“…greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Dear Ones:
How big, how great is God? One of the “great” words that helps us in our concept of just how great He is, is the word, “Almighty.” When God revealed Himself to Abraham at the occasion of announcing to him that he would have a “son of promise,” Abraham was ninety-nine years old. In that meeting with Abraham, God revealed Himself as “the Almighty God.” (Gen. 17:1) Why? If Abraham was to have the faith to believe God for such an impossibility, since Sarah was beyond the age of child-bearing, he would of necessity need to see that God was indeed, the Almighty God, for whom NOTHING would be impossible.
In John’s first epistle, he wrote also of God’s greatness with respect to the enemy, Satan. But this time, he will speak of the “Almighty” within the spirit, soul, and body, of the believer. In Abraham’s day, it was an issue of an impossibility with regard to his body, and that of Sarah. Here, John speaks of God’s indwelling by the Spirit, in the temple of the believer’s body. The issue of greatness applies to both examples. The question then becomes, “Do I see the Holy Spirit as the ‘Almighty God,’ dwelling in our hearts?” Our vision of the greatness of the indwelling Spirit is expanded when we consider that the Son, the Father, and the Spirit, dwell in the heart of the believer. In speaking of the Comforter who was to be given by the Father to the disciples at Pentecost, the Lord Jesus will speak of the Spirit coming to dwell in the heart. He also will tell them that He, the Lord Jesus, will be IN them. (Jn. 14:20) If the revelation of the Spirit and the Son dwelling in the heart is not enough to cause our faith to grasp something of His greatness, it is revealed to us a promise made to those who love Christ and keep His words, “…my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (v.23) If we take the knowledge of God dwelling in the heart, we need to combine it with what Isaiah wrote of the “…Son to be given.” He is declared to be: “…Wonderful, Counselor, The MIGHTY God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6) How GREAT then is God to us according to the Scriptures? How great does He desire to be TO, and THROUGH us, in answer to faith?
When Peter was called by the Lord Jesus to get out of the boat, and come to Him, walking on the water in the storm, the vision that Peter had of Christ enabled him to believe the impossible in the will of God. But, when the vision of the power of the waves and wind became greater than that of the Lord Jesus, then Peter’s faith turned to fear and doubting, hence the question: “WHY did you doubt?”
Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came to Jesus and fell down at His feet, to petition Him to come with him, for his only daughter of twelve years old, was dying. There is no indication that Jesus even hesitated to go with Jairus, so HOPE was certainly born in his heart because of the vision that he had of the Lord Jesus. However, while en route, someone came to Jairus to tell him that his daughter had died. What just happened? The vision disappeared, and the fear of immeasurable loss began to possess Jairus’ heart. It is at this moment that Jesus restores the commanding vision: “Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.” (Luke 8:50) The impossible became possible because the vision of Christ was restored, and faith kept going in the face of those who even “…laughed him (the Lord Jesus) to scorn,” when He declared: “Weep not; she is not dead, but sleeps.”
How big is the Spirit of God who moved upon the face of the waters at creation, this same Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts? Is He able to do the wonderful thing, the exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think?
Dear Father, teach us this way of faith, and the necessity of having a true vision of Thy greatness as opposed to all lesser things. Enable us to grasp the truth of our relationship with Thee IN Christ, and Him dwelling in the heart by faith. Strengthen our hearts to truly believe, in particular in the face of all opposition of “waves” and scorn. Great is Thy faithfulness. We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad