God in Us

God in Us
By John Woodward
December 18, 2000

Imagine that a hero was needed to save us from death, and that he had to come from the far edge of the Milky Way galaxy to do it. The trip of 70,000 light years would be hard to fathom. But if he arrived and then laid down his life to save us, what a wonderful hero we would have!

For the true believer in Christ, we have an even GREATER hero! The "trip" our Redeemer made cannot be measured in light years, but it was incomparable. As the hymn writer put it:

"He left the splendor of heaven
knowing His destiny
was the lonely hill of Golgotha
there to lay down His life for me." [1]

The Weymouth version of 2 Corinthians 8:9 reads: "For you know the condescending goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ--how for your sakes He became poor, though He was rich, in order that you through His poverty might grow rich [spiritually]." This condescending goodness is beyond our full comprehension. Martin Luther acknowledged, "The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding." [2]

Let's reflect upon Christ's incarnation and some of its implications of God being with us and IN us.

John's Gospel records the significance of how Christ became flesh: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made . . .And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-3,14).

Two thousand years ago Christ "dwelt" among us. The Greek word used is in John 1:14 is the verb form of the noun which means "tabernacle" (skenos) The Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX) used "skenos" to translate the Hebrew term for the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 26:1). [3] In that dwelling place the shekinah glory of God was manifested. The camp of the Israelites moved when this pillar of cloud (by day) and pillar of fire (by night) led the way (Ex 40:34-38). The tabernacle was NO ordinary dwelling; it was set apart to demonstrate the presence of God and to teach vital truths about acceptable worship.

When Christ was born of the virgin Mary, He tabernacled among people He had made. How tragic that, "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." Yet, the promise is given: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:10-13).

As we read of Christ's mighty works, His matchless Words, and His magnificent character, we "behold His glory." However, this revealed excellence was not the supernatural fire and cloud of the O.T. tabernacle; His glory was full of grace and truth. F. B. Meyer commented on how the visual glory of Christ was glimpsed: "Now and again, during our Lord's earthly career, the curtain of His human nature seemed to part and to emit some gleams of the radiant splendor of His being. It was so on the Transfiguration Mount, and again at His Resurrection and Ascension." [4]

Philippians 2:5-11 gives the panoramic description of Christ's humiliation and exaltation: "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. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." We should confess His lordship keep an attitude of servanthood.

At Christ's first Advent, we were blessed with "Immanuel"--"God with us" (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23). Through the New Covenant, we have an even greater advantage--God IN us! We are His tabernacle on planet earth today. As 1 Cor 6:19,20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." This glorious reality is of being indwelt by God is beyond our full comprehension, but let's consider a couple of lessons it reveals.

1. Our indwelling by God reveals THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." Like the O. T. tabernacle, inside believers resides the spiritual glory of God! [5]

Christ demonstrated the source of strength available to His people. He did not cease to be the eternal Son of God while ministering on earth. Rather, Christ laid aside the independent use of His attributes, and depended fully on the power of the Holy Spirit. In so doing, He intentionally modeled for His people, not only the STANDARD of Perfect Life but the DYNAMIC of it. As believers, we are designed to be Godly by the same kind of glad surrender and wholehearted trust the Lord Jesus exemplified.

Capernwray Bible Schools founder, Ian Thomas, notes that, "Man was created in such a way that he could bear the image of God without God becoming visible, so that not his physical form, but his CAPACITY TO BEHAVE was designed to be the means through which God intended to express His nature and His character. . . This godliness or God-likeness was not to have been an imitation of God by man, but the direct result of the ACTIVITY OF GOD IN MAN. In other words--God Himself behaving in and through you!" [6]

And how does this source of strength become effectual for us day by day? Thomas counsels that, ". . .the primary limitation imposed upon you as man, in order that you may be in the likeness of your maker and bear the image of the Invisible, is that of total dependence upon God--in that your behavior, to be godly, must derive directly and exclusively from God's activity in and through you. Any activity, therefore, in which you may engage, no matter how nobly conceived, which does not stem from this humble attitude of dependence upon God violates the basic principles of your true humanity and the role for which you were created." [7] God IN us is the source of our strength.

2. Our indwelling by God reveals THE SANCTITY OF OUR FELLOWSHIP. In the upper room, Christ assured His troubled disciples, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). And in Revelation 3:20 He gave this invitation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." This is a greater fellowship than Moses or Joshua enjoyed at the Tent of Meeting (Ex 33:11). William Culbertson observed, "A Christian is one who has received a Person. As a matter of fact, one of the distinguishing features of Christianity is that its Author is alive. But additionally understand that the Author, the Lord Jesus Christ, actually lives in His followers. Here is something on which we may count, of which we may be absolutely certain. . .Praise God that the Son is ever present, NOT ONLY WITH US BUT IN US. As in consecration we look to Him, we shall find that He is the mighty Victor for us." [8]

This story illustrates the blessing of our fellowship the King of Kings: "Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, 'I am your king!' The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, 'You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!'" [9]

We never need to be lonely if we reckon on our Lord's unfailing presence. No wonder the prophet announced that Messiah's name should be called "Immanuel" -- "God with us." As His permanent tabernacle, let's celebrate the honor of God IN us!

J.B.W.

Dec. 18, 2000, vol.3, #49

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Notes

[1] From the song, "If That isn't Love"

[2] Martin Luther, Table Talk.

[3] This Greek translation of the Hebrew O.T was done in the 2nd/3rd century B.C. LXX (Roman numerals for 70) signify the 70 scholars that worked on the project. It was widely used in the early church; especially among the Gentile believers.

[4] F.B. Meyer, Our Daily Walk, (Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1951),384.

[5] Note, that as "earthen vessels," we DO NOT become little gods. God remains distinct and transcendent from His creation.

[6] W. Ian Thomas, The Mystery of Godliness, (Zondervan, 1964), p.45.[emphasis added]

[7] Ibid., p. 49.

[8] William Culberston, God's Provision for Holy Living, (Moody Press, 1970), p.68. [emphasis added]

[9] Brett Blair, Sermonillustrations.com

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