John 14:20 “At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
He is closer to us than we are to ourselves and that is why many are looking for Him, and do not notice Him. Many continue to seek Him in all the wrong places.
"I am in you, like I am in my Father, you are in Me" is not something we make true; it is the truth we come to know as a reality in the spirit.
The real reality is Jesus in His Father, and us in Jesus, and Jesus in us. “This is the mystery hidden in past ages but now revealed in Jesus: Christ in you the hope of Glory." 1 Cor. 2:7
The prime purpose of the incarnation is to lift us into a life of communion, of participation in the very life of God. God’s purpose from the beginning was to live in us and us in Him. His great desire always has been that we might share the love, joy, freedom and light, that we might be in face to face relationship. From the moment Jesus began His public ministry, He began to demonstrate His desire for a shared life with us.
Have you ever wondered why at His first miracle when He turned water into wine He didn't just fill the pots with wine? If He was able to create wine why did He need anyone to fill pots with water? The fact is He didn't need anyone to do anything! Jesus doesn't do things alone; He will not be God without us! We get to participate in all He is doing. Why? Because we are in Him and He is in us. The servants got to be part of His life.
This will help us refocus the activity of our lives. Now, see yourself not doing something to trigger a response from God. When you understand the blessings of the shared life with Jesus you participate in all He is involved in.
Let’s look at financial giving. Many times we get caught up in how we do it rather than what we are involved in. Let’s look at one of our most loved and oft quoted verses: “Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, "prompt to do it") giver [whose heart is in his giving]”. [Prov. 22:9.] (2 Corinthians 9:7 AMP).
Note what is said about not giving under compulsion. Why? Because God is unwilling to be God without us. He takes pleasure in and prizes above other things and is unwilling to abandon or do without a cheerful giver. This attitude is evidence the giver has understanding of his oneness with God. He is participating in his Father’s life. The joyous giver has the honour of distributing the blessings that come from his relationship. The joyous giver also demonstrates he understands inheritance.
Luke 15:31 “ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine”.
These are the words the Father spoke to a son who didn't understand his oneness with his Father.
Cheerfulness is the evidence that the giver understands his oneness with God. Joy is the fruit of participating in the life of Jesus. When we understand this relationship with our Father it brings joy to every aspect of life. This applies to our health, our relationships with each other, and most of all our oneness convinces the world and causes them to believe.
John 17:21 “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”.
When we live the shared life, the in Him life, the blessed life, the life of oneness with the Godhead the world is drawn to Jesus. This is how we lift Him up and this is why all men are drawn to Him.
-Pastor Bill Annis, President, FCF Canada
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