Jesus In, Jesus Out
“To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:19
Yesterday’s church service was extra sweet as those present enjoyed a special moment in worship with Jesus. It seemed like every song drew those in attendance into a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our individual lives. Between one the songs Tori, one of our lead vocalist was sharing with us about a time in Jesus life when just before He was to go to the Cross and then ascend back to heaven. Jesus was sharing with His disciples something that He knew at the moment would make them sorrowful because they wouldn’t understand. He also knew that when they experienced what He was promising that it would bring them peace and comfort, strength and courage like they had not known previously. She was referencing when the gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to the disciples, not just to be with us but now in us and the best news yet, never to leave us!
Tori was sharing that when Jesus was with us in person when He walked the earth our ability to know Him fully was limited but after He would go to the Cross and rise again from the dead and return to the Father as He said, He would pray for us to receive the Holy Spirit which would give each of us the potential to know God in a way that was not even possible before. When Jesus was clothed in human flesh here on earth He was limited to where He was at any given moment in time. Though fully God, Jesus chose not to independently exercise His relative attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all powerful) and omnipresence (everywhere at once). Jesus moral attributes, such as holiness, truth and love were not set aside in any sense as Jesus never set aside His perfect morality but He did give up the independent use of His those divine powers. On many occasions in the Gospel’s we find Jesus exercising His attributes of omniscience and omnipotence as He was led by the Spirit. Never do we find Jesus exercising His omnipresence. This was the gift Jesus was preparing His followers to receive!
Like most people, I appreciate a good illustration when I read one. It was evangelist and missionary A. B. Simpson who gave this illustration to describe what it is like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, "Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian."
What a beautiful picture of our lives in Christ and the closeness God desires that we each can know. The essence of oneness; where one contains the fullness of the other without the other losing any of its fullness. Proof there is enough of God for everybody!
So what’s the point? Simply, there is an invitation from God for each of us to be filled and to be filled overflowing. Submerge yourself in Christ today, loved one, and ask God to fill you beyond your capacity to contain Him all the while enjoying the fullness of His presence in your life. Enjoy the fullness of Christ allowing the Spirit to overflow your life touching everything and everyone you come in contact. That’s the fullness Jesus is praying we might enjoy today! It’s the fulfillment of the mystery that the apostle Paul taught that has been revealed to us, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Don’t just settle for full, overflow Jesus!
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:22
I LOVE YOU!
Ephesians 3:19
Yesterday’s church service was extra sweet as those present enjoyed a special moment in worship with Jesus. It seemed like every song drew those in attendance into a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our individual lives. Between one the songs Tori, one of our lead vocalist was sharing with us about a time in Jesus life when just before He was to go to the Cross and then ascend back to heaven. Jesus was sharing with His disciples something that He knew at the moment would make them sorrowful because they wouldn’t understand. He also knew that when they experienced what He was promising that it would bring them peace and comfort, strength and courage like they had not known previously. She was referencing when the gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to the disciples, not just to be with us but now in us and the best news yet, never to leave us!
Tori was sharing that when Jesus was with us in person when He walked the earth our ability to know Him fully was limited but after He would go to the Cross and rise again from the dead and return to the Father as He said, He would pray for us to receive the Holy Spirit which would give each of us the potential to know God in a way that was not even possible before. When Jesus was clothed in human flesh here on earth He was limited to where He was at any given moment in time. Though fully God, Jesus chose not to independently exercise His relative attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all powerful) and omnipresence (everywhere at once). Jesus moral attributes, such as holiness, truth and love were not set aside in any sense as Jesus never set aside His perfect morality but He did give up the independent use of His those divine powers. On many occasions in the Gospel’s we find Jesus exercising His attributes of omniscience and omnipotence as He was led by the Spirit. Never do we find Jesus exercising His omnipresence. This was the gift Jesus was preparing His followers to receive!
Like most people, I appreciate a good illustration when I read one. It was evangelist and missionary A. B. Simpson who gave this illustration to describe what it is like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, "Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian."
What a beautiful picture of our lives in Christ and the closeness God desires that we each can know. The essence of oneness; where one contains the fullness of the other without the other losing any of its fullness. Proof there is enough of God for everybody!
So what’s the point? Simply, there is an invitation from God for each of us to be filled and to be filled overflowing. Submerge yourself in Christ today, loved one, and ask God to fill you beyond your capacity to contain Him all the while enjoying the fullness of His presence in your life. Enjoy the fullness of Christ allowing the Spirit to overflow your life touching everything and everyone you come in contact. That’s the fullness Jesus is praying we might enjoy today! It’s the fulfillment of the mystery that the apostle Paul taught that has been revealed to us, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Don’t just settle for full, overflow Jesus!
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:22
I LOVE YOU!
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