything is possible for him who believes.' ” attests to the fact that all that we need and want has already been provided for in God's kingdom. The question “if you can?” in Mark 9:23 was a question asked by Jesus in His response to a man who sought Him to heal his son from an evil spirit. This man asked Jesus to help them by saying “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us”. Jesus' response of “if you can?” was to inform the man that it was not a question of whether He could or could not help because everything he sought to get had already been made available in the spiritual realms - the kingdom of God; the question was whether he had what it takes to access this provision, hence, Mark 9:23 “… Everything is possible for him who believes', bringing us back to our spiritual currency - Faith. Once you have faith - your spiritual currency - all you need to do is negotiate the terms of the trade or transaction through prayer - “Ask and it shall be given to you…”Matthew 7:7.

After we have asked or prayed, that is negotiated the terms of our buy or trade, backed by our spiritual currency which is our faith, God responds by causing all the provisions and blessings stored up in the spiritual realm – His kingdom to be transformed into physical manifestations. Hosea 2:21-22 reads, “In that day I will respond, declares the Lord – I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil…”. Hosea 2:21-22 speaks of God's response generating grain, new wine and oil while Isaiah 55:1 speaks of we buying wine and milk with our faith, depicting physical provision for physical needs through spiritual means.

This feat is possible because although God belongs to a spiritual kingdom, the earth and everything in it which represents the physical, belongs to Him- Psalm 24:1 “the earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who dwell in it”.

As a Christian, you may not have what you need probably because you've not asked, or may not know how much “money” you have in your spiritual account, or probably like parents know what's best for their children, God knows what's best for you or even more, the time may not be right for you but whatever the case may be, don't ever be deceived; you have a purchasing power that people who have and move in the physical world don't have. With it, you can access, buy and enjoy everything you need and so desire; this power is your spiritual currency- Faith.