“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true; and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).
This verse is the conclusion to 1 John. It is a strong declaration that Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God and who has come, is the true God and eternal life. At the beginning of this Epistle we are told that the One who was with the Father in eternity and was manifested in time, and who was seen and handled by the apostles, is declared life to us. Then, at the end of the Epistle, we have this verse quoted above, which tells us that the very One who has come to us and in whom we are is the real God and life eternal.
What a bold word is this! Though Paul wrote fourteen letters in all, and though he did tell us that Christ is our life, he was not as emphatic as John here in declaring that this very Person is life to us.
There is a strong emphasis in the New Testament that God’s intention is to give Christ, His Son, to us as life. When we believed in Him, we received Him not only as our Redeemer and Savior, but even the more as our life. I keep repeating this because, even though the New Testament stresses it, it is almost unheard of in Christian circles.
What Christianity emphasizes to those who are saved is the improvement of their behavior. They are told that since they are saved and are children of God, they need to behave in a way that will glorify God. The Apostle John, however, in his mending ministry stresses life. We declare unto you...life! This is the thought with which he opens 1 John.
The same emphasis is found in the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God....In Him was life” (1:1, 4). In 10:10 the Lord Jesus declared, “I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” In 14:6 He said, “I am...the life.” In 11:25 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” John writes boldly, telling us that Jesus Christ the Son of God is life to us.
Some may think that we make Christ too low when we say that He is in us. Christ, they say, has been highly exalted by the Father. He is seated on the throne far above all. How could we demean Him by saying He dwells in us pathetic, low human beings? They may want to keep Christ in His exaltation, but Christ would respond, “Yes, I am far above all, but I am omnipresent. I am indeed in the heavens, exalted to the throne. But don’t keep Me up here! I want to leave the mountaintop and go down to the valley to be with My people. I like being in them. I am in them! Whatever they are doing, wherever they go, I like being in them!”
To teach that Christ does not indwell His people indicates that some Bible verses are being ignored. At the end of Matthew before the ascension, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to go and disciple all the nations, adding “behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (28:19-20). He did not say that He would be with them or that He had been with them. No! “I am with you.” Go with Me, because I am with you! The Lord is still on earth today. He is within us.
Those who reject the indwelling Christ claim that Christ is too great to be contained in small, puny man. Such logic must be condemned. The Bible clearly gives us the Lord’s words, “Abide in Me and I in you” (John 15:4). It also says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Yes, He is great. No one is greater. Yet He is small enough for us to contain Him. Hallelujah! We can contain the great Christ. He is unlimited, yet He is within us. He is our life.
I am not trying to prove a doctrinal point. Doctrine without experience has no value. It is like going to a restaurant and studying the menu, but not eating a meal. It is like being in the kitchen reading and appreciating a recipe but not getting out the ingredients and preparing it.
Theologians may be full of Bible knowledge but without experience. Of what use is that? They need to learn to cook instead of just talking about the menu!
Home | First | Prev | Next