AS HE IS, SO ARE WE: The Verse Religion Explains Away | E W Kenyon

Core Claim: 1 John’s “As He Is, So Are We”

• The video argues that “As he is, so are we in this world” (1 John) is a present-tense, factual declaration of believers’ identity.
• It is presented as not:
  • a poetic future promise,
  • something to be softened by theology,
  • explainable away by “sense knowledge” (feeling/experience/circumstance).
• Instead, the speaker insists it must be believed as God’s word.

Redemption as a Finished Legal Work

The message centers on the claim that redemption is a complete, legal, finished work accomplished in Christ, especially through:

• death
• burial
• resurrection
• Christ’s enthronement

Believers are described as being joined to Christ in these realities. Therefore, a believer’s standing is determined by:

• union/identification with Christ —not by:

• effort,

• improving the old self,
• or observable conduct as the basis of acceptance.

Key Contrasts in the Talk

The speaker contrasts several themes:

• Religion vs. Revelation

  • Religion is described as teaching distance from God, striving, and postponement (e.g., “after death,” “when we get to heaven”).
  • Revelation is described as claiming God has “already gone all the way.”

• Forgiveness vs. Identification

  • Forgiveness cleans the record of the past.
  • Identification creates a present new identity and authority.

• Conduct vs. Being/Standing

  • Behavior should flow from identity.
  • It is not portrayed as the foundation of identity or standing.

Rejecting Condemnation-Based Self-View

The video emphasizes that believers should not see themselves as:

• “improved sinners,”
• “on probation,” or
• still under condemnation.

Instead, because the old man was crucified and believers share in Christ’s resurrection life, the believer stands as:

• righteous
• accepted
• victorious
• seated with Christ

Practical Outcomes the Speaker Claims

The speaker presents these as practical realities that result from the believer’s standing:

• Fear is “abnormal” because there is “no condemnation.”
• Prayer becomes command/fellowship, not begging.
• Spiritual authority becomes something believers can exercise now, not later.

The “Engine”: Substitution and Representation

A major theological “engine” in the talk is substitution and representation:

• Christ acted as a representative for humanity.
• Believers truly share in what Christ accomplished.

Authority Over Satan: Legal Stripping, Shared Righteousness

The speaker argues believers’ authority over Satan rests on:

• Satan’s dominion being legal
• Christ legally stripping that dominion
• righteousness disrupting Satan’s claims

Spiritual dominion is framed as:

• not a personality trait,
• not the result of discipline,
• but the outflow of shared standing with the risen Christ.

“In This World” and the Call to Reign

Toward the end, the speaker interprets “in this world” as removing excuses to delay:

• heavenly victory must be expressed in daily life.

The message is framed as a crossroads:

• Accept it and live differently (confession, prayer, conduct).
• Reject it and remain stuck in struggle and postponement.

The final call is to:

• stop striving

• and start reigning, living as those identified with Christ in:

• death

• life
• righteousness
• authority
• love

Speakers

• E W Kenyon (presenter/teacher)