Christseekers - Seeking for the "Spiritual Mysteries" that's found through Christ!
Jesus Prepared a place, a relationship with God through Christ
Life's not always easy. Sometimes, we are faced with troubles and deep sorrows, that seem to be more than we can handle. But to my fellow brethren in Christ, and anyone else, that is seeking divine help and comfort, The bible provides, many wonderful messages and promises, of God's divine presence in our lives. When Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you, I believe He was speaking of something, much richer, than a piece of real estate, in heaven. Listen to Jesus with an open heart!
John 14:1-3 (NKJV) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
I believe the bible will prove, that Jesus was telling His disciples, and us, that by sacrificing His life for our sins, and that through His sacrifice, He would be reconciling man to God, and that God's grace, would be extended to all, to anyone, that sincerely wanted a personal relationship with God, and so today, we can experience that divine relationship, through faith, in the anointing of Christ. Jesus said, that where I am, not where I came from, from heaven, but listen closely, that where I am, there, you may be also! And where was He in that very moment when He made that promise? Was He not in the Father? Did He not explain, when He was questioned, in verse 10, that He was in the Father, and the Father in Him.
John 14:10-11 (NKJV) Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
So when He said, that where I am, there, you may be also!, He was talking about that divine relationship He had with His heavenly Father and that He would be preparing that place, that divine relationship, for us too, through His death and resurrection.
I truly believe, that Jesus confirms this concept in John 17, where His prayer reveals in more detail, about this divine relationship, and also, when it would be witnessed. In this prayer to His Father, Jesus is referencing His disciples, but His language also includes those that would believe in Him through their word, or through their everyday living. Listen closely:
John 17:21-22 (NKJV) that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
It is my deepest belief and conviction that this is that prepared place! You see, Man could not be included in this relationship, because of sin. But when Jesus sacrificed His life as payment for all sin, that sacrifice prepared an open door for anyone that is interested in having a close relationship with God through Christ. And where did Jesus say, this relationship, would be witnessed? Notice that Jesus said, ..."that the world may believe that You sent Me." You see, this is today, the world is not going to inherit eternal life in heaven. So by Jesus' own words He confirms this relationship can be experienced in this life, today.
And I believe it's very important to our heavenly Father, that this relationship is witnessed today, to the world, so that they might have a chance to make, the most important choice, one can make in life. The choice to believe in God, and all His provisions, that are available through His Son, Jesus, our Lord and Savior. This prepared place, is where the glory of God can be manifest, or realized, through the lives, of those that are in Christ.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
What glory did Jesus give "them"? Is it not the divine presence of God, through His Spirit? Is this not what the apostle Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV):
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
You see, the "he" that the apostle Paul was referencing here was not just the twelve disciples but to include anyone else that desired to be included in this relationship. God was clearly glorified in Jesus through Jesus' example of obedience and all the works of God that was accomplished through Him. And for us today, this same glorious presence can be witnessed to the world, through our faith, in that anointing of Christ. What greater glory could there possible be, than to live our lives, everyday, with God dwelling in us through His Holy Spirit. Not our glory but living in the glory of God, in us! Jesus continued to say in John 17:23 (NKJV):
I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
The Apostle Paul clearly understood the gospel of this glory, that divine relationship, and wrote about it in much more detail in Eph 3:14-19 (NKJV):
For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family, in heaven, and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might, through His Spirit in the inner man,
Notice how the apostle Paul is identifying this glory as being rich because of the presence of God in the inner man.
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width, and length, and depth, and height,-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
Consider this, the word Christ, came from the word, Messiah which means anointed. Clearly Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed One, but the word Messiah itself only means anointed. And are not those that are in Christ, anointed with the same Spirit of God, that Jesus submitted to? And what does it mean to be anointed? Is this not where God reveals all truth and direction to those that are in Christ? So, in my opinion, what the apostle Paul is referencing here are those that have a love for this anointing in Christ, which reveals spiritual understanding. And now to the pinnacle of this Scripture,
that you, may be filled, with all, the fullness of God.
In this Scripture, the apostle Paul is clarifying that you and me, through the anointing of Christ, which passes knowledge that we can be filled with ALL the fullness of God. This is the glory that Jesus gave His disciples and us, the divine presence of God through His Spirit. For me personally, when I realized that Jesus' promise of "preparing a place" for us was about providing a way for all, that has a desire, to be included in a personal divine relationship with God through Christ Jesus, realizing this, made a huge impact on my life. Being a child of God became real and personal. Areas of the bible that had been hard to understand, suddenly made perfect sense and became a personal treasure to me. Take to heart, that those that are in Christ are never ever alone. By faith we know that God's Spirit dwells in us, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, day and night, and our prayers do not have to travel, to a far away heaven, for God dwells in us, and is experiencing our lives, along with us, for He is in us, through His Spirit. Everything we see or do is witnessed by God our heavenly Father because He is always with us and in us.
Our sorrows, our fears, our concerns, our joys, our love that God has placed in our heart, every emotion we have, our heavenly Father knows and understands because He is so close and so involved in our everyday lives. And yes, when we receive bad news, our hearts are deeply troubled but living in Christ, gives us understanding and strength to get through the hard times. This is what Jesus had and this is the glory of God, that Jesus gave to those that would believe in Him, through their word, their every day living. Jesus prepared this place, this divine relationship, for us, through His loving sacrifice for all. This sometimes is hard for us to fully understand and believe. That's why the apostle Paul wrote that one can only comprehend through faith in Christ. What a most wonderful precious gift. The fullness of God in us.
Consider Jesus' last words on that cross, "It is finished! His part, in preparing that place for us, was completed through His sacrifice for us! You see, Jesus' relationship with His God and Father was manifested through His works. The apostle Peter wrote in Acts 10:38 (NKJV)
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Notice that God was with Him, how was God with Him, was it not through God's anointing of His Holy Spirit. And now that Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins, now we can also be anointed with God's presence through His Spirit. The bible tells us that there is only ONE Spirit. And this verse confirms that the same Spirit that dwelled in Christ Jesus is the same Spirit that dwells in us.
Eph 4:4-6 (NKJV) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
There is only ONE Spirit, the same Spirit of God that Jesus was anointed with is the same Spirit that all the children of God are anointed with. It is through this Spirit where we can experience our relationship within all the fullness of God. The apostle Paul made this point clear to clarify any doctrinal teaching that would cloud one's understanding of the relationship with God through the anointing of Christ. Bottom line is that God could not be in all and through all, until Jesus prepared that place for man through His sacrifice for the sin of all mankind.
The apostle Paul placed great significance in this divine relationship and the eternal outcome that it would have on ones soul. Listen closely.
Romans 8:9-11 (NKJV) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 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.
This is a question that each one of us need to answer in the privacy of our own hearts, Do we truly have the same Spirit of God dwelling in us as dwelt in Jesus?
The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor 1:21-22 (NKJV) Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Pay close attention, that Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, is our guarantee! I think this verse is so comforting!
There are many fellowships we can enjoy today, but non compare to the divine relationship that is found in experiencing the presence of God in us!
I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:2-3 (NKJV)
This is today, every day, we can experience a personal relationship with God through Christ!