In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word. This was in the beginning toward God. All came into being through it, and apart from it not even one thing came into being. In it was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is appearing in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not
Johns Account 1: 1-5, Concordant New Testament Translation
One of the most difficult concepts to accept about how we see God is in the truth that He is all in all. That is, God is within everything and anything which we will ever experience. That it is through Christ Jesus that all has been created {Johns Account 1:1-5}. The reason that this concept of God all in all is so difficult to comprehend for many is in how we see Him. Many Christians see God as some far away overseer sitting in heaven while man toils away here on earth. For their part, the church has perpetuated this belief in that they have spoken that it is the sin of mankind that has separated us from God {Isaiah 59:2}. Those who adhere to this belief will find it difficult to understand how God could be within all which he has created. They will admit that He has indeed created all which we see, but that's where His involvement ends. When it comes to the difficult times in life, they cannot accept that God could ever be involved in such things as death, injustice and world turmoil. But the simple truth is that He HAS by His hand created everything which we will ever experience in this world. This is laid out for us in the very first words of the scripture we find in Genesis. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth {Genesis 1:1}. How much more proof do we need? He created both the heavens and the earth, that everything we see and experience in either of these is of God. He also created us in His very likeness {Genesis 1:27}. So, not only are the fingerprints of the Father upon the heavens and the earth, but upon us a s well. I like to think of God all in all in the example of our earthly parents and of how each of us have received that biological DNA signature from two different people. Not only do I carry the genetic markings of my father, but of my mother as well. But consider this, having created us in His likeness, we also carry that spirit image of the Father within us {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:49}.
Growing up in the mainstream church teaching, it was difficult for me to accept that God could be within the tragedies of life. That He could ever be involved in such things as pain and grief. In these times, I often would pray and ask THAT question, where are you, God? Never once realizing that He was right where He has always been. For with Him there is no wavering {James to the Twelve Tribes 1:17}. If I would have known the truth of my life within the Father back then, I probably could have saved myself a lot of frustration. The very reason that I can say that I now see God as all in all is due to how I now see my life within His love. That He has always been an intimate part of who I am. Of course, this fly's in the face of who those within the church tell us that He is. That God can never be in the intimate presence of sinful man. To this I ask, what about Jesus? Has not Jesus given Himself that we would be free from sin {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}? In his evangel, Paul speaks to Jesus having died so that we are "By no means to be still slaving for sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:6}. This is welcome news for anyone who has felt that they are trapped in their sins. That the best that they can do is to continually offer up prayers for God's forgiveness. Believe me, I've seen that movie play out far too often in my own life. I was slaving for sin. This is the very same place many believers continue to find themselves in today. The truth we have in the Father is that Jesus has already provided for an end to our torment. That Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. This answers the question that God can and is within what the church continues to see as sinful man. Jesus Himself has spoken to the truth of our life in the Father {Johns Account 14:20}. He has created all we experience and has created us in His likeness, He is indeed all in all.
Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be all in all
Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15: 28, Concordant New Testament Translation
~Scott~
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