This is part three of our In Christ trilogy. We talked about what it means to really know our self, with an eternal perspective. Our knowing is a grace flowing out of God’s own heart of agape love. He shares Himself with profusion so very deep and wide causing us to do the same.
In part 2 we moved from seeing things from a human point of view to one no longer of the flesh, rather, seeing things from God’s eternal point of view. We are created new by the hand of God with spiritual capacities requiring discipline and training. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way, “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil”, Hebrews 5:14b. We are to claim possession of what God has provided. We are to exercise His life in our experience by continually accepting His truth and growing in it.
Now we come to the final part of this discussion, our participation. God has redeemed us, reconciled us to Himself, now, we reconcile ourselves to Him in our daily circumstances. God’s resurrection power is a grace drawing us into participating with God’s holy work into all our polluted places.
Our participation is an aspect of God’s agape love. It is our spiritual internship bringing us into fuller knowledge of faith. An Old Testament illustration is Moses after crossing the Red Sea, Exodus 14:26.
“then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’”
Do you think God needed Moses to stretch out his hand to make the waters comes back upon the Egyptians?
A New Testament illustration is Paul’s admonition to the Philippians.
“ … work out your own salvation, with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” –Philippians 2:12b-13.
This is not a conditional provision for special Christians. This is God loving His children, allowing them to know Him through intimate participation. He birthed us in this polluted world to train us in righteousness and truth. The adversity of sin teaches us faith, hope and love. These three principles track knowing ourselves in Christ, accepting ourselves in Christ and being ourselves in Christ.
In our first section we saw knowing and knowledge as synonymous with agape love. In section two we recognized the credibility gap between who we are in the flesh and our hope birthed new in Christ. We experience our hope through our faith. Being who we are in Christ requires faith.
Grapple with Jesus’ words in John 17, “…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you … the glory you have given me I have given to them, that they may be as one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
Spiritual oneness is a result of being created new in Christ Jesus. Jesus is speaking in this passage about our oneness in the presence of those outside of Christ who are watching.
If our spiritual oneness seems mystic or symbolic, we are milk drinkers. Our lack of faith keeps us from our spiritual reality. Truth can appear ethereal if we fail to walk in the expectation of what God has provided. Typically, we don’t apply truth into our experience. We can accept truth in our mind without forcing it into our behavior. Being who we are in Jesus Christ is applying His person into our living experience. This is the essence of faith, experiencing Christ so He is visible in us, making visible what is not seen.
God is continually working within us, Phil. 2:13. The Greek idea in this verse is: “effectively accomplishing” what He desires to do. The litany of things He accomplishes within us is way beyond our scope here. Just ponder the alternative of not having His life in us! How blessed we are!
Let’s consider just one thing God is doing by Drilling Down on John 17:17.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
You will recognize this quotation of Jesus as His “High Priestly Prayer” to the Father. Jesus’ statement “sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth” is in the context of the prayer on unity above. It is in this unity context Jesus implores the Father to set us apart in the truth. In other words, we are particularly targeted to receive God’s attention so that we can be complete in Him. Notice the emphasis is in the truth in the same way that we are in Christ. This is important because some translations (NIV) uses “by” for the Greek word in (εν). Jesus is praying in the imperative to the Father to sanctify, i.e., purify, consecrate and bless, the believer in truth because this is who we are in Christ.
God created within the believer the faculty to absorb God’s righteousness within our mortal flesh. It is interesting this principle is expressed in the Greek aorist tense signaling an action or activity totally completed. See how completely integrated this action is with Paul’s statement to the Philippians in 2:13 above. God is faithfully committed to our complete salvation once we have been born again into His family and kingdom.
Paul exhorts us in Colossians 3:1 to continually be seeking spiritual things that are contained in the resurrected Jesus because we are resurrected with Him since we are in Him. Paul continues in verse 2 to command us, using the imperative, to continually have a spiritual mind set by putting to death earthly things (verses 5-11) while putting our holy things because we are in Christ, verses 12-16.
This putting off and putting on is also in the context of John 17:17. In verse 19 Jesus says, “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus uses the same word (αγιαζω – sanctify) for himself as he does for us. In His case He uses the present indicative active for Himself while using a passive participle for us. In other words, His sanctification for us is consciously in process while we are the recipients of what He has done and is doing.
Go back to verse 17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Our sanctification in Christ’s prayer is hinged on truth. Jesus defines truth as the word (λογοs) of God. So the outcome of being who we are in Christ comes down to the fellowship we nurture in Him through His Word.
So the question rises, If God Himself has already sanctified and is still actively sanctifying us why do we still struggle with sin?
The short answer is we live in a sinful body, a spiritually hostile world and Satan reigns in this carnal world. Our victory over all these things has been completed and provided to us within our new birth. By faith we must take possession of the gifts handed to us. It is clear we have access to the treasures in Christ Jesus. They do us no good unless we take possession.
Our salvation is not complete until we see Jesus face to face. Between now and then we are held accountable for knowing who we are in Christ, accepting all the resources made available to us, and being who we are intended to be by walking in faith. We can live in the Spirit without walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25) and be saved but when we see Him face to face, we will give an accounting for all the riches in Christ we didn’t use. He is knocking on the door of the Christian’s heart in Revelation 3:20 and calling out to us. If we are in the word, we will begin to hear His voice and open the door. He then will sit down with us and have some conversations!!!
Once we are born again we have new marching orders. Our primary sense and orientation switches from what is natural to what is spiritual. Our focus is two fold, putting to death sin living in our body and replacing it with the resurrected person of Jesus Christ. Take the time to hear His voice, open the door and have talks with our Lord. Don’t forget we are not only in Christ but He is also in us!
Memorize and Drill Down 2Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20. Find a friend to be jointly accountable. Take each verse, phrase by phrase, and “let it dwell in you richly”. The Holy Spirit will minister to you both through the word and through your friend. God will answer Jesus’ prayer, sanctifying both of you, setting you apart for His purpose, making your path straight.
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” - Romans 6:14
Jesus Himself does the sanctifying work. He agape loves us totally, in unbelievable ways. He yearns for us to participate in His love so that He can unleash His power and life into our sinful flesh. We can be complete, just as he intends for us to be!
“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” - 1 Thess. 5:24.