1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 NKJV
I've heard it more often than I can count. Some wayward soul gets caught in some iniquity and gets sent to prison. However, some years later he claims to be rehabilitated as he has "Found Jesus." But has he? Forgive me if I remain skeptical of these claims, but trust me when I say I know better. See, I've been there. No, I've never been to jail, but not for lack of trying. However, where I have been is at that place where the realization hits us that the scriptures were right all along. It is in that moment that the true meaning of finding Jesus is revealed. In fact, it is here that the Lord Jesus is revealed to the one who earnestly seeks him. Oh, Jesus was always there, it's just that His truth has not been accepted by many people. We catch a glimpse of this from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:20. See, we were indeed "Bought at a price" by our heavenly Father. Now, before anyone starts chiming in about the evils of slavery, please understand that this purchase was ordained by God for our own redemption. I know it sounds daunting, but it really isn't. For if we trust in the scriptures as the word of God, then we can make the step to having Jesus revealed to us.
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29: 12-13 NKJV
When I said that I had been where so many people are now, it's true. Not so long ago, Jesus and I were seperated. Yes, I knew that He died to forgive my sins, but besides that Jesus was distant to me. I feel the best way to explain it is by saying that I saw Jesus as being in heaven overseeing things at the right hand of God, and I was here on earth ready to ask His forgiveness yet again after my latest sin. This is a very distorted view of our Lord and savior and what He accomplished for us. For the misconception is that Jesus, as I once thought, is a distant bystander in our lives. This belief seperates us from Jesus and it's simply not true.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV
Notice what Paul is telling us here in Galations 2:20. "It is no longer I who live, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME!" Obviously, Paul was on to something here. Somewhere between his Damascus road conversion and this point, Paul came to that realization that there was no seperation between he and Christ. I'll bet that he had difficulty explaining this in his day as well. For the common wisdom is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins then ascended into heaven upon his resurection, end of story. No, there'smore to Jesus than that. He is not dead, but alive! He is not distant, but He lives in each of us!
"Go therefore and make disciples (followers) of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Matthew 28: 19-20 NKJV
Notice that Jesus did not assure His disciples that He would be seperated from them to the end of the age. No, His assurance here was that He would definately be with them! If it were not so, He would have told them this. So, what's the difference between the disciples of Jesus and ourselves today? NOTHING. For we today enjoy the very same promise of the indwelling of Christ as His disciples did. THIS is the revelation of the truth of Jesus. The finished work of Jesus on the cross washed away each and every sin we have and ever will carry. Not only that, the revelation of the truth of Christ is that He is with us always.
~Scott~
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