With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ. Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me.
Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament
I've heard the phrase a lot lately...being Jesus. For most of mainstream church America, the phrase being Jesus may hold two totally different meanings. For me, being Jesus is living as Christ Jesus who lives in me. For many Christians, being Jesus denotes a lifestyle of "being like" Jesus. That is, being as close to the behavior and values of Christ that one can get. Which one more reflects the true Christ as He lives today? Well, if one were to inquire of the apostle Paul, he would certainly explain that it is Jesus who dwells within us {Galatians 2:20}. However, ask your local pulpit pounder and you just might get a different answer. See, the mainstream church theology view of Jesus is that He lives on...in heaven. Jesus was persecuted, crucified and put to death on a Roman cross. After His death, Jesus was in the tomb for three days, whereupon He rose from the dead that Easter morning (Of course, man devised the Easter holiday). After His death and resurrection, Jesus was witnessed by His disciples before being taken up into heaven {Acts 1:9}. Perhaps this is why the mainstream church holds onto the belief that Jesus lives on in heaven. Yet there is scripture which speaks to the indwelling Christ Jesus living in me {Colossians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 13:5}. Paul certainly strived to speak of the reality of the indwelling Christ in all of us. Yet the same church which preaches Paul has missed the boat. For those who have been seeking a closer relationship with Jesus, the realization of Christ in you could well be a game changer. It certainly has been for me. The realization I received is not something which one can easily wrap your understanding around. In fact, Paul referred to the realization of Christ in us as a mystery {Colossians 1:27}. Indeed, truly knowing Jesus comes by the revelation of the Father.
Now if Christ is in you, the body, indeed, is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness. Now if the spirit of Him who rouses Jesus from among the dead is making its home in you, He who rouses Christ Jesus from among the dead will also be vivifying your mortal bodies because of His spirit making its home in you.
Romans 8: 10-11, Concordant New Testament
So, what is it to "Be Jesus?" Well, I would say that being Jesus is for the one who has the revelation of Christ in them to allow His indwelling spirit to work through them. Sounds impossible, right? Yes, that's what the world would have you believe. However, since my own revelation of Christ in me, I have found that I am nowhere near the man which the world claims that I am. The world, and perhaps even the mainstream church, will speak to me of being a sinner deserving of the grace and forgiveness of the Father. That is certainly true, and it has already happened with Christ Jesus at the cross. I recall another phrase I heard a few years back, that the cross is not the end of the race, but the beginning. His death upon the cross was not the end of Jesus, but the beginning. While most of the mainstream church looks upon the cross as a symbol of the crucifixion of Christ, I have learned to view it as a sign of Jesus in me. Being Jesus is living each and every day in the knowing that He is in me, that there is no longer one I would call "me." When the tough times come, I know that I live through them as Christ who is in me. The person I used to be was nailed to the cross with Christ. Paul begins his iconic passage by proclaiming that he has been crucified with Christ Jesus and that "he" no longer lives. Instead, living in him is Christ. Paul was very familiar with being Jesus. When the Father graces us with the revelation of His Son, being Jesus will no longer be a mystery.
In this was manifested the love of God among us, that God has dispatched His only-begotten Son into the world that we should be living through Him.
1 John 4: 9, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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