“Do you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” John 14:10
Dear Ones:
Perhaps the greatest truth revealed to the world, this side of Pentecost, is our union with Christ, He in us, we in Him. The pattern for our faith in this regard was declared by the Lord Jesus: “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.” (v.11) Christ’s oneness with the Father is our “pattern” for faith. Why is therefore the issue of our union with Christ so very important? It is because we see in the “pattern” of the Son with the Father, that the Son was totally dependent upon the Father for all things, and the Father was totally faithful to provide. Christ’s perfect faith, and the Father’s faithfulness, was the perfect solution for the reality of the “pattern” to be manifested. And so it is with us. “But of God are ye IN Christ Jesus…”(1 Cor. 1:30) It is as we live in the reality of our union with Christ, by FAITH, that His faithfulness is revealed. We thus KNOW Him, and as Paul put it, “…KNOW the power of His resurrection.” (Phil. 3:10) How then is the fact of our union with Christ worked out in us every day?
Jesus told His disciples: “Abide in Me, and I in you.” (Jn. 15:4) What does this mean? It means that, because we are branches of the true Vine, we are to live utterly dependent upon the Vine for all things. How is this to be done? Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:6, “…In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Paul wrote in Philippians 4: 6, : “…in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” Both men are basically writing the same thing. God calls us to give Him access to the entirety of our lives, to interpose Christ between us an all things. It means learning the duty and the quiet discipline of opening the door of opportunity to give Christ access to accomplish His will in His way. It means also that we live in an attitude of thanksgiving, the very expression of faith in Him to “enter in,” and work. Someone has put it like this: to abide in Christ is, “…to set our lives in Him, and derive all from Him, by an inward attitude of faith. ”
Dear Father, You have brought us to yourself, and placed us in living union with Your Son, that we should abide in Him. Give us a clear understanding of what this union with Christ is, and what it means. Grant to us, by Your Spirit, to live practically dependent upon Him, giving Him access to everything in our lives, in an ever-increasing manner. Then shall He abide in us, and the reality of His life will be seen and heard. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad