The higher life is walking in the spirit, walking with God and walking in victory and power. It is walking and being ruled by our new reborn nature, filled with the Holy Ghost, even though we are still living in a natural body.

In Luke 18 Jesus tried to get the rich young ruler to follow Him into a higher life, but the man was unable to do it. Now Jesus did not tell everyone He met to sell what they had and give it to the poor, but He said that to the rich young ruler for some reason. The reason probably was the rich young ruler was trusting in his riches instead of God. When put to the test, he cared more for the riches.

It was of prime importance to Jesus to obey whatever the Father asked. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, His soul was crying out, knowing He was going to have to endure separation from God. He was so pulled by what was going to happen to Him, He prayed:

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:42, 44).

God may be telling you what to do. He may be saying, “I want you to spend more time in prayer.” Perhaps you have been hearing that for weeks or months and thinking, I really ought to do that.

He may be prompting you in your spirit and saying, “I want you to spend more time in My Word.” You have thought, I ought to do that. Don’t put it off. Do what God is telling you. Lay down your natural desires and obey the higher calling of God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

In Matthew 28, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” (verse 20).

In Mark 8, we read one of the most important things that He told them. Read it carefully and receive it in your heart:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it (Mark 8:34-35).

In The Amplified Bible Jesus said it this way:

If any one intends to come after Me, let him deny himself—forget, ignore, disown, lose sight of himself and his own interests—and take up his cross, and…follow with Me—continually, [that is,] cleave steadfastly to Me. For whoever wants to save his…life, will lose [the lower, natural, temporal life...]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived (only) on earth], for My sake and the Gospel’s, will save [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].

Now Jesus not only was talking about our going to heaven, although that is included. He also was talking about our living for Him while in the earth. To live for Him, we cannot cling to our natural lives, or the things our souls desire in the natural realm—ambition, money, recognition, or any other desires of the flesh—things that natural man seeks after with his whole heart.

He was saying, “If you will lay down your natural desires, lose sight of yourself and your own interests, you will lose that lower life. Take up your cross. Do what you are told. Follow Me and you will find that higher life.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

God is searching our hearts to see what is inside us. He is searching for a people who will do what He says and be dedicated to Him. Jesus is loyal to God. He lives His life for God. This same Jesus lives in us. We are His Body. He is endeavoring to get us to live totally for God. He does it. We are to do it, too.

Jesus said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). When He was on the earth, He did not live His life for Himself. He lived it loving God with His whole heart, soul and might.

Keeping the Word and obeying God’s voice, Jesus also said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Don’t you know it was a delight to the Father’s heart to see a man in the earth keep His Word, obey His voice and live life totally for Him? Likewise, our Father wants this to be the word of the Church today: “I do always those things that please Him.”

But we need to change. And change starts with individuals—with you and me. We are members of the Body, but members in particular. God wants us to be able to honestly say, “I do always the things that please Him.”

It is important to understand that Jesus laid down His life before He ever went to the cross. During His time on earth He continually laid down His life to please God. Do you think He lived an unhappy life? Did He miss out on very much because He did not seek His own will or His own interests? Did He pay too great a price to walk pleasing to God as far as the rewards of this life are concerned? Of course not!

Did He fail at anything? Yes! He never got around to committing a sin, never experienced sickness, never knew defeat. Just think how much He missed! Would you miss much if you walked the earth as Jesus did with such power, anointing and glory? No, you wouldn’t miss a thing. You would walk in that same high life. God is trying to get blessings to you, and this is the way they will come to you unhindered, and in full measure—by your being obedient to the Lord and by doing what you are told to do.

Jesus walked in total victory. He put Satan down at every turn. Satan could not touch Him because Jesus was allowing God to be God in His life. The Father was an enemy to His enemy, and a friend to His friend.

Because Jesus kept God’s Word and obeyed His voice, God could manifest His power through Him without measure. Jesus did not even speak His own words. Everywhere He went, if they would receive Him, He made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear. He delivered those who were demon possessed. The wind and the sea obeyed His voice. Every need He had was met by God’s power and action.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Some time ago, God dealt with me on the subject of healing and how important it is for believers to live free from sickness and disease. His words to me then were so strong they echoed in my spirit for weeks. He said, “I want My people well!”

God wants every believer to be healed and whole: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 John 2).

After Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and issued certain decrees that would affect the world forever. Healing was one of those decrees. In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus said:

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

These words are vitally important to every believer today. Jesus commanded the Church to go forth in His Name, and part of this Great Commission is that believers lay hands on the sick. At that moment, Jesus set the Church against sickness and disease.

Healing is God’s masterstroke of evidence that He is alive and doing well. It is physical proof of His existence and willingness to meet our needs on every spiritual level.

No two people are exactly the same spiritually. Each is at his individual level of spiritual growth. But generally, there are three categories of spiritual life:

The world—sinners or unbelievers, who do not know God.
The carnally minded Christian—spiritual babies, who do not have God’s Word working proficiently in their lives.
The mature Christian—spiritual adults, skillful in the Word of God.

God’s Word is designed to minister to individual needs at each level of spiritual growth.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

When sin entered the world, it brought with it the forces of destruction: death, sickness, poverty and fear. Jesus bore sin’s penalty and, at the same time, did away with all the effects of it. Jesus paid the full price at Calvary, covering every area of human life: spiritual, mental, physical, financial and social. Our redemption is complete.

Galatians 3:13-14 says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

“The curse of the Law” described in Deuteronomy 28:15 was the penalty for any person who disobeyed the statutes of the Levitical Law. It included every possible curse that could come on mankind: sickness, disease, poverty, lack, pain, suffering, etc. Verse 61 includes, “Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law….”

Though Jesus lived a sinless life, He gave Himself to bear that curse as if He were the One who had sinned and disobeyed the Law. He took the punishment for all the sin of mankind. He bore the curse which included every sickness and every plague known to man. He bore pain and suffering. Why? So that we could, instead, receive the blessing when we accept His sacrifice as our own. Because we
are in Christ, we are now Abraham’s seed and heirs to the blessing.

Galatians 3:29 says, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Deuteronomy 28 sets out the stipulations of this blessing and curse:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee
on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God (verses 1-2).

Then verses 3-14 list all the blessings of the Law, describing prosperity in every area of life.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries