And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8: 10 - 11 NKJV
I've been curious lately as to how many well meaning believers can claim that they know Jesus. I mean, that they REALLY know Jesus. For there is a running joke among myself and a few friends of mine that there indeed two Jesus'. We have the Jesus which every mainstream church pastor preaches on Sunday after Sunday. The Jesus who was born, grew up and began His ministry and was then crucified. Of course, that wasn't the end of Jesus, for He was raised up after three days and ascended into heaven to be seated at the Fathers side. Pretty accurate, I can go along with this view of Jesus for the most part. Then we have the Jesus who we've all read about, but with one big difference. This is the Jesus I have come to know. This is Jesus as He truly is. Perhaps why most believers seldom hear of this alternative Christ is because He is seldom spoken of in church circles. Yet, it is through scripture that we learn of the truth of Jesus. The apostle Paul first introduces us to the reality of Christ in the book of Galatians. Now, we all have heard of the man Saul and of his relentless persecution of the early church. Saul may well have become one of the churches great villains...were it not for Jesus. For on that dusty road to Damascus, Saul was introduced to the real Christ Jesus. It was Paul who told of His conversion that day, of how God chose the exact time to introduce him to the truth of who it is he really was {Galatians 1:15-16}. Who was this Jesus whom Paul came to know? This is a Jesus who is not so far removed from us as we were meant to believe. This is a Jesus who is just like me {Galatians 2:20}. Just like me? It was Paul who spoke to the reality of Christ by claiming that "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Knowing this, how can I be anyone else but Jesus? Of course, this is a huge step for many believers who are much more comfortable with the Jesus of the church.
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
2 Corinthians 13: 5 - 6 NKJV
For those who have longed to come to know a real relationship with Jesus, how much more real can it get than to realize that you are just like Jesus? Mind you, the truth is out there, although it might have not yet been revealed in us as it was in Paul. Remember, it is the Father who brings us this revelation of the truth of who we really are. More importantly, it is the realization that Jesus is not far removed from our lives as the church has taught us. Jesus is not just sitting in heaven looking down upon us just waiting for us to screw something up. It was the prayer of Jesus in the garden that we and the Father would be one with Him {John 17:21}. This was the desire of Christ, that He would have a relationship with us. Not only that, but that our lives would be in His as well. This is what Paul was speaking to in Galatians. The realization I have of Christ in me has brought me into a new understanding of who Jesus is. He is not the punisher who calls us out for our sins. Remember, the sin issue is water under the bridge at this point. Not only did Jesus die on the cross to wash away our sins, but He dealt a death blow to the sin issue as well. We are now, as Paul tells us, to consider ourselves dead to sin {Romans 6:11}. The truth about Jesus is not limited to what we hear from our pastor. The truth about Jesus is that He is just like me.
"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."
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
~Scott~
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