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ONE WITH CHRIST

By Albert Theron

INDEX

1. No Cross, No Salvation
2. Flesh is Flesh
3. Born of God
4. In Adam, In Christ
5. Gods Perfect Gift
6. A New Identity
7. His Death, my Death
8. More than Conquerors
9. Knowing Christ according to the Spirit
10. Beholding Him
11. Of His flesh and of His bones
12. The Secret Place of the Most High
13. You are in the spirit
14. Not a Truth, but the Truth
15. The Beauty of Holiness
16. Sweet, Sweet Reconciliation
17. Life and Example
18. Just as, even so
19. Not only Forgiven
20. No more Distance
21. Slaves and Sons
22. Our Present Position
23. The Mystery Revealed
24. True Confidence
25. A Matter of Being
26. Created in Christ for Good Works
27. A Man of no Reputation
28. Fruits by Jesus Christ
29. The Overcoming Life
30. The Vine and the Branches
31. The Resting Place of God
DAY 1

NO CROSS, NO SALVATION

LUKE 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for
my sake, the same shall save it.
LUKE 23:39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Arent you the
Christ? Save yourself and us!

There were two criminals condemned and crucified with Jesus, one on each side. These
represent all of mankind. The first one did not discern the significance of the Son of God on
a cross and therefore He demanded that Christ save Himself and them. He did not realize
that at that very moment Christ was in fact saving even him if he would but recognize the
meaning of that cross. And so this criminal represents all those who want to be saved
without a cross. Whenever you hear a gospel that does not focus on the cross, you may
know that this is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ. In a certain sense not one of us can
escape this scene at the crucifixion of Christ because it represents two kinds of death. The
difference is in the way we approach that cross that we all have to face. 2 Corinthians 5
verse 14 says one died for all, therefore all have died. You either recognize and
acknowledge the substitutionary death of Christ and thus die in His death so that you may
live in His life, or you demand salvation without a cross and you die in your sins.

The second criminal understood the significance of the cross and therefore he called Jesus
Lord and asked Him to remember him. His faith saw to the other side of the cross into life
eternal. This criminal represents all those who accept the vicarious death of Christ by faith
and are thus justified. Colossians 2 verse 6 says that we have to walk in the same fashion in
which we have received Christ. The principle by which we are justified is also the principle
by which we are sanctified. In the context of our subject this means that we have to
consistently view the Christian walk in the light of the cross of Christ. When He died, we
died to the old Adamic life. When He rose to a new life, we rose with Him. We never leave
the cross behind in the Christian life, for it is only by the power of the cross, applied by the
Holy Spirit that we experience the power of resurrection life. The cross remains a reality in
our daily lives, for as we recognize by faith the completed work of the cross we are
consistently delivered from the power of the flesh and consequently experience the power
of the new life in Christ Jesus. This is what the Bible calls sanctification or in other terms
the walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). Believers who want to experience the power of salvation
without the cross of salvation are living in a dream world of escapism and will only know
defeat in the final analysis. Those who embrace the cross on the other hand may
continuously know the power of the new life and will taste victory upon victory. Therefore
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 10 when I am weak then I am strong.

Quote of the Day: No cross, no salvation. Know the cross, know salvation.

DAY 2

FLESH IS FLESH

JOHN 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit."
It is impossible for flesh to beget spirit. In nature we see the incontrovertible law that each
seed produces after its own kind. In Genesis 1 already our attention is drawn to the fact
that a seed cannot produce something that is not in its composition. This is an utterly
predictable outcome. An apple tree cannot bring forth peaches and vice versa. The DNA
structure hidden inside of the seed dictates without exception the end product that will be
produced. This is also true in terms of the human seed. No human being can ever produce
a divine seed. Human beings bring forth human beings, because the seed is only human.
The whole of nature knows this fixed rule, but it sometimes seems like man is not aware of
it. Every religion on the planet tries to change what is born of the flesh and make it into
something else. That is even true in many sections of Christianity where people do not
realize the absolute need of the new birth and consequently make of Christianity just
another religion.

God cannot have intimate fellowship with something and someone that does not partake of
His life. If you are going to have communion with God you must have His spiritual seed in
you (1 John 3:9). This is why 2 Peter 1:4 says that believers are 'partakers of the divine
nature'. Furthermore Jesus prays in John 17:3 'this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent'. The word 'know' here speaks of
an intimate acquaintance of 'life' and not only of some kind of relational association. Hence
we see the futility of mere fleshly devotions. There is nothing that anyone can do to or with
the flesh to make it spirit. You can dress it up, you can put a hat on it, you can make it say
prayers, you can train it very zealously to act religiously, but that will not cause it to become
spirit. Moreover, you can make it recite creeds, you can teach it catechisms, you can take it
through confirmation and various other rites and rituals, you can even ordain it to be a
preacher, but it will not change the flesh into spirit. You can make it attend Christian
conferences, you can teach it to speak in tongues, you can make it sing all the 'right'
Christian songs with the 'right' kind of music, baptize it big or small, and give it the most
wonderful experiences that thrill the emotions, but flesh will remain flesh. You can cause it
to do charitable things, you can send it to the mission field, you can force it to tithe
regularly, but you will not change one iota of its basic nature. You can teach it to act piously
and devoutly in Christian company, give it all the right books to read and train it to mentally
accumulate Scripture verses by the score, but its true colours will be revealed when the test
comes. No matter how much energy you expend to train and teach this flesh to become a
religious expert it cannot but produce after its own kind, namely flesh. Oh the sad and
sorry plight of human religious activity apart from God's supernatural intervention. There
is only one solution for the flesh, it needs to be confronted boldly and told with deep
conviction by the Spirit: 'You must be born again'!

Quote of the Day: "What a sorrowful picture to see the sons of men strive by human effort
to reach the heavens when God has already opened a new and living way by the blood of His
Son."

DAY 3
BORN OF GOD

JOHN 1:13 "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God."

1 JOHN 5:1 "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who
loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."

It is impossible to understand the rebirth without a thorough grasp of what happened in


the Garden of Eden when man fell. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of
good and evil, for He said in the day that they ate of it they would surely die. As we know,
they disobeyed God and ate of the tree, but interestingly enough they did not immediately
die. What did happen was that they died spiritually and consequently they died physically
after a period of time. The important fact to grasp in this account, however, is that a sort of
spiritual rebirth took place the day they ate of that tree. They received an evil nature and
this nature is called 'sin' in the Bible. Not only did they receive that nature, but they also
passed it on to their children and their children's children. The Bible says in Romans 5:12
'just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus
death spread to all men'. This verse makes it clear to us that sin is not only something that
people do, but it is something that they are. It is a universal human disease for which there
is only one cure: the rebirth.

Into this hopeless situation Jesus came and entered human history. He was born of a virgin,
lived a hundred percent righteous life and then died on a cross to atone for our sins. Here
we have to pay close attention, however. If Jesus only paid for our sins (plural) we would
still be in dire straits, for that does not deal with the disease the Bible calls 'the law of sin
and death' (Rom. 8:2). Fortunately Jesus also took our sin (singular) upon Himself. The
Bible says God made Him to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). On the cross God put the sin nature
upon Jesus and there He defeated the power of that nature and therefore Jesus cried out 'it
is finished' just before He breathed His last. This is the triumph of the cross. Not only were
our sins paid for, but the power of sin itself was broken on that cross.

Now we understand why Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7 'you must be born again'.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night with various religious questions, but Jesus simply ignored
that and went straight to the very heart of the human predicament. Man needs not only
forgiveness, but also a new birth or else he remains under the power of sin and death.
There is no substitute for the new birth. No amount of religion, morality, good intentions or
good works can ever change the basic constitution of a person. Only a new birth will
suffice. The good news is that Jesus paid the price and took the sin nature upon Himself
two thousand years ago.

On the basis of the work of Christ the Holy Spirit applies the death of Christ to us and we
are in a moment born again. The sin nature is taken out of us and we receive a new nature.
This new nature or new life is given to us on the basis of the resurrection of Jesus, for He
not only died but also rose again. It is therefore a twofold work that takes place the
moment we are born again. The old man is put to death and the new man is born. When
this happens to you, you can never be the same again for your inward constitution is
changed forever. We now partake of the life of God and therefore we are fully reconciled to
Him. Tomorrow we will look at the practical implications of this new birth.

P.S. If you were convicted by this teaching that you have not experienced the new birth
spoken of here, may I encourage you to turn today from the old life and embrace in faith the
new life that is offered to you in Christ Jesus. Come to Jesus just as you are, cast yourself
upon Him in total abandon and call upon His name. Romans 10:9 says 'if you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved'.

Quote of the Day: "Christianity is not a changed life, it is an exchanged life." Watchman
Nee

DAY 4

IN ADAM, IN CHRIST

1 CORINTHIANS 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 "And so it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being.'
The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit."

1 CORINTHIANS 1:30 "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

When we look at the history of the church through the ages and the experience of
individual believers around us it would not be an exaggeration to say that the most
neglected aspect of the gospel is undoubtedly the 'in Christ' truth. For some reason the
church has failed to grasp the tremendous significance of these two words. It is impossible
to understand the Bible and the gospel message without a thorough grasp of the fact that
God deals with humanity in two men (see Romans 5). There is something like individual
responsibility, but the emphasis always and everywhere in the Bible is the covenant
relationship depicted by the little preposition 'in'. You are either in covenant with the fallen
Adam or with the crucified and resurrected Christ. Ultimately this overshadows individual
responsibility. No, more than that, it is the very crux of individual responsibility in the
Bible. Hence the tremendous emphasis on 'faith' in the Biblical record. It therefore
behooves us to take a closer look at this truth.

Two little words, 'in Christ', yet these are the most important words in human history. It is
impossible to exaggerate the significance of these two simple words. The expression 'in
Christ', 'in the Lord,' 'in whom', etc. appears about two hundred times in the New
Testament. Because of our familiarity with Biblical terms and our 'religious' approach to
the Bible we do not grasp the reality of what this expression wants to convey to us.
Sometimes a closer look at the prepositions in the New Testament can have a profound
effect on our whole experience as believers. The little preposition 'in' is in view here. To
be 'in' someone in the Biblical vernacular means that there is a union between you and that
person. Being one with your physical father means that you share the same blood with him
and that you inherited his characteristics. It is impossible to break that union. In the same
way the Bible speaks of being 'in Adam', that is, sharing the consequences of his fall in the
Garden of Eden. The important thing to grasp, however, is that we are now 'in Christ' and
therefore we share His victory on the cross and His resurrection life! We are not 'in Adam'
and at the same time 'in Christ'. No, no, we are fully, completely and only 'in Christ'! Our
text in 1 Corinthians 15:45 says that Jesus was the 'last Adam'. Moreover Colossians 1:13
states that 'He (the Father) has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us
to the kingdom of His Beloved Son'. You have been transferred into a totally new domain!
In this domain God rules and Christ is Lord above all. Spiritually we are already there. We
are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Oh, what a great salvation. Let us not
only sing of the amazing grace that saved us and forgave us our sins, but even more of the
amazing grace that placed us 'in Christ'!

Quote of the Day: "The words 'in Christ' should be to us the sweetest words that ever
reached a human heart and touched a human life."

DAY 5

GOD'S PERFECT GIFT

1 Corinthians 1:30 "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption"

To the believer who has not yet seen Christ as the sum total of all God's blessings, this verse
is almost impossible to interpret correctly. We cannot truly and intelligently understand
the exalted terms the New Testament uses to describe Jesus, and the centrality it ascribes to
His person, until we have shed our 'religious' approach to God and the Bible and then
embrace Christ as the very core of our existence and the reason for our next breath.

Our text eloquently reveals God's priority for the believer...His Son! It is God who has
placed us in Christ Jesus and in this blessed place of eternal union we find every single
blessing and need fulfilled. The four qualities emphasized here encompass our entire
existence as Christians.

Wisdom - our need to 'understand' and know God and also who we are and where we are
going...it is in Christ!
Righteousness - our need to be delivered from the eternal consequences of sin and to have
unhindered access to the presence of God...it is in Christ!
Sanctification - our need to be delivered from the power of sin and to be transformed into
mature children of God...it is in Christ!
Redemption - our need to be preserved spirit, soul and body until the return of Jesus...it is
in Christ!

This is why you will never find Paul praying for believers as if there is anything that needs
to be added to their lives...more peace, more joy, more patience, etc. No, instead he says:
'you are complete in Him (Christ)' and 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not WITH HIM also freely give us all things' (Col.2:10 and
Rom.8:32). Christ is the peace of God, the joy of God, the patience of God, and whatever else
is needed in the life of the believer can be found only in Him. God has only one gift for
humanity and that is His Son. Therefore let us rather pray with Paul in this manner: "..that
according to the riches of his [the Fathers] glory he may grant you to be strengthened with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith.."

Quote of the Day: "Religion without Christ is like eating soup with a fork: you stay busy,
but remain hungry!

DAY 6

A NEW IDENTITY

1 JOHN 3:1 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be
called sons of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Our text in 1 John says that because of the great love of God we have the tremendous
privilege of being called 'sons of God'. The implication here is that we received a new
identity when we were born again. We are no longer just sons of men, we are now also sons
of God. This matter of identity is of utmost importance in the life of a believer. The way you
think about yourself has profound implications for your life and living. Not only does it
influence your decisions and all areas of your life, but more importantly it largely
determines the impact you will have as a Christian in this world. The interesting thing
about identity is that it is not only a matter of who you are, but also of who you think you
are. Proverbs 23:7a says, 'For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he'.

We are in reality sons of God and therefore we do not need to fool ourselves and pretend to
be something that we are not. The problem is, however, that you can be a son of God and
still think merely like a son of man and this mindset will radically influence the way that
you act and live. In 1 Corinthians 3:3 Paul reprimands the Corinthians for behaving like
'mere men'. Thus we see that it is imperative for us to change our thinking. The new birth
does not directly influence our minds; it is something that we have to sort out for ourselves.
Fortunately we have a powerful ally in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Through the Word of
God the Holy Spirit is able to transform our thinking and consequently our acting. In terms
of our thinking nothing is more important than this matter of identity. In a certain sense
the larger part of the New Testament is just a constant exhortation to think right so that we
may begin to live right. Let us be careful to note though that thinking cannot change who
we are, it cannot make us a new creation. If you are already a new creation, however, your
thinking plays a crucial role in the transformation process. Let us take a closer look at the
dynamics of the matter of identity.

In the world there are many factors that determine the way people think about themselves.
People get their identity from their parentage, their intelligence, their looks, their talents,
their upbringing, their education, their wealth or their poverty, their nationality, the colour
of their skin, the media, school teachers, sometimes simply by the way they feel on a
particular day, and myriads of other sources. In society there are the haves and the have-
nots and these designations change according to the fashion of the times. There is an
invisible personage behind all these outward elements and he (Satan) is constantly out to
capture the minds and imaginations of human beings. When we look at the Christian man
or woman we see that all these various elements that give the world their identity should
not determine who we think we are. Our identity has everything to do with the God who
called us before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of His Son! Oh
what a tragedy it is for believers to allow their environment and other natural factors to
dictate to them who they really are. We are a holy nation and a peculiar people and first
and foremost in all situations we should always remember that we are sons and daughters
of the Most High God. Tomorrow we will consider the difference between who we are and
what we were called to do.

Quote of the Day: "If believers are still struggling with their identity, it is because they
have never considered seriously enough the revolutionary character of the new birth."

DAY 7

HIS DEATH, MY DEATH

Galatians 2:20a: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me."

As believers in Christ there are basically two ways in which we can read the Bible. The one
is called the window-shopping approach, and the other can be described as looking into a
mirror. Our text for today quickly reveals to the honest enquirer the manner in which he is
approaching its truth.

If you take the window-shopping approach you will probably think that this crucifixion
with Christ is something that Paul experienced as an apostle of Christ, but that it is beyond
your reach as an 'ordinary' believer. You may feel that you still see so much of the old
person in your life that it would be truly dishonest for you to say with Paul: 'I have been
crucified...I no longer live.' This is, however, the inevitable result of the window-shopping
mentality. You see the goodies behind the window, but you do not have the means to get a
hold of them.

If you look into the mirror of the Word, on the other hand, you see yourself crucified with
Christ and you see Christ living in you. This is what the Bible calls faith. God has not only
done something for you in Christ, but he has also done something with you. This is the
truth about YOUR life. It is not a matter of spiritual maturity, but the genuine profile of
every true believer. It is not something you work towards, but rather the starting-point for
the believer.

There are obviously many things that we still need to 'die to', but it is truly a hopeless
process if you do not start where God commands you to start...co-crucifixion with His Son.
Only then can you 'reckon yourself dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our
Lord' (Rom. 6:11).

Quote of the Day: "Agree with God and be at peace!"

DAY 8

MORE THAN CONQUERORS

ROMANS 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us.

2 CORINTHIANS 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and
through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

When we read verses like these in the New Testament it seems at first glance to be the
reflection of the lives of supermen who lived in Bible times and far removed from the
experience of us mere mortals. If we take a closer look at the life of the man who penned
these words it quickly becomes apparent, however, that this life of victory included
amongst other things, lots and lots of suffering. Paul was stoned, beaten, persecuted, at
times homeless and hungry (1 Cor. 4:11), imprisoned, shipwrecked. He faced perils of
robbers, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils at sea and perils among false
brethren (2 Cor. 11:26), etc, etc. Yet he said I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation (2
Cor. 7:4). Thus we see on the one hand that being a conqueror is not always as glamorous
as it is sometimes made out to be or in the form that we might anticipate and on the other
that the men that the Bible speaks of are ordinary people just like ourselves. In our verse in
2 Corinthians it says that God leads us in triumph in Christ. That means that the true
conqueror is Christ and as believers we all have equal access to the life of Christ since He
dwells in us. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Rom. 8:9). This
matter of victory or being a conqueror, no even more than a conqueror, then, has
everything to do with the life of faith and nothing with the kind of person involved. The
conquering life is already inside of you. If you will look away from your own experience for
a moment and simply believe Gods testimony of your life in Christ, you will begin to see
manifested much more of this seemingly elusive victory that Paul speaks of. Galatians 2
verse 20 holds the secret to this life of triumph. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me

Quote of the Day: Christ is the Conqueror and he invites you even today to share in His
victory, yes even in the practical realities of your own life and existence.

DAY 9

KNOWING CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT

JOHN 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 "And so it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being.'
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."

2 CORINTHIANS 5:16b "Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet
now we know Him thus no longer."

Not long before Jesus had to leave this earth, just before He went to the cross, He assured
His disciples that He would not leave them as orphans. Jesus knew that His disciples would
need encouragement in the light of what was about to happen to Him. Yet, they did not
immediately realize the significance of what Jesus revealed to them in this last session with
them before His death (John 13-16). Even after He rose from the dead and breathed the
Spirit on them they did not fully understand the tremendous ramifications of this new life
within them. On the Day of Pentecost the Spirit was poured out on them and they
experienced the fullness of the new life that Jesus spoke of, but it was only after God
revealed this mystery to a man named Paul that the full gravity of the new dispensation
began to dawn on them.

In our texts from Corinthians we see two very important facts. Firstly, we note that the last
Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. Jesus had to die on a cross, rise from the dead, and
ascend to His Father, in order to come back to us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Because of
this reality we are no longer to know Jesus only according to the flesh. What does it mean
to know Jesus according to the flesh? It can mean different things to different people, but
the effect is the same, it causes people to miss the main purpose of Jesus' mission and
consequently to live as orphans. We sometimes hear people say, 'If only I could have been
there when Jesus walked on this earth, how wonderful it would have been'! To have
touched Him, been with Him, and spoken with Him. When we talk like this we reveal
thereby that we do not yet know Christ according to the spirit.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:17, "He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him".
This speaks of the most intimate union. Jesus went through a process: death, burial,
resurrection and ascension, thus becoming a life-giving spirit, in order that He could come
and dwell in us. If we see Jesus of Nazareth merely as a historical figure Who lived two
thousand years ago and did certain things for us, we will never come to the fullness of
union-life with Christ. The historical facts about the life and death of Jesus are very
important (1 Cor. 15:1-4), but if we do not see the end result of the work of Christ, namely
'Christ in you, the hope of glory', we live as orphans between the first and second coming of
Jesus. It is God's will for us now already to know and experience union with Christ who
lives in us. We have been intimately united with Christ and we need to pay unusual
attention to this unspeakable privilege. The Living Bible translation of Ephesians 3:17a
says, 'And I pray that Christ will be more at home in your hearts'. Unless we recognize the
presence of Christ within us, He will not be at home in our hearts. Practically this means
that we cease to live the Christian life from the outside to the inside, but rather we begin to
live by faith on the basis of a New Life that dwells deep within us.

Quote of the Day: "Unless we recognize the life of Christ within us, we will remain seekers
of 'something', even though we may be true believers in Christ."

DAY 10

BEHOLDING HIM

2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit
of the Lord.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.

The glory of this world is fleeting and temporary, but the glory that is revealed in the face of
Jesus Christ is of perpetual validity. The revelation of the gospel in these two related texts is
almost too much to take in. We see here that we have been brought into a place where the
veil has been removed and we all may behold the glory of Christ. Moses had to put a veil
over his face when he came down Mount Sinai, but we have an open view on the face of our
Lord. It is only in beholding Him that we grow in glory.
Every person that has been born from above has received light by the sovereign command
of God and according to our text in chapter 4 verse 6 this light is a specific knowledge. It is
the knowledge of the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The word glory can
also be translated as opinion and hence it means that Jesus made known and is making
known to us the opinion of God. In the gospel of Jesus Christ the opinion of God is clearly
revealed and the more we behold Christ in the Word the more we will reflect the opinion, or
glory, of God. The Word of God contains numerous commands, promises, and facts but
these are all compacted into one single message as it were, and that message is Christ.
Hebrews 1 verse 2 says that God has spoken finally in His Son and Paul makes it clear in
Romans 1 verse 3 and Colossians 1 verse 28 that we have only one single message to
proclaim and that message is the message of the Person and work of Christ. Only by the
proclamation of this message will the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fill the earth as the
waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). This will happen in Gods time, but we have to realize
now already that God has a specific opinion concerning His kingdom and our place in that
kingdom that He wants to make known and this opinion can only be revealed in the
beholding of Christ Jesus.

Quote of the Day: You will never experience the full enlightenment that God has in mind
for you without a single, all-exclusive focus on the glory of Christ revealed in the gospel.

DAY 11

OF HIS FLESH AND OF HIS BONES

ACTS 9:1, 4 "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest4. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

EPHESIANS 5:30 "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones."

In order to understand the true nature of the church and the care of God for His church we
need to read the profound statements in Scripture concerning the church in a new light,
uninhibited by our traditional view of things. Originally the church, as described in the
book of Acts, was a vibrant, intimate and very closely related group of people, acutely aware
of the living Christ in their midst by His Spirit. They were also intensely conscious of the
fact that the character of their association was not based on human choice, but on divine
initiative. In short, they lived daily with the awareness of their union with each other and
with God, viz. the Body. In history, however, this concept changed to an institute with vast
organization and diminished Body-consciousness. Gradually the focus shifted from
relationships (with Christ and each other) to programs enacted in a specific building. With
time the building became the focal point of the church and hence it became known as 'the
church', and today we speak of 'going to church'. After we 'went to church' we leave the
church and carry on with our lives. That is why today we live such divided lives. We have a
church life, a work life, a family life, etc. In the first century Christ was such a reality to
believers that they saw Him as their only life (Col. 3:4) and the church life as the practical
expression and extension of that life. They made no distinction between their daily lives
and their life as the church. Whatever they did they did it as the church. It was the church
working, playing, preparing food, etc. When we look at the intimate terms that the Bible
employs to describe the church we can understand why they had such a high view of
church life.
Paul persecuted the church (Acts 9:1) and yet when he was confronted by the resurrected
Christ on his way to Damascus he was asked, 'why are you persecuting Me?' The way that
Jesus identifies Himself with His church baffles the mind, and yet it is a reality that cannot
be refuted or denied. Our text in Ephesians says that we are of His flesh and of His bones,
probably alluding to the language that Adam used in Genesis 2 verse 23 when he first laid
eyes on Eve. It speaks of the closeness of the marriage relation and it describes the most
intimate union possible. This union is to be cherished and cultivated and preserved. We
should not allow an incorrect view of the church to rob us of the preciousness of what God
has in mind for His church. Let us utilize our buildings and our infrastructures, but not to
the exclusion of what it really means to be 'church of the living God' and 'body of Christ'.

Quote of the Day: "Under no circumstances may organization become a substitute for the
organic life that God ordained for His church. Organization is there to serve the organism
and not the other way round."

DAY 12

THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH

PSALMS 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow
of the Almighty.

PSALMS 62:5-6 My soul, be silent only to God; for my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my strong tower; I shall not be shaken.

In Colossians 3 verse 3 we find these precious words for you died, and your life has been
hidden with Christ in God. This verse may also be translated you died and the secret of
your life is your union with Christ in God. As a believer your true life, your authentic
existence; is found only in union with Christ. You have been bought with a price; you no
longer belong to yourself. Life will only have meaning and yield contentment with resultant
joy when we surrender our own claim to fame and associate and identify fully and only
with the Son who bought us with His own blood. Only in this sweet identification of faith
do we begin to look away from the details of our own existence and eventually see the
greater plan of God with our lives. For many believers this seems too good to be true
however, and therefore they relegate this place of rest and contentment to the after life.
Only in heaven will we experience this kind of rest according to many a saint, and so they
continue with their own plans.

Blessed words from the Book of books tell us, however, that he that is joined to the Lord is
one spirit with him(1 Cor. 6:17). Where is this secret place of the Most High that Psalms
91 speaks of? It is in the deepest part of your being, where you are joined to the Lord. It is
as you dwell there by faith and diligently give a mind to the spirit so to speak, that you
also experience the rest under the shadow of the Almighty. Let us therefore tell our souls
to be silent; for our hope is from God, He is our Rock, and He our salvation. What may seem
like mere words to you that cannot truly comfort will become the precious balm of Gilead
once your soul relinquishes its frantic hold on things and surrender to the spirit.

Quote of the Day: Jesus invites you even today, dear believer; to acknowledge your
position in Him and see things from the heavenly perspective (Eph. 2:6).

DAY 13

YOU ARE IN THE SPIRIT

ROMANS 8:4, 9 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
9
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

When we read verse four of Romans eight we come under the impression of the
tremendous importance of walking after the Spirit. Only those who walk thus will have the
righteousness of the law fulfilled in them. How to walk in this manner is, however, the
million dollar question. Verse nine gives us a clue. It says that we are in fact in the Spirit
already just by being a believer. The verse actually starts from the negative side by stating
emphatically that we are not in the flesh. Being in the flesh in this context is the same as
being in Adam. Those who have believed are not in Adam, however, for they have been
delivered from the Adamic state and brought over into the life of Christ. The person who
has been engrafted into Christ is now in the Spirit. That signifies a new state of being, a
new position. It is not something that is dependent on any action on our part. It is all of
God. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 says but of Him (the Father) you are in Christ Jesus. You
may ask then if there is therefore no such thing as being disobedient to the Spirit. Indeed
there is, but this disobedience does not spring from our being in the flesh. It is rather the
result of our failure to abide in Christ (Jn. 15:4,5). Our whole walk as Christians is a walk of
faith. When we trust with childlike dependence on the life of Christ deep within us the
result is obedience. The alternative is a life of independence and the result is disobedience.
Note that even a religious life can be independent and thus disobedient. Only that which
flows from the life of Christ in us is pleasing and acceptable to the Father.
Many believers struggle with the amazing statements in the Scriptures concerning the new
creation because they yet experience so much of the fleshly impulses. Only by looking away
from that unto Christ will we realize our new position, however. This will lead to a new
obedience that can truly be called the walk after the Spirit.

Quote of the Day: According to verse 12 of Romans 8 we have no obligation to the flesh,
because of the simple fact that we are no longer in the flesh (v.9). Our obligation is now to
the Spirit because of our new position.

DAY 14
NOT A TRUTH, BUT THE TRUTH

HEBREWS 1:1-2 "In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the
Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, But
in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir
and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the
reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them
in order]. (Amplified Translation)

The character of the Old Testament revelation is clearly revealed in our text. It was a
revelation that came to God's people in various fragments and pieces, like a puzzle that
slowly takes on form as you receive piece by piece. In this fashion God chose to awaken in
man anticipation for the fullness of His revelation. All the prophets and men of God in the
Old Testament looked forward to the complete manifestation of what they received only in
shadow. Then, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son (Gal. 4:5).

The incarnation of Christ ushered in a new era. The dawning of a new day in God's calendar
arrived and the angels proclaimed with joy, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). The revelation of God was not just another profound
truth. It was not only a principle to be diligently applied. It was more than a deep prophetic
insight. It was in fact not something, but Someone, even the Son of God Himself. "For it
pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell" (Col. 1:19). The Old Testament
was a shadow; this was the reality. God revealed Himself to us in the Person of His Son.
"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (Jn. 1:16).

We thus note immediately a very significant difference between the Old and the New
Testament. In the Old the revelation was fragmented and incomplete, in the New it is
fulfilled and complete. Therefore we have to be vigilant always so as to not fall back into an
Old Testament approach to the Christian life. If you see only various beautiful truths in the
New Testament and you emphasize these truths without seeing their fulfillment in Christ,
you will be carried away with every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14). Everything we do, say,
think and preach must start with Christ and end with Christ. If you feel that this is a bit
radical, consider again the words of the One Who sent His Son: "This is my beloved Son:
hear Him" (Mark 9:7).

Quote of the Day: "Did you never hear a sermon as to which you felt that if Jesus had come
into that pulpit while the man was making his oration, he would have said, "Go down, go
down; what business have you here? I sent you to preach about me, and you preach about a
dozen other things. Go home and learn of me, and then come and talk." C.H. Spurgeon

DAY 15
THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS

PSALMS 96:9 "Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him all the
earth."

There is no other way to worship God, for the Scriptures say that He is three times holy. In
fact Revelation 4 verse 8 says that the four living creatures around the throne do not rest
day or night, saying 'holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty'. And so the Bible repeatedly tells
us that the Lord our God can only be worshiped in holiness, because His basic character is
exceedingly holy and separated from everything that is mundane and created. The problem
is where does that leave us?
We are created, insignificant and in terms of the greater scheme of things nothing special,
not one of us. But praise God for the gospel of Jesus Christ! God called us, washed us,
recreated us and clothed us with righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24). This is the
true position of every believer in Christ Jesus. What a privilege to be able to approach God
not on the basis of our own righteousness, but on the basis of the righteousness of Christ.
God is awesome and terrifyingly holy and therefore our text says 'tremble before Him all
the earth'.
Understanding the holiness of God on the one hand and our position in Christ on the other
will go a long way towards preparing our hearts for true worship. It is necessary, however,
for us to understand something of the inner workings of our own being in terms of the New
Testament method of holiness. Ephesians 4 verse 24 tells us to 'put on the new man', this
man who was created in righteousness and true holiness. How is this done? It is effected
primarily through the mind, because we are creatures who operate daily on the basis of
mental input. When we realize the full position of holiness given to us in the gospel it
creates in us a sense of innocence and on that basis we may approach God. Without this
sense of innocence we will never be able to worship God in an acceptable way. To be holy
means to be completely separated unto God alone. Once we begin to meditate on this
reality our worship of God becomes spontaneous and unforced and the only true incentive
to holy living is awakened in our heart.

Quote of the Day: "To the one who has been washed and cleansed there is nothing more
beautiful than this innocence granted to us in Christ Jesus. The Bible calls this the beauty of
holiness."

DAY 16

SWEET, SWEET RECONCILIATION

EPHESIANS 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by
the blood of Christ."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:18 "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself
through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation."

We have all experienced the pain of separation and broken relationships. Few things are more
distressing and capable of rendering us almost emotionally paralyzed than a relationship that
has gone awry. At the same time we also know the joy and peace that come when those
relationships are recovered and healed. The word of God says that we Gentiles were once far
off and separated from God, without hope and lost in a wilderness of futility. Then God Himself
drew near to us in His Son and looked favourably upon us as a people. Because of this blessed
gospel the enmity that reigned because of sin was broken at the cross and we were reconciled
to God. As our hearts become more and more tender in our Christian lives, under the gentle
ministrations of God's Spirit, we begin to grasp the immense privilege of being reconciled to
God. Conversely we also increasingly begin to see the terrible condition that we were in before
we were reconciled. The Holy Spirit does this in order to cultivate in us an ever-expanding
thankfulness for the redemptive work of our Saviour. To all those who cherish the sweet fruit
of a reconciled life this word reconciliation becomes one of the most beautiful in God's
heavenly repertoire of redemptive terms.

Quote of the Day: "If reconciliation with man can bring such peace and joy to our hearts, how
much more should we be overwhelmed by the reality of reconciliation with God."

DAY 17

LIFE AND EXAMPLE

JOHN 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

1 PETER 2:21 "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us
an example, that you should follow His steps."

There is in the New Testament a clear injunction for us to follow closely the example that
Jesus has set for us. Even though this is biblical, it is yet inadequate, for the New Testament
has much more to say about Jesus who became our life than Jesus who set us an example.
Our following of Christ should thus be based solely on His life that dwells in us. If you try to
follow the example of Jesus without the knowledge of the exchanged life (Gal. 2:20) you will
surely end up frustrated and condemned, for no human being can ever be like Jesus apart
from the power of His life working effectively in that person. It is, moreover, also important
to not reverse the order of these two Christian imperatives. Everything in the Christian life
starts with the reality of the indwelling Christ. Once we have grasped the principle of Christ
working in and through us we may then consider what Jesus would have done in various
situations. We have to add, however, that the matter of individual personality must also be
considered. God has given everyone of us a unique personality and He will never violate
what he has made us to be. Christ had a specific task and mission in history as Jesus of
Nazareth. Likewise God has a unique mission for each of us to fulfill. The true following of
Jesus will therefore always be along moral and practical lines and not a specific imitation of
every detail in the life of Jesus.

Quote of the Day: "We must never reverse the order of life and example in terms of our
relationship with Christ in the discipleship process."

DAY 18

JUST AS, EVEN SO

GALATIANS 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself for me."

ROMANS 6:4 "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life."

The great dividing line in every believer's life comes the day that he sees the finality of the
cross. The whole of the Christian life can be looked at from one of two perspectives. From
the outside two believers may be doing exactly the same things, but if we could see their
inward motivations there might be a world of difference. The one understands the finality
of the cross and therefore he lives on resurrection ground and in resurrection power. The
other knows only the forgiveness of the cross and thus he lives primarily in the power of his
own resolutions. To be sure, we are strongly exhorted in many places in the New Testament
to be diligent and to make the right choices, but all these exhortations are based on our
position as crucified people. That is why Paul, when He writes his letters, always starts out
with our position and then he gives the application. We cannot afford to reverse this order,
for it is disastrous for the spiritual life.

The entire life of a believer is based on a very specific event, the crucifixion of Jesus. When
Jesus died on that cross, He did not only die for you, but you died with Him. You died to the
old, independent Adamic life. This is not a wish or a promise, but a fact. Observe the tenses
in every instance where our co-crucifixion with Christ is spoken of. It is always in the past
tense. Therefore we need to live our lives on the right side of the cross.

'You have to die to' is a popular phrase in Christianity. Of course there are many things that
we have to die to, but we will never die effectively until we understand that we are in fact
already dead to those things. Only the experience of it needs to follow. This is called the life
of faith in Scripture. We reckon ourselves dead, because we are in fact dead. No matter
how difficult it may be for you to grasp the fact that you died before you were even born
physically, you must under no circumstances doubt the word of God. If the Bible says you
died (past tense) with Christ (Col. 3:3) you must accept that fact by faith and begin to live
your life on this basis.

What are the practical implications of our co-crucifixion with Christ then? In a word, you
need to think and act henceforth on resurrection ground. All the imperatives of
Christianity; for example the prayer life, study of the Word, abstaining from sin, witnessing
and being actively involved in a church fellowship still apply, but you must never again see
these disciplines as activities that you engage in apart from Christ. Whatever you do must
be done in the power of the life of Christ. This may seem to you like a rather unimportant
technical point, but it is the exact point of difference between eventual spiritual burnout
and a life that keeps on growing and expanding. Begin to reckon yourself dead today and as
you engage in all the Christian activities as before you will start to recognize a new power
that rises up from your innermost being.

Quote of the Day: "The ultimate question in Christianity is not whether you live the
disciplined life, but on what side of the cross are you standing as you engage in these
disciplines."

DAY 19

NOT ONLY FORGIVEN

EPHESIANS 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace."

JOHN 3:3 "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'."

1 JOHN 3:9 "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he
cannot sin, because he has been born of God."

The gospel of Jesus Christ communicates to us the fact that Someone died for our sins and
paid the penalty for our transgressions so that we would not have to. When Jesus cried out
on that cross 'it is finished', that was a final dealing with sin and a perfect atonement.
Nothing can be added to the complete work of the cross. It can only be received by faith. To
all who recognize their need of a Saviour and consequently embrace the cross and call on
the Name of Jesus the sweet blessing of total forgiveness of sins flows abundantly from the
throne of God. We should be ever thankful for this gift of forgiveness and sing the praises of
our Redeemer without ceasing. I suggest to you, however, that should this remain the sum
total of your understanding of salvation you grieve the Holy Spirit and frustrate the
purposes of God. As a believer you are not only a forgiven person, but also a new person.
How many believers live for years with this patently inadequate idea of salvation? Salvation
is infinitely more than just being forgiven, living a good life and going to heaven one day.
Salvation in New Testament terms involves a new birth, a totally new being, and a new
creation.
Our texts for today speak of being 'born again' and being 'born of God'. This is the heart of
God's eternal purpose with us as believers. God has always wanted to bring many sons to
glory. A Christianity that does not take cognizance of this remains in a state of infancy and
constantly misses the plans and designs of God. It is impossible to have an ongoing,
meaningful and deep communion with God unless we understand that we are born of Him.
Our Scripture in 1 John says His seed remains in us. Christ lives in us. We have been united
with the very life of God. It is because we do not realize these profound truths that we
casually read over statements like 'sons of God', 'in Christ', and 'saints' in the New
Testament. We do not grasp the fact that it is not just metaphorical language, it is real!
How can we be called saints if we were only forgiven? If you are only forgiven, you remain
the same person and by no means can you honestly be called a saint. The letters in the New
Testament are addressed to 'saints', because in Christ Jesus we are indeed new people.
You are no longer the person you were before you believed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says 'if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation'. We are a brand new creation. This verse is
familiar to most of us, but we do not realize the implications of it because we have become
so familiar with the letter of the Word and we have been brainwashed by a Christianity that
looks at everything from man's point of view. It is time for us to look at our lives from God's
point of view. In God's estimation the new birth is all-important. Imagine living for years
as if you are still in Adam, but just forgiven, when in fact you are not only forgiven, but also
a totally new person because you are now in Christ! Tomorrow we will take a closer look at
the Biblical teaching of the new birth.

Quote of the Day: "Christianity is more than trying to act like Jesus, it is living your life in
intimate union and communion with Him.

DAY 20

NO MORE DISTANCE

EPHESIANS 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
in the blood of Christ.

ROMANS 10:8b The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of
faith which we preach)

HEBREWS 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus.

The gospel reveals the fact that there is no more distance between God and us. The cross of
Christ has forever obliterated the distance brought about by the fall of man. From Gods
point of view we have been fully reconciled to Him (2 Cor. 5:18). By faith we have free
access to the presence of God. The only distance that still exists is found in the unrenewed
minds of believers who refuse to acknowledge the success of the cross. There is not a single
reason that you could offer to cancel out the testimony of the cross, which is the testimony
of a complete reconciliation. The sin problem has effectively been dealt with and therefore
the New Testament appeal remains awake to righteousness and stop sinning (1 Cor.
15:34). We need to awake to the fact that we have died to sin when Christ died on that
cross (Rom. 6:11). Unfortunately the appeal of a large contingency of Christianity is not
based on the power of the cross, but on the principle of the law, namely self-effort. There is
a huge difference between effort based on our own resolutions and the effort that is a result
of faith. To be a believer is to be a person who lives by the power of the indwelling Christ.
This is a life of trust which acknowledges the success of the cross and brings you face to
face with God (2 Cor. 4:4-6). For you to continue to stack up the evidence against your free
access to the throne of God is to totally ignore the work of the cross, thus leaving yourself in
a cold and barren religious routine that robs you of all joy. Only in the presence of the Lord
is there fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11) and He invites even you to enter this very day by the
blood of the Lamb.

Quote of the Day: The effectiveness of the cross cannot be challenged, but our ignorance
of its power can rob us of the profound privileges that it procured for us.

DAY 21

SLAVES AND SONS

GALATIANS 4:1-4 "Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child does not differ at all from
a slave, though he is master of all, But is under guardians and stewards until the time
appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the
elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the law."

In this section of Scripture Paul addresses the Galatian believers who were in danger of
adding Jewish laws and rituals to their faith in Christ. He uses the analogy of slaves and
sons to show them that they should not move back to the Jewish system of worship, for all
that belongs to a different dispensation. The question immediately arises, 'what has this to
do with us living in the twenty-first century'? As believers in Jesus Christ it has everything
to do with us, for in our time there are even more 'systems' and teachings that seek to lure
us away from the freedom that we obtained in Christ. Unless we understand our sonship
and God's purposes in the New Testament we will move back to something inferior to that
which we received in Christ Jesus. Paul's analogy brings out some profound truths, which
will inoculate us against this error. Let us therefore expound some of the principles
revealed here.

God's intention has always been to have many sons through whom he could manifest his
glory. In His divine providence, however, he set a time when He would send forth Christ in
order to inaugurate this plan. In the Old Testament all those who believed (primarily the
Jews) were under a very strict system of laws and rituals. Therefore Paul says in verse one
that the heir (speaking of Jews under the law) is no different to a slave while he is still a
child. The Jews who believed in God are called children in this analogy, because they were
heirs but could not receive full sonship because the time was not yet there. They are
consequently called sons living as slaves. When the father (God) sent forth His Son (Jesus)
the time of guardians and stewards was revoked and it ushered in a new era. Hence Paul is
saying to these Galatian believers that they are regressing back to the time under the law
when they try to add anything to their faith in Christ Jesus. As Gentile believers in Christ we
were never under the law as a system and therefore we do not need to live as slaves. The
fullness of time has already come. We do not need to wait for another time or another
deliverance. We are sons living in the dispensation of grace and as such we may enjoy the
full inheritance of our Father. Any religious program that tries to add something to the
completed work of Christ is subtly bringing us under a system of which we were never a
part. This was Paul's point to these Gentile believers. Therefore he sums it all up with his
exhortation in chapter five verse one of this letter: 'Stand fast therefore in the liberty by
which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage'. Let
us heed this word and not allow anyone to make slaves of us, when we are in fact sons.

Quote of the Day: "There is no one more free than the one who is bound to Christ Jesus."

DAY 22

OUR PRESENT POSITION

COLOSSIANS 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son.

This verse in Colossians is one of the most precious jewels in the treasure chest of the
believers redemptive riches. Unfortunately many believers do not grasp the significance of
it because they unconsciously read the future tense into it. It is most important for us to
note the tenses when we read our Bible, and especially in the reading of the New
Testament. If we fail to do that we will miss the impact and benefit of many redemption
realities that are available in the here and now.
As is plain in our text the verbs delivered and transferred are both in the past tense
signifying a present fact and not just a future fulfillment. As regenerated believers we have
already been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of
Christ. Now already we are spiritually in that eternal kingdom and the Word says moreover
that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). Why is this important for us to
realize? It is important because without this reality firmly settled in our minds we will
continue to live as if we belong to two kingdoms, namely the kingdom of this world and the
kingdom of God. Victory then becomes an elusive thing. It is thus an important transition
in our minds to come to the settled awareness of our heavenly position.
We should also understand that it is still possible for the domain of darkness to exert an
influence on us from the outside, but with the consciousness of our place in Christs
kingdom that influence will continue to wane until that day when we stand before God in
the splendour of redeemed and glorified bodies.
Quote of the Day: The glory of the heavenly life will only be seen upon us when we begin
to see our present position with Christ in the heavenly sphere.

DAY 23

THE MYSTERY REVEALED

COLOSSIANS 1:27 "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

GALATIANS 4:6 "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying out, 'Abba Father'."

2 CORINTHIANS 13:5 "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you are
disqualified."

Yesterday we looked at the great truth of our being 'in Christ'. This union that we have with
the Son of God is such a profound reality that we could meditate for all eternity on its
ramifications. Today we will consider the fact that we are not only in Christ, but Christ is
also in us. The Bible calls it a 'mystery'. There are several mysteries spoken of in the New
Testament, but of all of them this one is probably the greatest and it runs parallel with the
mystery of the Gentiles' inclusion in God's economy of salvation spoken of in Ephesians 3:5-
6. The word 'mystery' comes from the Greek word 'musterion' and it speaks of a hidden
purpose or counsel. This 'mystery' was hidden in the heart of God for ages and not revealed
in the Old Testament, but merely hinted at in certain passages. In the fullness of time,
however, God revealed it specifically to the apostle Paul and therefore he writes with great
enthusiasm about it. We can sense the hunger in his heart to reveal it to believers, to make
known to them what they possess in Christ Jesus. Who could have imagined that God
would one day place His Son in believers to be their very life.

Even though this mystery has been revealed and is written in our Bibles in our own
language for us to read and understand we still need the illumination of the Holy Spirit to
fully grasp this revelation. Moreover it needs to be emphasized in preaching and personal
Bible study or we will never come to a settled understanding of its implications for our
lives. If this is arguably the highest revelation in the Word as far as the implications for
human living are concerned why do we not hear more about it? When you begin to read
the New Testament, especially the epistles, with this truth in the back of your mind you will
find that you do not have to read very far to notice the 'in Christ' emphases. Just ask
yourself how many sermons have you heard on this subject. Do you know the depths of this
truth? Have you ever become silent in the light of this great treasure that dwells in your
bosom? How our Father must grieve for the inferior thoughts that we often accommodate
when he has revealed so much more in the Scriptures. Mere moral-ethical sermons will
never bring anyone to spiritual maturity for that is not much different to the message
preached in so many other religions. Christianity is different, not only because we have a
Saviour who died for us on a cross, but also because we have a Saviour that now lives in us.

As we long for a full revelation by the Spirit of this marvelous truth and we accept it by faith
we will see the glory of Christ begin to manifest in and amongst us. We have to realize that
the indwelling of Christ in us is not a metaphorical statement, but a statement of fact and an
absolute reality. The leading part of our beings is our spirit and here in the depths we are
united with the Person of Christ in an intimate union. The Father yearns for us to focus on
this truth and to begin to live our lives in a close communion with His Son. Therefore Col.
3:2-3 says that we must set our minds on the things above, for our lives are hid with Christ
in God.

Quote of the Day: "The Word is not a manual, it is Immanuel. It is not just a new set of
rules for better living, it is revealing God with us, for us and in us."

DAY 24

TRUE CONFIDENCE

2 CORINTHIANS 3:4-5 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our
sufficiency is from God,

PHILIPPIANS 3:3-6 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-- 4 though I myself have reason
for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the
flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the
church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

The matter of confidence is closely related to our identity in Christ and therefore it is of the
utmost importance. In our text in Philippians we see that Paul was a man who had every
reason to be a very confident person on the basis of his birth and his achievements in life.
Hence in verses five and six he gives us a list of his pedigree, as it were. The only problem is
that for all his effort to impress us that he is a person to be reckoned with he immediately
proceeds to break down these achievements as a foundation for confidence. He had every
opportunity to become one of the most famous Pharisees of all time, but on the way to
Damascus he discovered a greater identity. He discovered his identity in union with Christ
Jesus. This discovery caused him to abandon his natural confidence and to forthwith place
all his confidence in the achievements of Christ. From that time onwards Paul would never
again rely on or boast in his natural abilities. Whenever he needed to defend his right to
proclaim the gospel he did not fall back on his training as a Pharisee. Instead he says that he
was called in Christ Jesus to be an apostle. It was a gift conferred upon him. Therefore he
says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 10 by the grace of God I am what I am.
And so we have to apply this test to our own lives. Where is our confidence? What is our
claim to fame, as they say? It is in fact possible, even as a believer, to live with a false
confidence without even being aware of it. All we need to do is to ask ourselves whether we
would still be the same people if we lost everything that we sometimes think make up our
identity and worth in the community. If they were to take away all your degrees,
achievements, financial security, excellent track record and good standing in the
community, would you still be the same person inside? Would you still be able to walk out
into the world and say I am a person with a message and I am what I am by the grace of
God? We may know for sure that the old and the new identity cannot be mingled! Where
do you stand on this issue? Let us consider this matter before God.

Quote of the Day: The secret to the life of the apostle Paul was the Source of his
confidence, even his union and identification with the Lord Jesus Christ.

DAY 25

A MATTER OF BEING

JOHN 13:3-5 "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that
He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments,
took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to
wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded."

Yesterday we looked at the matter of identity in a general way. We saw that the way we
think about ourselves has a very specific impact on our life and living. Let us now consider
the distinction between what we could call 'being' and 'doing'. The basic message of the
gospel is all about 'being'. The whole religious world emphasizes the matter of 'doing', but
in the New Testament we see that it is all about what Jesus did (Rom. 5). Subsequent to the
success of the cross we are meant to proclaim the finished work of Christ and to find our
very existence in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Being a son of
the God who dwells in eternity should be infinitely more weighty to us than the dignity that
any earthly identity can confer upon us. Once we have settled into our new identity and we
understand who we are in the sight of God we can begin to think about our expression of
this new life.

Multitudes of believers try to become something by what they do, or to find their identity in
their specific gift. This is not only dangerous in terms of the ever-lurking threat of pride,
but it is a great tragedy in the light of the glory of the new birth revealed to us in the pages
of the New Testament. The Christian church is a community of those who have found their
identity in God alone. This is the greatest strength of our testimony to the world. Men and
women are running around, seeking to find some kind of stability in their lives, trying to
associate themselves with something permanent. We have the answer, because we have
found this permanence in the eternal God who has rebirthed us in His Son. This should be
our standard testimony to the world. What we often find, however, is that many believers
realize that their achievements in the world do not count in the church of the living God, but
then they bring their performance mentality into this new, ecclesiastical arena. The result
is the same jostling for position and incessant competition between people, which is so
rampant in the world. Believers who understand their identity in Christ will never try to
compete with others in the church to be more spiritual or to have more influence, etc.
When we find our worth in who we are (being), instead of what we do (doing) the natural
outflow will be servanthood. We see this so clearly in the life of Jesus.

In our text in John we observe that the Holy Spirit specifically records for us (v.3) the
inward knowledge that Jesus rested in before He washed His disciples' feet. Jesus was the
eternal God in human flesh and yet He did not shrink from bowing down and washing the
dirty feet of His disciples. Why? Because He knew where He came from and where He was
going. Each and every one of us has a different task and in a certain sense a unique calling
in the church. We can express the living Christ in a way that no one else can, because of our
particular personality and gifts. The question is, however: do we know who we are? If not,
we will always try to establish our worth by what we do or by our position in the church, if
not in the world. Consequently we will never really come to the place of true humility and
servanthood where the Holy Spirit can begin to work beyond the vessel and start to
manifest the content, Christ. It is absolutely imperative for the testimony of the church that
we should find our identity in Christ alone and begin to serve from a position of fulfillment
and not lack.

Quote of the Day: "The whole religious world continues to preach 'do, do, do'! The gospel
proclaims 'done, done, done'!"

DAY 26

CREATED IN CHRIST FOR GOOD WORKS

EPHESIANS 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

1 PETER 4:10 "As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious
divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided
grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by
unmerited favour]." (Amplified Translation)

JOHN 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me."
In Ephesians 2:10 we see several facts about the new creation that are imperative to a
fruitful walk. Firstly, we note that we are entirely the workmanship of God. The word
workmanship translates the Greek word 'poiema' that can also be rendered as
'masterpiece', or even 'poem'. This masterpiece that we are does not primarily speak of
our natural creation, but refers to the fact that we were created 'in Christ Jesus'. Hence this
refers to our new birth. God wants to put His masterpiece on display. Therefore we were
created 'for good works'. We were not just saved to go to heaven, but God wants to
demonstrate the abundance of His grace through us. Romans 9:23 ties in beautifully with
our text: "And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy,
which He had prepared beforehand for glory."

We subsequently see that these good works were 'prepared beforehand' for us to walk in.
This draws our attention to the fact that we can never produce good works, pleasing to God,
in our own strength, running around and looking for good works. God has already
prepared our good works for us. We just need to be willing, alert and ready to walk in them.
There are many opportunities daily, all around Christians, to serve and be a blessing. When
you see the opportunity, let's say on the 25th of October 2000 at half past two in the
afternoon, and you become a servant in that moment, you may know that God prepared
that opportunity for you 'beforehand'.

When we walk in the unforced rhythms of grace this life of serving is never a burdensome
strain on us, even though it may involve many sacrifices. The reason why good works
become more of a frustration than a fountain of blessing to us at times is because we
confuse the vessel with the content. We are vessels of God's glory; we are not the glory.
God has placed Christ in every believer and He alone is the One that produces the fruit in
us. We can never bear God-honoring fruit by trying to put on artificial fruit from the
outside. It is as we abide in the vine (Christ) that we begin to spontaneously bear fruit.
Every believer has the divine content (Christ) inside. This content comes out of us in
unique ways. God has placed an enormous diversity of gifts in the church and therefore we
do not need to imitate anyone, for we are each totally unique. We simply need to abide in
Christ, be ourselves, and be on the lookout for the good works that God has already
prepared for us beforehand.

Quote of the Day: "What a joy it is to realise that God does not expect you to bear fruit in
and of yourself. What an added blessing to cease competing with other believers, knowing
that you cannot manifest Christ the way they can, and they can never manifest Christ the
way that you can."

DAY 27

A MAN OF NO REPUTATION
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

A reputation signifies the opinion that people at large have about a specific person. It is not
necessarily always the things that they may say about someone, but the view that they
harbour in their heart of hearts. In the passage before us we are given as it were a profile of
the form that Jesus assumed when He was on His holy mission to this earth. We are also
clearly shown that it was a great condescension for the Son of God to empty Himself of His
divine position and to take on the form of a servant. Yet Jesus did not hold on to His
position, but He gave it up so that He could obey the Father and redeem sinful humanity.
Jesus could have assumed various identities as the Son of God made flesh, but He was born
in a stable as the son of a lowly carpenter. Moreover in His life on earth He was never
known just as the carpenter's son with this or that peculiar talent, but He was known as a
servant. Isaiah 53:2 says 'He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no
beauty that we should desire Him'. However, in the New Testament we see that multitudes
were drawn to Him. What were they drawn to? They were drawn to the substance, not the
form. It was the life inside of Jesus that drew people to Jesus not the package in which the
life was contained. It is essential for the Christian church to learn this lesson. Our passage
from Philippians was not written just to tell us about the lowly form that Jesus assumed on
earth, but especially to admonish us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in this regard.

When we look at the way that the world operates we see that it is all about the package.
What counts are the externals, the image of things. That is why large companies spend
hundreds of thousands of Rands to present the right image to the public. As the church we
need to learn, and learn quickly that things do not work that way in the kingdom of God. In
every single instance throughout church history where the church tried to do things the
way the world does it, it was a spiritual failure. Not necessarily a logistical failure, but
definitely a spiritual failure. We may state emphatically from the evidence presented to us
in the Scriptures that God operates through the form of servants. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-27
Paul says the following to that church, 'for you see your calling, brethren, that not many
wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty'.

This is one of the big tests in the Christian life. How do people refer to you? More
important still, how do you want to be known? The enemy always focuses our attention on
some special thing about us that feeds our pride. Are you, or do you want to be known as
'the distinguished one, the clever one, the learned one, or maybe the beautiful one'. How
about 'the hardworking one, the generous one, the gifted one'. Some revel in being known
as 'the musical one', others prefer to be seen as 'the classy ones', and sadly enough some
even crave the title of 'the humble one'. 'Man of influence and power' is another cherished
designation. Then of course we come to the matter of titles. Some simply revel in being
called 'doctor' or 'professor', or even 'pastor' or 'reverend'. Others feel there is not enough
dignity in merely being called 'reverend', and therefore they do their utmost to achieve the
title of 'the most reverend' so and so. Once again it is a matter of identity. Those believers
who hold on to a form are often those who have not yet seen that they have received a
totally new identity in Christ and therefore the outward form is not what it's all about. We
all have different stations and callings in life and therefore the point is not whether you are
a professor or a waiter, but the searching question is 'how do you wish to be known'? A
good test is to ask yourself what you would like people to say about you at your funeral?
Perhaps God would be pleased with something like the following testimony about us, 'He
was a distinguished and gifted man, but that was not what impressed us. We were always
struck by the way in which he followed his Master. He taught us to serve, love and forgive
from the heart'. That is the profile of a follower of Jesus!

Is our craving for reputation not the reason why we have lost the power of the Spirit in the
church? God only operates with power through lowly servants. Men of no reputation. He
will not share His glory with man. If you want to do it yourself, go ahead, do it. But do not
expect God to grant you the Holy Spirit's stamp of approval. There is no lack of gifts in the
Christian church. We have more than enough human resources. The question is 'are we
willing to give up our reputations, so that God can manifest His mighty reputation through
servants'? Will the Christian church stand up to the challenge or will we succumb
completely to the spirit of this world and choose reputation, rather than holy humiliation
and consequently heavenly power? Let us end with a Scripture that I believe speaks to all
of us at this present time: 'Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the lowly'
(Rom. 12:16).

Quote of the Day: "The test of a spiritual man lies not in his achievements and conquests,
but in the effect that those achievements have on his view of himself."

DAY 28

FRUITS BY JESUS CHRIST

PROVERBS 12:12 "The wicked covet the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous
yields fruit."

PHILIPPIANS 1:11 "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God."

All true believers have the desire to bear fruit, but the way to do this varies quite
considerably among Christians. Sometimes one is given the idea that the producing of fruit
is entirely up to us. As if we have the ability within ourselves to bring forth fruit. This is
indeed a grave mistake. We are in a certain sense trees planted by the Lord (Ps. 104:16),
and as in the case of any fruit tree planted on earth, we cannot produce fruit in and of
ourselves. As our text in Philippians says, our fruits are 'by Jesus Christ'. How should we
understand this statement?
In the first place one could say that all fruit starts with the seed. The seed contains in it the
tree and all of its fruit. Christ in us is the seed of God (1 Jn.3: 9) and in that sense we bear
fruit as a direct consequence of the indwelling of the incorruptible seed. Furthermore it is
only through the work of Christ on the cross that we are placed in a position to bear fruit,
hence when we are saved. Our salvation could be compared to the planting of a tree and
once this tree is planted it bears fruit by the Word of God (Ps. 1:2-3) and the activity of the
Spirit of Christ. On top of this there is also the matter of pruning and even this is not based
on our initiative. We do not need to prune ourselves, our heavenly Father does it (Jn. 15:1-
2). This pruning is probably primarily the circumstances of our lives, which are
orchestrated by God, causing us to depend exclusively on Christ.
As is apparent, all these factors work together in order to cause us to bear fruit. What then
is our responsibility? We only have to create the correct environment for the tree to grow.
Trusting Christ and yielding our entire life to Him creates this environment. It is not a
passive life, but it is a life of faith. As we behold Christ in the Word (2 Cor.3: 18) and obey
Him in all matters we bear fruit as a direct consequence of His life in us. Our whole
contribution in this process can thus be summed up in the slogan 'trust and obey'.

Quote of the Day: "No tree can produce fruit by thinking constantly about bearing fruit.
As it basks in the sunshine and receives the rain that falls from heaven, the fruit comes in its
season. So is the life of every true believer."

DAY 29

THE OVERCOMING LIFE

1 JOHN 2:24 "Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what
you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the
Father."

COLOSSIANS 3:16a "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly."

We have seen in our previous studies that we are not just forgiven, but we have received a
new life and that God's will for us is to live by the power of this new life, which is the very
life of Christ. This overcoming life spoken of in the Scriptures is so liberating that many
believers can hardly believe that this is the life that God intends for them to live. In spite of
the high life revealed in the New Testament, however, many believers remain in bondage to
old habits and therefore it becomes imperative for us to look at the practical implications of
being in Christ. In other words how does it work out in our everyday lives. The gospel is
supposed to work. It is supposed to be a total success and if we do not experience the
overcoming life it is not because there is something wrong with the gospel, but rather
because we are not rightly related to the truth presented in the gospel.

Many believers have heard about the overcoming life and the exchanged life, yet they
continue to live defeated lives. They are familiar with all the terminology and can even
expound to you the biblical teachings, but of the victory that those teachings are meant to
bring they know very little. It is so important for us as believers to not lie to ourselves. We
are children of the light and therefore we do not need to live a life of pretense. If you do not
enjoy the life of victory that the Bible speaks of be honest about it and face the reality of
your present level of spiritual growth. It is not a shame for a believer to struggle with
victory. Most of the epistles in the New Testament were written to help believers who were
struggling with these things, just like us today. Moreover we have to keep in mind that
there are powerful forces at work around and within us that try with utmost exertion to
keep us from overcoming and living in victory. In spite of this we know that the Son of God
was made manifest so that we could live a settled life of peace and joy. Let us therefore
consider the practical application of this teaching of the indwelling Christ.

How many times have you said to yourself, 'I must try harder, I must pray more and show
greater diligence'? How often have you made one more resolution to not make a mess of it
next time round? Sometimes our lives seem to be like an ongoing political polemic where
they make resolution upon resolution, but nothing is ever resolved. If you are tired of going
around in circles know that there is freedom to be found in Christ. Jesus said in John 8:36
'whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed', and He was not mocking us, He meant what
he said. The Weymouth translation of our text in 1 John gives us the key to the practical
overcoming of our weaknesses in the Christian life: 'As for you, let the teaching which you
received from the very beginning continue in your hearts. If that teaching does continue
in your hearts, you also will continue to be in union with the Son and with the Father'. It is
apparent from this Scripture that we have to be under the influence of the gospel message
like an alcoholic is under the influence of alcohol. The amount of alcohol that an alcoholic
consumes determines the extent to which his behaviour will be changed. In the same way
our behaviour will be positively transformed, as we become increasingly addicted to the
word of God's grace. The more you meditate on the fact that you are one with Christ, the
more your life will manifest this union. Colossians 1:5-6 says that the word of the truth of
the gospel brought forth fruit in those believers from the day that they 'heard and knew the
grace of God in truth'. Let us therefore take heart and anticipate a new season of victory in
our Christian lives as we meditate on the grace that was brought to us in the gospel of Jesus
Christ.

Quote of the Day: "You are either under the influence of God's grace revealed in the
gospel, or you are under the influence of other forces. The extent to to which you allow
God's gospel to penetrate your heart will determine the extent to which you will experience
radical personal transformation."

DAY 30

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

JOHN 15:4-5 "Maintain a living communion with me, and I with you. Just as the branch is
unable to be bearing fruit from itself as a source unless it remains in a living union with the
vine, so neither you, unless you maintain a living communion with me. As for myself, I am
the vine. As for you, you are the branches. He who maintains a living communion with
me and I with him, this one is bearing much fruit, because apart from me you are not able to
be doing anything." (Kenneth Wuest Translation)

Yesterday we looked at the illustration of the vessel and the content and we saw that we
were created to be vessels containing the life of Christ. Today we focus on the analogy of
the Vine and the branches to gain more insight into the kind of relationship that we were
brought into by the new birth. Jesus used this analogy to illustrate our total dependence on
His life and our need to become one with His life, His thoughts, and His desires. The
relationship of a branch to a vine is one of receiving. There is nothing that a branch can give
to a vine besides the opportunity to bear fruit. A branch has no life of its own. It is merely
an expressor of the life that is in the vine. A branch that is not attached to a vine soon
withers and dies. In the same way we cannot be healthy and vigorous spiritually if our
whole life is not intimately related to the vine (Christ). A branch that tries to bear fruit on
its own has an impossible task. The organic fluid that sustains and feeds us spiritually is
found only in the vine. The vine gets the nutrients and minerals from the ground and
dispenses it to the branch. The only responsibility of the branch is to remain rightly related
to the vine.

In the preceding chapters of the gospel of John Jesus reveals in a unique way His intimate
relationship with His Father. No other gospel gives us this insight into the inner union and
communion that Jesus had with God. Philippians 2 says that Jesus emptied Himself when
He became a man and therefore He had to live this life of total dependence on His Father.
The relationship of Jesus to God illustrated so beautifully in the gospel of John gives us a
pattern for the kind of relationship that we now have to maintain with Jesus. Let us first
look at it negatively. In John 8:38 Jesus said to the unregenerate Jews 'I speak what I have
seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father'. In verse 44 He says
to them plainly 'you are of your father the devil'. Before we were regenerated we followed
the desires of the sinful nature that dwelt in us. Now that we are born of God we have to
recognize that we have a new life source and despite what we may still experience our
relationship to God is that of a branch to a vine, a living union. This intimate life union must
be cultivated and cherished. Few things are more beneficial to us in this prospect than to
study the relationship of Jesus to His Father in the gospel of John. Let us briefly consider
one of Jesus' profound statements of dependence and then I will give you a longer list for
your private study.

In John 5:19 Jesus said 'Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but
what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner'. If
Jesus Himself had to live such a life of total subservience to His Father while he was on
earth, how much more should we. Here follows a list of Scriptures that reveal to us the
inward life of our Saviour in His time on earth: John 4:34, 5:19, 5:30, 6:38, 7:16, 8:26, 8:28,
8:38, 9:4, 12:49-50, 14:10, 14:24, and 14:31.

Quote of the Day: "Christianity is not a struggle to become, but a choice to let Jesus be."
Watchman Nee
DAY 31

THE RESTING PLACE OF GOD

PSALMS 132:13-14 "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation:
'This is My resting place forever [says the Lord]; here I will dwell, for I have desired it."

Quite amazingly the living God, Creator of the ends of the earth and Craftsman of the vast
universe, has chosen a specific place where He desires to dwell throughout all eternity. This
place is called Zion in the Bible. If we can locate this place called Zion we may be assured of
never-ending wellbeing, for wherever God is there is glory, blessing, and life forevermore.
So where is this Zion? When we turn to the Old Testament we find that Zion was the
highest of the hills on which Jerusalem was built. When David took it from the Jebusites
(Josh. 15:63, 2 Sam. 5:7) he built a citadel and a palace on it and it became known as the
'city of David' (1 Kings 8:1, 2 Kings 19:21). Moving to the New Testament the picture
becomes clearer and we see in Hebrews 12 verse 22 that 'we (the church) have come to
Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem'. This highest point of
the physical Jerusalem thus represents the apex of God's eternal purpose and divine
economy, the Old Testament being a shadow and picture of the spiritual realities of the
New. In this context the high revelation of the glorious future of the church in Ephesians 2
verse 22 takes on a very special meaning. It says, 'in whom (Christ) you also are being built
together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit'. As the body of Christ we have come to
this glorious place called Zion and we are right now being built into an eternal dwelling
place of God. What a transcendent and marvelous thought!
The eternal and sovereign God is not only going to dwell in and among us forever, but the
Word says He specifically desires to dwell with us. Let us therefore lift our eyes above the
temporal and fleeting things of this world and finish our course with joy, for an unspeakably
glorious future awaits us with the One who dwells in eternity.

Quote of the Day: "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth (Ps. 50:2)."

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