IN CHRIST

Jn 14:20

Morning Meditation 3/5/16

There is nothing I long for at this moment more than to be like Him and worship him with the perfection that his holy nature requires. As I meditated on this this morning, I saw a Lamb before the throne standing meekly as he gazed in perfect peace with him who is on the throne. And as I thought, I knew who that lamb is. I also realize that he is me before that throne. Jesus said in John 14:20: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

The words “at that day” refers to the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to baptize the believers into the body of Christ. The words “ye shall know” means “ye shall come to know for yourselves.” It is a future middle indicative verb. Jesus is explaining to them what they are going to come to know in the future. We have had the privilege of knowing what he is talking about here since the day of Pentecost. What he is saying is a reality to be known by every believer. Then he says, “that I am in my Father” which speaks of a present relationship at the time he was speaking. The words “ye in me” identify a present relationship. This is one of those statements where rationalism has to take a seat and be quiet. Faith is the only thing that will enter here. The words “I in you” is a different “I.” The “I” when Jesus said “I am in my Father” is the Greek “ego.”Strong says it is “a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when emphatic).” But here the “I” is “kago.” Strong says this word means “I also, I as well, I likewise, in like manner I.” This means that Jesus is saying, “all I am saying about my being in the Father and the Father in me, I am saying about you being in me and I in you.”

Jesus operated in life on this principle. His every action on this earth was a working relationship between him and his Father. It was the Father speaking when he spoke. It was the Father doing what he did. He was aware of this relationship. He was not only aware of this relationship but he acted in dependence on this relationship. Jesus is telling his disciples that you will be aware of this relationship after Pentecost and you will operate out of this relationship. Just as what I say and what I do is an expression of the Father, what you say and what you do will be an expression of me. I know the word “mystical” is a word from which Christian theologians run. But how else can you express a relationship that is totally otherworldly?

Jesus prays in John 17 and in this prayer he says beginning in verse 20: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

The words “Neither pray for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” includes me in this prayer. He saw me in 1997 and prayed for me. The words “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee” look to Pentecost when we were put into the body of Christ. And every believer since that day has been put into Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 12:13 and Eph 1:13). Acts 2:39: “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

There is a purpose in this that Jesus reveals in this prayer: “that the world may believe that thou has sent me.” The disciples knew that his claim to be the “Only begotten Son of God” and the “true Messiah” and was “sent by the Father” was the result of the identification that he had with the Father and the Father with him (17:6-8). Just as this was/is true of him, it is to be true of us (17:21,23). The only difference is that the relationship that we have with him and the Father is that “the world may know that thou hast sent me...” This relationship is not to prove that we are sent by him but that he was sent by the Father. We are not here to prove that we are sent. Though that is gloriously true. We are here that the world may know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that “he is the only begotten Son of the Father” and that “he is the true Messiah” and that “he is the only way to the Father, the only way of salvation.” You see it is not just an academic message that we have from God. It is a relationship we have with him in heaven right now that is being worked out on this earth. This, according to Christ in John 17, will authenticate the message we preach. Amen!! Hallelujah!!!

Now for the truth that overwhelms me this morning. I saw the Lamb (no visions or dreams) standing meekly before the throne. There was not the slightest shadow of difference between the Lamb and the One who sat on the throne. There is perfect harmony between him and God. And my inner thoughts say “He is me before the throne.” I am He and He is me. This will stand as truth before the bar of God’s infinite knowledge and will stand as truth before the expressed knowledge of God revealed in his Word.

John says in First John 4:17: “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” The words “because as he is” speak of what Jesus was/is at the point in time that John was writing this Epistle. The verb “is” (esti) is a present indicative. It means John is not talking about what Jesus was during his personal ministry. He is talking about what Jesus in on the throne now. He is at the right hand of the Father. He is on the throne. He is in the presence of the Father. He is totally accepted by the Father. He is not subject to temptation. He has already won the victory and is simply waiting until all his enemies become his foot stool. Are you ready for this? The words “As he is, so are we in this world” translate the verb “are” (esmen) and is the first person plural of the to be verb. It is a present indicative verb. It means that as he is in heaven right now, so are we right now on this earth. It does say “in this world.” I am not waiting to be as he is. He is me before the throne. As unworthy as I am, he is me before the throne. There is not a shadow of difference between him and the Father and he is me before the Father. Do you know that this is what will give me boldness in the day of judgment. I tremble as I think of my shorting comings and utter bankrupsy in myself. But the gospel took me and put me in him and he in me. Hallelujah!!! He is me before the throne. The meek Lamb stands before the throne with the perfect love of the Father beaming out and penetrating through his entire being. And he is me.

May God bless your heart with these thoughts as he has mine.

In Christ

Earl White