Or are you not aware that your body is a temple of the holy spirit in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. By all means glorify God in your body.
Paul To The Corinthians (1) 6: 19-20, Concordant New Testament
What is it like to be in Christ? What does it mean? I understand the words of the apostle Paul when he proclaims that it is Christ who now dwells in me {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}. Which is why I see this passage as one of the key verses to our realization of Christ Jesus in us. Yet being book smart may not be all that we need to realize the full extent to which we remain in Jesus. To understand the truth of Christ in us, we need to understand the entire extent of that truth. How Paul spoke to those in Corinth of their flesh bodies being, "A temple of the holy spirit in you" {Paul To The Corinthians (1) 6:19-20}. The understanding must be that WE are in HIM. A good friend this week posed the comment which defined this perfectly. That is, that if we are in Christ, we feel and experience ALL which He does. Everything which Jesus thinks and feels ultimately includes me as well. I am part of Him. All too often we get caught up in the false narrative of this flesh body which we assume defines us and who we are. This is part of the lie of the deceiver spoken in the garden {Genesis 3:5-6}. The truth is that we, as individuals, no longer exist. I am not that guy I once was, I am in Christ. Part of the iconic scripture spoken by Paul speaks to my being crucified with Christ. That is the truth of who I am. At times it is difficult to wade through the years of mainstream church theology and peel back the layers of the onion to get to the truth. Yet we cannot simply cherry pick certain parts of the scripture to fit what we feel is correct. We're told that we have been crucified with Christ, that's how it is. We're told that these flesh bodies of ours have been purchased at a price and that, also, is true. It is Christ Jesus who remains.
In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament
Some things are instinctive. There are some things which we just know in our hearts to be true. The sky is blue. Fire is hot and water will freeze. These things we know as fact. Yet consider this as well. It has been proven that a unborn child recognizes the very voice of it's mother even before birth! To quote from Mary, the mother of Jesus, "How can this be?" Well, understand that this unborn infant (Yes, it IS alive and growing inside the mother for all of you liberals out there) is not only growing inside it's mother, but also experiencing all which she does. The unborn child IS indeed a part of the mother. Doubt me? Why do we try to instill in would be parents that liquor and smoking cigarettes during pregnancy is a bad thing? We understand that the baby is an intimate part of the mother even at this stage. We know this to be true. Well, this is how it is when we are in Christ. We are not two separate individuals, but one with Jesus and the Father. Jesus speaks of this in the gospel of John {Johns Account 14:20}. By this we understand that whatever Jesus does and feels, we do and feel as well. We are an intimate part of Him. We often see our life as a walk through the world alone. But know that we are simply going where Jesus is leading.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment