DIVINE INDWELLING
“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)
Jesus had been addressing the request of Philip, “Lord, show us the Fathe r.” In His response Jesus had given statements concerning His deity and the interrelationship of the members of the Godhead. He the n applies this to what was in store for the disciples and ultimately for us. He speaks of a day in which He would depart, but that He would send anothe r Helper who would be of the very same essence as He. This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the disciples. The One who had been with the m would now be in the m.
At the time of the Spirit’s indwelling the m, the disciples would have a new level of understanding concerning the indwelling relationship of Jesus to the Fathe r, the believer to Jesus, and Jesus to the believer. Check out Colossians 2:9-10 in this regard. It is of interest to note that the word for know goes beyond the the oretical type of knowledge. It involves experience. Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit, as He indwells the believer, will cause him to know in experience the reality of the mutual indwelling of Christ and the Christian. As the child of God abides in Christ, it is the job of the Spirit to form the character of Jesus in Him. This is illustrated in John 15:1-11. Being in Christ, His very life flows into him producing the fruit which he is to bear.
Because Jesus dwells in us, all of the resources of His life and power are resident in us and available to be appropriated by faith. This truth can be personalized as Paul did in Galatians 2:20. Essential truths expressed the re are: I died with Him, my life is no longer mine, He lives in me, and I live now by faith in the One who died for me and rose again.
It should be our daily delight to be reminded that the Lord Jesus Christ, the all-sufficient One, lives in us. He lives in us to be our sufficiency to meet every need. Pastor William A. Raws was the grandson of our founder and served for 50+ years at America’s Keswick
Compass Pointers: If my interest in the work of others is cool; if I think in terms of my own special work; if the burdens of others are not my burdens too, and their joys mine, then I know nothing of Calvary love. Amy Carmichael
Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 12:25; Level 2: Proverbs 12:17-22
Anchored to the Rock: Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. John Bunyan
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