January 30, 2013

• Eternal Life, Do You Have It?

  Jesus said to His Father in Heaven, "Just as You have granted Me power and authority over all humankind, now glorify Me even as We have planned it, so that I may give eternal life to all whom You have given Me.  And eternal life means they shall  know (perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand)You, Father, the only true and real God, and likewise know Me, Jesus the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent."
  

  I truly do know my hometown, every street and alley, every building, every intersection…  Truly, I do know it.  But this isn’t the kind of knowledge Jesus was speaking of here.  No, He was speaking of knowing Persons!  He was saying that those of us who believe in Him should know God.  We should really know Him intimately!
  

  But, you may say, God the Father and God the Son are in heaven!  How can we know them?  Jesus Himself answered this question in an earlier chapter of John’s gospel:

  "However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].

  And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere to Me];  About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no longer; About judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him.

  I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].  He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."

  The Holy Spirit of God is ours if we are in Christ Jesus!  Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, wrote about our present life in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ physical departure from the earth:

  "So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.  But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].  But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]."

  This brings us to a few simple questions:  Do you know (perceive, recognize, understand) God the Holy Spirit?  Do you sense His Presence with you?  Are you, in fact, in Christ Jesus by virtue of your personal possession of His Spirit?  Are you His?  And is He coming for you that you may escape the coming judgement?
  

   I've re-posted this from My Archives today because it reflects perfectly what Jerusalem Hill Ministries is all about.

   

  • 3:08 pm
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