Nothing goes better with spending time with God
​ than a good cup of coffee!

Our culture is very interested in the journey of discovering individual identity. Personality tests, dream assessments, even Buzzfeed quizzes are available everywhere you look. It seems like everyone is searching for something to tell them who they are, where they belong and how they relate to the world.
The Bible says that all men and women are created in God’s image. Humankind was created to reflect some of God’s attributes. You can look for your identity anywhere, but followers of Jesus are called to find their identity in Him. Our identity is in the one True God


Where Do You Find Your Identity?

​ Sit down with a cup of coffee, and learn more about how our creator reveals our identity in him through his word to us!
​
While our world encourages you to look within yourself for your identity, your natural tendency is to search for your identity in external things. 

One of the first places that you can be tempted to look to is your career. Spending your time and energy pursuing your career can cause you to feel like it is a defining characteristic of who you are. After all, a job that you are dedicated to is likely to take up most of your time and attention. 

Jobs and careers are closely connected to other places where you can search for your identity, such as financial success and status. But it doesn’t stop there. We also ask our relationship statuses, appearance, grades, and reputation to provide a sense of identity.

Any or all of these may feel like solid foundations, but none of them are permanent. Any of them could change without warning. If you base your identity on things like success, wealth, power, physical appearance, and so on,  you are setting yourself up for  great disappointment. A sudden job loss could leave you questioning your choices in life. One piece of gossip aimed your way could destroy your reputation, even if it is untrue. Your appearance will change as you get older.

God, however, is unchanging. He is reliable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you find your identity in Him, you will never ultimately be let down because He has proven time and time again to be trustworthy. 
​
It is important, as you define your identity, that God not be just an aspect of who you are, like “I am a Christian,” or ”I am religious,” or “I am spiritual”.  Understanding your identity in God starts with understanding who He is, what He says about Himself, and what He says about you. Your identity can be defined by who God is making you to be in His image.


How God Sees His Children

To be able to understand your identity as a follower of Christ, you need to understand how He sees you. It’s tempting to build your identity on what you accomplish, but this is not a stable foundation.
​
Your true identity is ultimately based on what God has done for you. In the Bible, God tells us often about how He views His people. Let’s take a look at what He says about you, if you received Him as your Lord and Savior. (Learn how to have a personal relationship with God and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.)


You Are Loved
In Christ, you are loved. You were created with a purpose. You are not just a convenient carbon copy of someone else. You were created uniquely and with intention. God lovingly designed every detail of your person. Can you imagine the love involved with that intricate design?


You Are Chosen
In Christ, you are not only loved but chosen. God sent His own Son to earth to die in your place so that you could be included in His family. 
God was not obligated to choose you based on your performance or credentials. He chose to carry out an intricate plan that involved the death of His own perfect Son, which allowed you the opportunity to be a child of God.
You are no mistake. You are chosen and wanted.


You Are Forgiven
In order to be counted a child of the perfect Father, you had to be free of sin — that is, you had to be perfect with regard to doing right and not doing wrong. That is a tall order considering no one but Jesus was or is perfect and no one can attain perfection by their own effort. 
However, because Jesus, who was without sin, died the death you should have on the cross, you can be forgiven of sin. What you’ve done wrong is not counted against you, and all that Christ did right is counted for you. This forgiveness allows you to be considered a child of God. 
Therefore, in God’s eyes, if you have accepted what Jesus did for you, you are completely forgiven. From His perspective, you are without sin. It’s not that you won’t sin, but when He looks at you, He calls you forgiven. That is something on which you can build your identity. 


You Are Redeemed
What does your forgiveness mean? You are redeemed — that is, Christ’s sacrifice has bought you back from the forces of sin and evil that once owned and controlled you and made you His.
When God looks at you, He does not see a former sinner. He does not see you in light of who you once were. He sees you as redeemed: a new creation that has been made whole. 
You do not have to define yourself in light of your past mistakes. God does not do that. You can walk in the identity of someone who is made new in Christ.


You Are Adopted
What does it mean to be considered a child of God? It means that you have been adopted into His family. You are considered a legitimate child of the God of the universe, having all the rights and standing of Jesus His Son. 
God sees you as a cherished child who bears His name. Just as earthly adoption is a legally binding process that names you a permanent part of a family, heavenly adoption is just as permanent and binding. You are His child, and He will never take that away.


What the Bible Says About Identity in Christ

You don’t have to take anyone’s word for it. Actually, God wants you to find out for yourself by reading His Word. It is so important that you go to the Bible to find out how He feels about you. Your identity should never be based on a hope or a guess. God gave us His Word, the Bible, so you can know Him and know who He is making you to be in Him.
​
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.”
(Ephesians 2:19, New International Version)

We are members of His household, not strangers. If you follow Christ, you belong in God’s household and with His people.
In this passage, Paul is encouraging followers of Christ to remember that they are all part of one family. They are to be unified with each other. 
This can only happen if you understand that you are a legitimate child of God. You are part of His family.  

“God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
(2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV)

As a child of God, you are blessed and provided for. God is able to provide you with everything you need in Christ. He is the Owner of everything and the Giver of all good things. 


“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1, NIV)
In Christ, you are loved. Your identity is a child of God. This Bible verse comes from a chapter that warns against the temptation to stray from God into sin. You can resist sin by remembering that God has the best for His children. He offers you more than the world ever could. You are complete in His love.


“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)
Jesus delights in you. You are not just accepted or put up with. You are welcomed into His family with delight.
When correction comes, it lasts for a short time because the goal is for it to help you reflect God’s holy character more accurately. He delights in you so much that He is making you more like Himself day by day.


“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)
You are God’s righteousness. You are His goodness and rightness because of what Christ did on the cross. This was given to you, and you are called righteous by the Lord of the universe.
You can live in light of the righteousness you were given. It not only allows you to approach God with confidence, but it allows you to be an ambassador to others around you. Because your righteousness is not earned but freely given through faith in Jesus, you can share this gift with others and invite them to be God’s righteousness too. 

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13, NIV)
You are forgiven. If you are a follower of Christ, you have become God’s child because the Lord forgave you for the sin you committed against Him.
As someone who is forgiven, you can now freely forgive others. God extended grace — that is, undeserved favor — to you. You can extend that grace to others around you. 

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)
You were created with a purpose. God had specific intentions for your life when He brought you into the world. First and foremost, your purpose is to know Him and glorify Him. Then you can engage in other good works that will bring God glory and grow your own faith.
You were saved from great sin. Now, as a child of God, you can walk with God and do great good through His work in you.

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)
In Christ, you are a new creation. God has made you new. The old things that used to define you have been taken away. God used to identify you as an enemy, but now he knows you as a child. You who were a sinner are now righteous.
​
You are new because through Jesus your sin has been paid for. You have been restored in right standing before God. 

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV)

You are special to God. You are chosen by Him. This verse comes from a passage that talks about how Christ was rejected by many. But by faith in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, if you trust in Jesus, you are part of His holy, chosen people.

You can rid yourself of things that are part of the old you, part of the darkness, such as deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander because you have been brought into wonderful light.


Obstacles to Believing in Your Identity

Even if you know all these things about where a follower of Christ finds their identity, there can often be obstacles standing in the way of believing who you are in Christ. Other sources of identity often stand in the way, such as career, appearance or money. But there are other things that can distract you as well.


Past Sin

Everyone has made mistakes. Everyone has sinned. If you accept Christ, God forgives you of these things.  
Psalm 103:12 (NIV) says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Transgression is another word for sin or mistakes. God removes your sin from you. You will still often remember your sins, and those memories can make you feel unworthy, keeping you from accepting your true identity.


Outside Messages or Experiences

You might not just remember what you have done; you may also remember what people have done to you. Maybe you were treated poorly or neglected. Maybe people told you negative things about yourself.  
The world is broken by sin. There are people who have experienced unspeakable injustice. From gossip to verbal and physical abuse, outside messages are trying to shape your identity every day. Those outside messages can lead you to believe that you are unworthy of what the Bible says is true of you in Christ.


False Beliefs

As you follow Jesus, you will seek to know Him more. You can do this through time in the Word, through prayer, through talking with friends or a mentor and through gathering together with other believers in worship.
As your understanding of God grows, you may recognize flawed beliefs that you held before that do not line up with what you are hearing and learning about your identity now. 

Maybe you grew up learning that you can lose your salvation. Maybe you thought that there were certain behaviors or sins that disqualify you from receiving Christ’s salvation. There are many false beliefs out there that seem correct but really take away from who God is and what He says. It can be confusing to work through these differences.


How Can You Respond?

These obstacles are difficult to navigate. It’s easy to believe that these things are legitimate barriers to following Jesus. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can overcome these obstacles and live fully in the identity that you were given in Jesus.


Repent

The word “repent” means that you agree with God. So the first thing you can do to embrace your identity is to agree with Him that you are believing things that are no longer true of you. 
Bring the things you are struggling with to Him. Admit that they are difficult for you to overcome. Confess that you believe Him when He says that they are no longer true of you.


Grieve

Many places in scripture encourage believers of Jesus to mourn over their sin. Although your sin no longer defines your identity, you do still experience its effects in your life. Therefore, it is legitimate and even important to grieve the sin that keeps you from truly believing the things Jesus says. 
You can also grieve the sins that were committed against you and all that those wounds cost you. You can grieve the effect that it had on your relationship with the Lord. 

Paul was one of the leaders of the early church who helped write the Bible’s New Testament. In a letter to one church, which we now know as the Bible’s book of 1 Thessalonians, he talks about how to mourn for lost loved ones. He helps us to understand how we can grieve well.
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NIV).

In this passage, “those who sleep in death” is referring to followers of Jesus who have passed away. Paul says that we can grieve that they are no longer here and yet have hope that in Jesus they live in eternity.

The same principle applies to grief over sin. You can grieve your own sin and the sin of others, all the while knowing that you have hope in Christ. You are a new creation. You are forgiven and restored in Jesus.


Invite the Lord to Change Your Mind

When you have confessed and grieved these things, you can ask God to help you believe what is true. He is the one who renews your mind and changes your heart.

God is the one who grows your faith and makes you new. Ask Him to help you believe the things that He says of you.  Ask Him to continue to make you into the person that He intends you to be in Jesus. 
He is faithful, and He will do it.


Invite Others to Help You

God never meant for you to walk with Jesus on your own. He brings people into your life so that you can encourage one another.
When you are struggling with past sin or false and discouraging beliefs, share that struggle with a trusted friend. Inviting others to pray for you and remind you of the truth can be so beneficial.

A believer that is farther along on their faith journey can provide great insight to you as you walk with Jesus. Consider inviting a fellow believer to mentor you in areas that are a struggle for you.
​
When Christ followers bear one another’s burdens, they not only grow closer to the Lord, but they grow in unity with other Christ followers.

​

​Believing God’s Promises
​

The Bible is full of God’s promises that can encourage us in our faith.
After all, faith and hope are dependent on promises –
something that we expect, look forward to.

A promise is an anchor.

If we can trust a promise that we have been given,

it will become life-giving.

A hopeful expectancy can fill one with joy and motivation. 


We know we can trust the promises of God. He is not a man, that He would lie (Numbers 23:19). And that in all cases, the words of the Lord stand true, though every man be a liar. (Romans 3:4).
When we trust God’s promises, we know that: 

“Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been
​poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”
 (Romans. 5:5).

What does God promise us?
​
The word “promise” can equate to a declaration or commitment.
It was binding in Biblical times.

And still today,
it can be legally binding in certain cultures. According to the English dictionary, a promise gives the receiver of a promise a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.  

Making a promise gives ground for
expectation of success, improvement, or excellence.
It is an assurance.


Unsurprisingly,

it gives

​hope, builds faith,
and encourages optimism.

In the Hebrew Bible, the word “promise” appears over 50 times,
and the New Testament adds another 70+ to that.
But that’s just the word alone. If you consider the actual promises, depending on the source, you will discover that there are close to 9,000 promises in the Word of God! Some say it’s more like 30,000, if you include ones made to specific people that were fulfilled. 


Bible Verses about God’s Promises

Thus, considering the vast number of biblical promises,
it would be impossible to list them here. The author of The Pilgrims Progress, John Bunyan wrote:

“The pathway of life is strewn so thickly with the promises of God,
that it is impossible to take one step without treading upon one of them.”

What is important to remember, however, is the fact that God’s promises are trustworthy and dependable! Hebrews 10:23 says: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that hath promised.”

Jesus promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:15).
And that He is with us unto the end of age
 (Matthew 28:20).
We are promised a place in the world to come, as well as the riches and grace of being seated with Jesus in heavenly places
 (Ephesians 2:6). 



We are saved by grace through faith,

which is also a promise that God made
(Ephesians 2:8).
And since there is no falsehood in God, we know that promise is true!

We are the work of the Lord’s hands, created for good works

which God created before we were born
 (Ephesians 2:10).

God’s Promises in the BibleIn summary, we are promised by God some very foundational things that we could not live without. They are essential to our existence and give us hope for the future. We are promised:

• salvation from judgement

• a place in the world to come

• to share in spiritual blessings with the Messiah

• in Heaven, we will have a new name (Revelation 2:17)

• we can never be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39)

• there will be no more suffering and pain in the world to come (Revelation 21:4)

These promises are at the core of our faith.
God has so loved the world that

He made it clear how we can
regain access to
​
His presence.

He gave His Son to
unite us with Himself and to invite us to His Kingdom.

That is the
​Good News of the Gospel
and the great promise that will not be broken. 


The Promises of God to Israel

When we talk about the promises of God, we have to acknowledge an important fact.
Before any of His promises can be applied to the Body of Messiah,
God’s promises were first given to His people Israel.

And it is impressive how often
God stresses the fact that
His promises are eternal and last forever. 


The whole story of salvation
centers around the history of Israel,
her creation, redemption and restoration.


God’s might and power is evident in His everlasting promise to Israel
 (first laid out in Genesis 12:1-3).
There, the Lord promises He will make Abram into a
great nation and will bless him. 

Later on, in Deuteronomy 30:3-5,
God promises to Israel a specific land – you guessed it!
From that moment on,

we know it as the Promised Land.
​

The Lord said
He would bring his people to the land He chose,
and He would make their descendants prosperous.  


Throughout the books of Moses,
​
we can read promises that the Lord will be Israel’s God,
and they will be His special treasure in all of the earth.
Israel is God’s very own possession.

God also promises that the Messiah would come out of Israel,
out of the kingly Davidic line.
 (Isaiah 11:1, Genesis 3:5, Isaiah 7:14) 


The Apostle Paul
promises that the future hope for Israel’s salvation
is sure and that God will make good on His promises
 (Romans 9-11).

We see a revolution after the outpouring of the
​Holy Spirit.
This is when the gentiles are invited to the table,
so to speak. 


A revelation
comes over the first church that many of
God’s promises are for the whole world. 

Gentiles are welcomed into the family of God 

through faith in Jesus.

He grants them full access to the throne of grace,
just like to the Jewish people
 (Matthew 8:5-13).

Just as God gave special promises to the Jewish people,
He also promised a place within His family to the gentiles.
They were grafted in to the “wild olive branches”
 which is Israel and the Jewish people
 (Romans 11:17).


However, the Word of God clearly shows
God’s heart for all nations and all people--

long centuries before Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

Before kings and queens, before God chose Israel,
even before God made Abraham His friend,

God gave a promise to all mankind. 



Do you remember the story
of Noah?

Early on in world history,
God miraculously saves Noah and his family.
They were the only humans on earth to survive a flood.

And that is when God showed up in nature to send a message.

He gave mankind a

promise in the rainbow. 


“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. …The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
 (Genesis 9:13,16-17)

In all God’s goodness,

we know that He is for us and

His promises are true.


We see a beautiful confirmation of that in Paul’s letter to Corinthians: 
"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 
(1 Cor. 1:20). 

But what does it mean, that His promises are yes and amen?

It does not mean that He says yes to any request we may utter towards the heavens. If you’d consider the Greek language, you’d notice that what
Paul is essentially saying is that
God’s promises are always sure and firm. 

God’s promises are “yes and amen” because
they are unwavering, unchangeable and alive in us.


His “Yes” is a declaration of life.


And Jesus’ “Amen” is an assurance that what

He promised, will come to pass. 



Whenever we feel like we have lost hope,
we can turn to God’s promise that
His mercies are new every morning.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever,
which is another promise of God.

We can put our daily hope
in an unchangeable Messiah. 

When we pray the promises of God over ourselves, they strengthen our faith. We find in them the
assurance of our identity in Jesus.

Which in turn enables us to stand firm against evil and the works of the devil. The author of Hebrews 11:1 tells us that, 

 “…Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.” 

This being so, we hold on to the substance of hope… that which we do not see, through the promise of the Word.

We can hold God’s promises to the highest standard and expectation.
Because His plans and purposes are unchanging,
and He himself, does not change. 

Anything we face in life, or in the world at large,
is not outside of God’s plan or foreknowledge.

On this side of heaven, we face opposition for our faith.
Both from within our sinful nature and from the external pressures of the world. But we are strengthened in our inner man when we
pray through the promises of God. 

We have the strength in our heart and

stand firm in our
confidence in Messiah.

And place in
our identity in Him as redeemed, sanctified, victorious and seated with him in heavenly places. 

​
 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead
​dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit
who dwells in you.” 

​(Romans 8:11)

​

​https://ourdailybread.org/article/jesus-said-i-am-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life/


​
​

I am the way and the truth and the life



is one of the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus.
​
On the last night before His betrayal and death,
Jesus was preparing His disciples for the days ahead.

For over three years, these men had been
following Jesus and learning from His teaching and example.
​
They had placed their hopes in Him as the Messiah,
the promised deliverer, yet they still didn’t understand how
He was going to accomplish that deliverance.
After the Last Supper, Jesus began speaking about His departure,
which led to questions from His disciples.

In John 13:33, Jesus said,
“My children, I will be with you only a little longer.
​
You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now:

Where I am going, you cannot come.”

This prompted Peter to ask where He was going (verse 36).
Peter and the others did not understand that

Jesus was speaking of

His death and ascension to heaven.

Jesus’ response was,

"Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter was still misunderstanding and declared that he would follow Jesus anywhere and even lay down His life if necessary.
As Jesus patiently continued to teach His disciples,
He began speaking more plainly about heaven, describing the place

He was going to prepare for them
(John 14:2–3).

Then Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am going”
(verse 4). Speaking for the others, Thomas said they did not know
where He was going, so how could they know how to follow Him there?
It was in answer to this question that

Jesus uttered
​
one of the seven famous “I am” statements.
​

I am –
In the Greek language, “I am” is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying, “I myself, and only I, am.” Several other times in the Gospels we find Jesus using these words. In Matthew 22:32 Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, where God uses the same intensive form to say, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews clearly understood Jesus to be calling Himself God because they took up stones to stone Him for committing blasphemy in equating Himself with God. In Matthew 28:20, as Jesus gave the Great Commission, He gave it emphasis by saying, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” When the soldiers came seeking Jesus in the garden the night before His crucifixion, He told them, “I am he,” and His words were so powerful that the soldiers fell to the ground (John 18:4–6). These words reflect the very name of God in Hebrew, Yahweh, which means “to be” or “the self-existing one.” It is the name of power and authority, and Jesus claimed it as His own.

​
The way –
Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as “the only way.” A way is a path or route, and the disciples had expressed their confusion about where He was going and how they could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling them (and us) “follow me.” There is no other path to heaven, no other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth years later to the rulers in Jerusalem, saying about Jesus, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words “I am the way.”


The truth –
Again Jesus used the definite article to emphasize Himself as “the only truth.” Psalm 119:142 says, “Your law is the truth.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law, then said, “But I say unto you . . .” (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44), thereby equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of righteousness. In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God (John 1:1) is the source of all truth.


The life –
Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life. In John 10:17–18, Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again. He spoke of His authority over life and death as being granted to Him by the Father. In John 14:19, He gave the promise that “because I live, you also will live.” The deliverance He was about to provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a life of freedom in eternity.


In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great
“I Am,”
​
the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the

source of both physical and spiritual life.

He was staking His claim as the


very God of Creation,


the Lord who blessed Abraham,
and the Holy One
who inhabits eternity.

He did this so the disciples would be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of

declaring the gospel to the world.
​
​
Of course, we know from Scripture that they
​still didn’t understand, and it took

several visits from their risen Lord
to shake them out of their disbelief.

Once they understood the truth of His words,
they became changed people,

and the world has never been the same.

So how do we follow Him today?

The same way the disciples did long ago.
They heard the words of Jesus and believed them.
They took His words and obeyed them.
They confessed their sins to Jesus as their Lord and God.
They believed that He died to take the punishment of their sins

and rose from the dead to give them new life.

They followed His example and command to

tell others the truth

about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
When we follow Him in “the way,”
we can be assured of following Him

​all the way to heaven.
​

​​Colossians 1:28
Whom we preach
​
Under the above considerations; as the riches, the glory, and the mystery of the Gospel; as the hope set before lost sinners to lay hold upon; as the only Saviour and Redeemer, by whose righteousness believers are justified, through whose blood their sins are pardoned, by whose sacrifice and satisfaction atonement is made, and in whose person alone is acceptance with God: Christ and him crucified, and salvation by him, were the subjects of the ministry of the apostles; on this they dwelt, and it was this which was blessed for the conversion of sinners, the edification of saints, the planting of churches, and the setting up and establishing the kingdom and interest of Christ:

​

warning every man;

of his lost state and condition by nature; of the wrath to come, and the danger he is in of it; of the terrors of the Lord, and of an awful judgment; showing sinners that they are unrighteous and unholy, that their nature is corrupt and impure, their best righteousness imperfect, and cannot justify them before God; that they stand guilty before him, and that destruction and misery are in all their ways; and therefore advise them to flee from the wrath to come, to the hope set before them in the Gospel:
​

and teaching every man in all wisdom;

not natural, but spiritual and evangelical; the whole Gospel of Christ, the counsel of God, the wisdom of God in a mystery, and all the branches of it; teaching them to believe in Christ for salvation, to lay hold on his righteousness for justification, to deal with his blood for pardon, and with his sacrifice for the atonement of their sins; and to observe all things commanded by Christ, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly: by these two words, "warning" and "teaching", the several parts of the Gospel ministry are expressed; and which extend to all sorts of men, rich and poor, bond and free, greater and lesser sinners, Gentiles as well as Jews; and who are chiefly designed here, and elsewhere, by every man and every creature:


​that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;

not in themselves, in which sense no man is perfect in this life; but in the grace, holiness, and righteousness of Christ, in whom all the saints are complete: or it may regard that ripeness of understanding, and perfection of knowledge, which, when arrived unto, saints become perfect men in Christ; and is the end of the Gospel ministry, and to which men are brought by it; see ( Ephesians 4:13 ) ; and to be understood of the presentation of the saints, not by Christ to himself, and to his Father, but by the ministers of the Gospel, as their glory and crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ.


Colossians 1:27 Christ in You, the hope of Glory  

I love a mystery. I enjoy a baffling exceptionally well-written mystery.
Authentic Christianity is an inexplicable mystery to many people.
That is because Christ is a mystery.
Because of our intimate personal relationship with Him we are a mystery to the world.

Those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ will not and cannot be expected to understand the true Christian until they, too, have a saving knowledge of Him.
​
A. W. Tozer got to the heart of this mystery when he wrote that Christians are crazy in Roots of Righteousness:

"A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strong when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge."

Christians are meant to be different, and we are in good company.
Can you imagine Christ in all His glorious riches actually dwelling through His Spirit in our lives right now? God's goal is to make us in all respects just like Christ. God is at work. He is sovereign. He is busy changing lives and the way He does it is a mystery.
​


TELL ME A MYSTERY

The apostle Paul even said that Christ is God's mystery (Col. 2:2).
The good news we share with the world is

'the mystery of Christ" (Col. 4:3).

Paul uses the word "mystery" not as we do in our day, but in the context of his day and age.
The word "mystery" in the Scriptures is a secret, a truth undiscoverable, except by divine revelation.

It is a fact that cannot be understood in detail without divine help.

It cannot be known by natural abilities and mental powers.
It was a truth that was hidden in the counsels of God down through the ages and generations until God in His grace chose to make it known to mankind by divine revelation.

The apostle Paul says, "the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints" (Col. 1:26). It was concealed from angels and men until God revealed it. The only way of knowing this "mystery" is through a self-revelation of God to man. God revealed a great mystery to the apostle Paul. God made it visible or known to man.

If Paul has in mind the heathen use of "mystery" whose secrets were kept confined in a strict narrow circle of initiated members of their society, then he tells us that the Christian mystery in Christ is just the opposite because it is fully declared and proclaimed in the open to everyone in the world. God has revealed His deep secret to all mankind by means of His special revelation.

There are no secrets with God. He has fully revealed Himself in Christ. The deep mystery is that God has granted free admission of all Gentiles on equal terms with the Jewish believers to all the privileges of the covenant. God has now told His secret to all His saints. God's riches are no longer limited by national ties. God has done this according to the riches of His grace. 

The context of this great passage on God's mystery in Christ
is the church as the body of Christ (Col. 1:24). For some it is strange to say that the apostle can "rejoice in my sufferings for your sake." The apostle had learned the joy in Christ in times of suffering (Phil. 4:4). In fact, verse 24 is a great outburst of thanksgiving to God for the privilege of suffering "on behalf of His body."

There is a sense of purpose in his experience. "I am filling up in my turn the left-overs of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh." Genuine Christians are strange, indeed.

Does Paul's suffering have any atoning value for his sins? No. Do our sorrows have any atoning value for our sins? No, of course not.

We do not come adding any virtue or merit to the completed work of Christ. Christ's work of atonement for sin is complete. It was completed when Christ declared from the cross, "It is finished!"

We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

The Christian's suffering is on a different level from that endured by Christ on the cross. Punishment for sin is not in view here. The sufferings of Christ alone have atoning value for the sinner.

Ours do not. It is part of our stewardship. We suffer troubles, afflictions, tribulations and persecutions because of our identification with Christ (Matt. 5:10-12). The afflictions of the church are also the afflictions of Christ (Acts 9:4-5).

The person who persecutes the church persecutes Christ.

When believers suffer, Christ suffers.

It is this stewardship as a member of the family of God that he was "made a minister" on behalf of the church. God assigned him the task of fully proclaiming God's message to the known world. The call of God was to preach without reserve the whole gospel of God to the ends of the earth.
​Paul now proceeds to tell us about that great responsibility that was thrust upon him and every Christian minister (Col. 1:25).

​
THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST IN YOU
In Jesus Christ are summed up everything we can know about God and His eternal purposes. In Christ we see the riches of God's glory, wisdom and grace (Rom. 9:23; 11:33; Eph. 1:7, 18; 2:7; 3:16; Phil. 4:19).


Christ is a mystery

The gospel is a mystery of mysteries. Christ is Himself the grand mystery of redemption. It is the majestic secret of God with us. It is the glorious manifestation of God's dealings with mankind. The Holy Spirit takes the revealed Word of God and illumines us individually. We are made gloriously wealthy by this mystery.

C. H. Spurgeon said: "Each separate individual must have Christ revealed to him and in him by the work of the Holy Spirit, or else he will remain in darkness even in the midst of the gospel day. Blessed and happy are they to whom the Lord has laid open the divine secret which prophets and kings could not discover, which angels desired to look into.

"Without controversy," said the apostle Paul, "great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." The Lord Jesus is crowned with "glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." He is "the brightness of the Father's glory." We have "unsearchable riches in Christ" because "in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."

As Spurgeon noted: "Oh, the riches of the grace of God which it has pleased the Father to impart unto us in Christ Jesus! Christ is the 'mystery,' the 'riches,' and the 'glory.' He is all this . . . He is all this among us poor Gentiles . . . and we are made heirs of God. . . . All things are ours in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The essence of the mystery is Christ Himself in His person. It is Christ in all His glorious riches actually dwelling through His Spirit in the inner lives of His believers.


The incarnation of Christ is a mystery

The incarnation of Christ is a deep mystery. It was born in the unsearchable wise mind of God. The idea of "Immanuel, God with us" was conceived in the omnipotent omniscient mind of God. Every regenerated mind delights in this vital union between God and man.
​
The apostle Paul tells us another mystery. Let the quotable Spurgeon say it for us. "Our Lord's person is at this day constituted in the same manner. He is still God and man; still He can sympathize with our manhood to the full, for He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh; and yet He can help us without limit, seeing He is equal with the Father. Though manifestly divine, yet Jesus is none the less human; though truly man, He is none the less divine, and this is the door of hope to us, a fountain of consolation which never ceases to flow."
Very God-very man. God incarnate became a vicarious substitute for sin and died and rose again.



The death of Christ is a mystery
​
Since the incarnation is a great mystery we are ever mindful of the great mystery of His death. That the Son of God should die as a substitute for our sins is quite beyond us. He humbled Himself and became a servant, and died as our substitute on a cross. He bore our terrible load of sin on the cross that we might never bear the Father's righteous wrath.

He took the cup of wrath that we ought to have drunk forever and drained it dry.

He bore our punishment in His death.
He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.

Moreover, He has made everything right and safe for us with God the Father by making an end of sin and an everlasting righteousness on our behalf with the Father. The finished work of Jesus Christ is a grand mystery. Jesus Christ is all my righteousness. He is all my salvation and all my desire.



​The resurrection and ascension of Christ is a grand mystery

On the other hand since He is the second person of the Godhead, the Son of God, the eternal Word of God, should we be in the least surprised that He should rise from the dead?

Jesus Christ "is the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18). He overcame death and passed to His sovereign throne at the right hand of the Father in heaven where He reigns as the living Lord. He has overcome death.

He is alive!

Since you are a believer you have been raised up with Christ, therefore keep on constantly seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Because of the new birth Christ now lives in me.
This is the greatest miracle of all.
Christ in me is the most certain thing in my personal experience (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 3:16-17).

A total change took place in our outlook when we came into personal contact with Jesus Christ. There was a time when we were "alienated from God" and we were "dead in trespasses and sin." We began and ended each day without any serious thought about God and His will for our lives. He was not important to us. We were hostile toward God. But something happened in our lives. Now we are reconciled to God. Now He is our most valued person. Something happened within us. Something changed our attitude toward Jesus Christ.

In the moment we believed on Jesus Christ our whole life changed.

God is in the business of changing lives and He does it when we repent of our sins and believe on Christ as our Savior. What happened? We were born again. A spiritual birth took place and Christ came within you and the Holy Spirit made you His temple. If you need your life changed that is where you must begin. It begins when you open your heart to Christ and receive Him as Lord.
Every believer has stamped in him, "Made in Christ." That means there are no cheap imitations of Christians. The crowning work of redemption is conforming the believer into the image of Christ (Gal. 4:1).


The greatest miracle is Christ in you

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." 
The grandest mystery of all Paul tells us is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ in me creates the "hope of glory."
A. T. Robertson stresses the idea of the preposition en here is "in" not "among." The context requires that we understand the phrase as referring to an inner subjective experience. The mystery long hidden is not a diffusion of Christ among the Gentiles. It is the indwelling of Christ in His people, both Jewish and Gentile. The declared "hope of glory" of both is "Christ in you." Paul has in mind the indwelling Christ in the heart of every believer. Though "among you" makes good sense, it is more probable "in you" or "within" (cf. Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17). It is the personal experience of the living presence of Christ in the individual life of the believer that is the mystery of mysteries.

Ephesians 3:17 tells us Christ "dwells in your hearts." The central fact of an intimate personal relationship with Christ is this great truth of "Christ in you." This indwelling constitutes "the hope of glory" for every believer. Jesus is the Shekinah glory of God, and He shines in our hearts so that we see the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6, 16; 1 Jn. 3:2-3).

The Christian has experienced the superior light and knowledge of Jesus Christ and all other religious experiences and claims of the Gnostics and secret mystery religions fade into nothing when compared to the inward knowledge of an intimate love relationship with Him.

The first Adam headed up the human race and stood for us, and fell for us, and we fell in him. How marvelous that the second Adam took up within Himself all His people and stood for us and kept the covenant with God the Father so that now every blessing of that new covenant is infallibly secure to all who are risen in Him.

"Whatever Christ is His people are in Him. They are crucified in Him, they were dead in Him, they were buried in Him, they were risen in Him; in Him they live eternally, in Him they sit gloriously at the right hand of God, "who has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.' In Him "we are accepted in the beloved,' both now and forever; and this, I say, is the essence of the gospel; he who does not preach Christ, preaches no gospel. . . . Christ Himself is the life, soul, substance, and essence of the mystery of the gospel of God"

Anything short of Jesus Christ will leave you short of salvation.

​You have to reach Christ, and touch Christ and nothing short of this will save you.

Jesus gives us Himself.
To have Christ is to have eternal life.
He does not merely give us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption etc.,
but He is made of God all these things to us.
He is our life.
Therefore, we cannot do without Him.

The Christian experience heightens every individual power we have. Keep in mind the person in whom Christ begins to possess does not cease to be himself. He does not become a robot. This is not some pantheistic philosophy Paul is teaching.

"Christ in me" means that He is bearing me along from within. His motive-power carries me on giving my whole life a wonderful sense of God's presence. It gives me life with an endless song in my heart.

This blessed union with Christ is a vital union with God.
The more a person is "in Christ" the more he is "in God."

To be united with Christ is to be united with the God who raised Him (Rom. 8:11; Col. 2:12). The heart of Paul's fellowship with Christ is found in his certainty that "God was in Christ." The believer is risen with Christ through faith of the operation of God who raised Him from the dead. The apostle John says, "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

It is Christ in you or within you that gives us the riches of His glory. The mystery is the indwelling Christ in Gentiles. It was not a mystery to the Jewish people that the Messiah should come and dwell among His people. That was their great hope. However, that the Messiah of Israel should dwell among the non-Jews was an entirely new revelation of the purposes of God. Christ freely given to the Gentiles is the mystery.

Christ now indwells in His people, regardless of whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish.


Christ in you

Christ in you accepted by faith alone means Christ possessed.

When Christ is in you the law has nothing more to say to you.

It can no longer condemn you because God has declared you acquitted.

You have been justified by faith in Christ.

Christ in you means Christ experienced in all His power. Christ in you fills your life with His holy presence and power.
​
That which the law can never do, Christ does by indwelling in you.

Christ in you is His sovereign rule in your life. Christ in you is Christ's scepter from the center of your being over every facet of your personality. Christ in you is His power bringing every thought into captivity to Himself. Christ in you means the imperial sovereignty of Jesus Christ over your life. We find our freedom by being in submission to His sovereign hand over our lives.

Christ in you means His filling you with His wonderful presence.
Christ in you transforms your person until you become like Christ.

When Christ enters into our lives and we yield to His presence
He transforms, elevates us to His likeness.
The apostle Paul declared, "I live, yet not I, Christ lives in me." When Christ enters in He sanctifies us, and sets us apart for His glory.


Christ in you means He enters into us and becomes our life.

Christ in you means His power in you.
We were without spiritual strength until Christ came into our lives.
We were dead in trespasses and sins.
Now our spiritual victory is guaranteed.

Christ in you means we are spiritually rich.
We were in spiritual poverty until Christ came in and now we have all the riches of Christ Jesus.
We are now rich because He is rich.

Christ in you means honor and glory.
He glorifies the place where He dwells even for a moment.
If Christ comes into your heart His whole court comes with Him!
Rejoice for you have Him as a holy guest.

People who value and love Him cannot be happy without Him.



OUR HOPE OF GLORY

 The indwelling Christ is the ground for the expectation of glory both now and the future. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The word "glory" points to the great consummation in God's eternal purpose, and is a comprehensive word for God's glorious presence with His people.

The wealth of glory for the believer is this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ. Our ground of hope is "Christ in you."

''The full glory of the inheritance was a hope, to be realized when Christ should appear. Glory refers to the glory of the mystery; hence the glory consummated at Christ's coming" the glory which shall be revealed."

The glorified saints around the throne of God have no higher source of joy than the saints on earth.
They have no higher theme or song of praise to the Father. They are only happier because their discovery of these things is more complete and are now freed from all earthly hindrances and limitations that interrupt our enjoyment in our present state.

Christ alone is our foundation for the blessed hope in the future, or eschatological glory. The fact that we now have Christ in us is the pledge of final glory when Christ returns. This glory is yet future.
We will share in the yet future full manifestation of God's glory in Christ.

Jesus Christ focuses our minds and desires on that which is above in heaven and the eternal future.
Christ in you gets eternity into the picture. He gets our minds off our past through the forgiveness of our sins and into the present as He lives within us and into the future as we concentrate on our blessed hope in Him alone. "Christ in you" energizes the present and gives us a song to sing.

Lord Jesus, will I see You today? Even so, come!

Paul wrote in Colossians 3:4,
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory."

The apostle Paul prayed that this great truth would become a reality for the believers in the church at Ephesus. He prayed, "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).

That will take your breath away! When Christ in you offers all of those glorious benefits why in the world do people go turning to new age movements, secret mystery religions, occults and cults seeking the most recent religious fad?

If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior He wants to settled down and make Himself permanently at home in your heart. He wants to settle down in your "inner man" that is, the personal, rational self, the moral I that has experienced spiritual renewal by the Spirit of God. He is talking about the very core of your inner spiritual being, the place where the Holy Spirit works to fashion and form His temple since the moment you were born again. That is the place where He is at work forming you in the image of Christ.
It is there Paul tells us Christ "dwells" "in your hearts through faith." Christ wants to settle down in a dwelling, to dwell fixedly in a place, to live in a home. He wants to settle down and feel completely at home as a permanent dwelling place in your heart.

But Paul is not through. He says in a great doxology, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21).

Literally Paul writes, "But to Him [God] who is able above all things to do exceedingly above . . ." It is exceeding some number or measure, over and above, more than necessary and is intensified by adding the idea of exhaustlessness and "above." The apostle Paul has in mind something that is beyond all things. It is superabundantly and over and above anything he can imagine. Now to our God who is able to do exceedingly beyond all things, superabundantly and over and above all things, exceeding all things beyond all things, we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. What a great God and Savior we worship!
Our weakness is connected to God's omnipotence and omniscience. God is able!
The amazing thing is the best is yet to come! These are words of hope and confident assurance of the believer's future. The apostle John wrote of that final glory in 1 John 3:1-3.


What glory is ours, glory unspeakable!

We shall have glorified bodies just like the resurrected body of Christ when He appears in glory. "He who has come to live in our hearts, and reigns as our bosom's Lord, makes us glorious by His coming," declared Spurgeon. When Christ comes to reign He brings countless blessings with Him. Just think of it. "He who went to the cross for me will never be ashamed of me: He who gave me Himself will give me all heaven and more: He that opened "˜His very heart to find blood and water to wash me in, how shall He keep back even His kingdom from me? O sweet Lord Jesus, thou art indeed to us the hope, pledge, the guarantee of glory."

The Lord Jesus Christ entered into a covenant with God the Father to bring His people home to glory. He who pledged to bring every sheep of His flock safe to His Father's right hand will not fail. He has never failed one of His covenant promises. He never will.

Christ in you is glory. In having Christ, you have glory. Christ's glory and your glory are wrapped up together. If Christ were to lose you it would be a great loss to Him. If I can perish with Christ in me He will lose His honor. His glory is gone if one soul who has put their trust in Him for eternal life is ever cast away. As sure as the Lord God lives, Christ in you means you in glory with Him for all eternity.

This is the most astounding truth taught in the Bible. "Christ in you."



SOME ABIDING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Christ in me is a prophet teaching me His way, giving me His direction so I can proclaim His message with clarity and boldness.

"To whom God willed to make known" is the result of God's grace, through no merit of the saints, making it known. God says, Now that you know all my deep secrets in Christ, go into the entire world and tell them. Instead of piously keeping them to yourself, "or your select group," go out and tell the secret to everyone who will listen. Only Christians can understand the mystery because it is "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Christ in me is my High Priest interceding and giving me immediate access to God so I can go directly into His presence with my petitions on your behalf.
Christ is me is a king demanding my loyalty as I bow in worship only to Him as my Lord and Master and as His servant I go out to serve.

Don't be ashamed for one moment of the fact that Christ in you is your hope of glory.
​
This is the greatest mystery of the universe that God of the Jewish people would take up residence in Gentile men and women. The idea of salvation of the Gentiles was nothing new. The prophets spoke of it and the poets wrote of it in the Psalms. But the idea that He would tabernacle Himself in a Gentile was something wholly new. That is the mystery of "Christ in you the hope of glory."

​

Believers are not on their own as they search for truth. Rather, they will be “guided into all truth” by the Spirit of God. And this is a wonderful comfort as we walk through the world, knowing that Jesus says: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32) and prays for those who follow Him: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Through his power, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

​Blaise Pascal said: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” It can feel like the truth is impossible to access since we only have our limited experiences and there are so many conflicting ideas in the world. Yet we are not alone in our search for truth. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, and one of his roles is to guide believers into all truth.

​After Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be leaving them soon, He gave them a statement of great encouragement: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth” (John 14:16–17).

The Greek word translated “Comforter” or “Counselor” (as found in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; and 16:7) is parakletos. This form of the word is unquestionably passive and properly means “one called to the side of another”; the word carries a secondary notion concerning the purpose of the calling alongside: to counsel or support the one who needs it. This Counselor, or Paraclete, is God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who has been “called to our side.” He is a personal being, and He indwells every believer.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus had guided, guarded, and taught His disciples; but now, in John 14—16, He is preparing to leave them. He promises that the Spirit of God would come to the disciples and dwell in them, taking the place of their Master’s physical presence. Jesus called the Spirit “another Comforter”—another of the same kind. The Spirit of God is not different from the Son of God in essence, for both are God.

During the Old Testament age, the Spirit of God would come on people and then leave them. God’s Spirit departed from King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14; 18:12). David, when confessing his sin, asked that the Spirit not be taken from him (Psalm 51:11). But when the Spirit was given at Pentecost, He came to God’s people to remain with them forever. We may grieve the Holy Spirit, but He will not leave us. As Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” How is He with us when He is in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father? He is with us by His Spirit (the Helper—the Parakletos).

To have the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete is to have God Himself indwelling us as believers.

The Spirit teaches us the Word and guides us into truth.

He reminds us of what Jesus has taught so that we can depend on His Word in the difficult times of life. The Spirit works in us to give us His peace (John 14:27), His love (John 15:9–10), and His joy (John 15:11). He comforts our hearts and minds in a troubled world. The power of the indwelling Paraclete gives us the ability to live by the Spirit and “not gratify the desires of the sinful flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The Spirit can then produce His fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23) to the glory of God the Father. What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit in our lives as our Paraclete—our Comforter, our Encourager, our Counselor, and our Advocate!

An important verse in understanding the filling of the Holy Spirit is John 14:16, where Jesus promised the Spirit would indwell believers and that the indwelling would be permanent. It is important to distinguish the indwelling from the filling of the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Spirit is not for a select few believers, but for all believers. There are a number of references in Scripture that support this conclusion. First, the Holy Spirit is a gift given to all believers in Jesus without exception, and no conditions are placed upon this gift except faith in Christ (John 7:37-39). Second, the Holy Spirit is given at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). Galatians 3:2 emphasizes this same truth, saying that the sealing and indwelling of the Spirit took place at the time of believing. Third, the Holy Spirit indwells believers permanently. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a down payment, or verification of their future glorification in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).

This is in contrast to the filling of the Spirit referred to in Ephesians 5:18. We should be so completely yielded to the Holy Spirit that He can possess us fully and, in that sense, fill us. Romans 8:9 and Ephesians 1:13-14 states that He dwells within every believer, but He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and His activity within us can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19). When we allow this to happen, we do not experience the fullness of the Spirit’s working and His power in and through us. To be filled with the Spirit implies freedom for Him to occupy every part of our lives, guiding and controlling us. Then His power can be exerted through us so that what we do is fruitful to God. The filling of the Spirit does not apply to outward acts alone; it also applies to the innermost thoughts and motives of our actions. Psalm 19:14 says, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. Ephesians 5:18commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.

In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prays to His Father, saying, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). In this verse, Jesus communicates two important facts: God’s Word is truth—God’s Word equals truth—and it’s by that truth that God sanctifies us, or sets us apart for holy service to Himself.

In the same prayer, Jesus prays for His disciples and all who will believe in Him through the gospel (John 17:20). Believers accept God’s words (John 17:6) and accept Jesus as God’s Word (John 17:8). God is truth, and His truth brings salvation to all who accept it (Titus 2:11). Further, God’s written and living Word will sustain believers as they are in the world (John 17:14).

In the High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus confirms that He brought the message of salvation to the world: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Jesus’ mission of bringing the truth has been accomplished (John 17:4), and He turns the focus of His prayer to God working through the disciples and other believers. He confirms that believers will be rejected by the world for believing “Your word is truth,” but believers are also assured joy, God’s protection from the evil one, and sanctification by God’s Word (John 17:13–19).

The Old and New Testaments both affirm that the words recorded in the Bible are God’s words and that they are true. Since God cannot lie, His Word is truth: “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless” (Psalm 18:30). Since God is eternal and unchanging, His Word is always the same: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35; cf. Isaiah 40:8). Jesus uses the Word as He rebukes the devil who was tempting Him: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3).

If we want to know truth, we will look in God’s written Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17) and look to Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 1:3). John refers to Jesus Christ in John 1:1–2, saying, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” The Word is God’s total message, and Jesus embodied that full message, which is why He is called the “Logos,” or “Word,” of God (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). God is truth. His Word is truth. Salvation comes by accepting Jesus and agreeing that “Your word is truth.”

Jesus said, “Your word is truth.” When we look at the Bible, we see truth. The Bible does not merely contain the truth; it is the truth. Every word is truth, in every part of the Bible. “The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6). This is the doctrine of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture.

How we respond to God’s written Word and the Word made flesh has an eternal impact on us. Since God’s Word is truth, rejecting the Bible and rejecting Jesus is rejecting God Himself. Believing, cherishing, studying, and obeying God’s Word is the key to salvation, understanding God, and living abundantly (John 10:10). No matter what we may face in this world, we are sustained by the truth prayed over us in Jesus’ prayer: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." - John 16:13

We have heard the warning of living in the “last days” for as long as we can remember whether we have been within or outside of the church. The “end times” refer to the rapture of the church and the beginning of the seven years of tribulation upon the earth prior to Jesus’ triumphant return. Sermons are preached about it, books have been written about it, and movies have been made about it. Jesus in Matthew 24:6-7 warned, “ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

We do not have to search far to see the increased tensions between nations and society in general. The recent Russia/Ukraine war and its associated speculation as to Putin’s ultimate desires have only increased “end of times” speculation. Our lawmakers are boldly legislating and legalizing late-term abortions, recognizing same-sex relationships, legalization of illicit drugs, and even the ability to choose our own gender, availing the rights of the chosen gender. These enactments are contrary to the Word of God and are abominations to his eyes and holiness. As a result, we have separation from God.
​
Peace is scarce when we are detached from the Heavenly Father. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” No great explanation is needed for this verse as our families and communities have been torn apart by sexual abuse, lack of respect toward our police officers, and rebellion towards teachers and parents causing great discontent and a lack of peace within our society.


Why We Pray for God’s Peace

We have no promise in God’s Word that things upon the Earth will ever become more peaceable or easier for the believer during this current dispensation. In fact, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:13 that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.” Paul’s warnings to Timothy serve also as a sign for us during the season in which we live. Our world checks the box for each of the aforementioned precursors. So, what chance of peace do we have these days?

First, the unbeliever or the person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and lives today unoccupied by the Holy Spirit has absolutely no chance for real peace. His or her reliance upon legislators, presidents, senators, judges, kings, wealth, and/or accumulation will only serve as a means for temporary happiness resulting in heartbreak. The next election, the next pandemic, or the next depression is guaranteed to bring unrest to any worldly happiness. Thankfully the believer’s peace rests in none of these things or people. By placing our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, “our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:4).

Our joy, peace, and happiness are no longer dependent upon the desires of that “old man.” Sin and separation from God were the roots of our lack of peace. Sin is the cause of our separation from an all-holy triune God. Sin is the source of our lack of peace and discontent. Our souls have been crucified to this world and our hearts renewed by Christ’s conquering of sin on the cross. This assurance is true peace; yet, our flesh abides in this sinful world and is affected by it. In Romans 5:1-2, we “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Great peace is guaranteed, and ultimate salvation awaits the believer at Jesus’ return, as our flesh will finally be heavenly. We are to pray for a greater realization of this peace and for the Holy Spirit to guide each of us toward peace.  


Prayer for the Lost

Our first prayer is for a change in heart for those who are lost and without any hope in the imminent judgment. This change is a new heart promised in Ezekiel 36:26 and a “new spirit” “put within” which “remove[s] the heart of stone from [our] flesh.” The sinner saved from a destiny of hell is granted the peace of salvation. This change in destination will also give peace to the convert’s friends and family. A great portion of our unrest today falls upon knowledge of the judgment and wrath awaiting the unsaved child, parent, coworker, or neighbor. Thus, we should fervently pray for a change of heart in the lives of those around us who we know to be lost and undone. We pray for a desiring heart for the sinner and for God to send a convicting spirit upon them drawing them unto Jesus Christ identifying his or her lost condition. We pray that no comfort will be given to them until they are converted by this convicting spirit.     

Prayer for More GuidanceThankfully we who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ have promised peace and joy knowing that our ultimate redemption is near. In Romans 5:1, we know “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The signs of the times are exciting as we realize our redemption draweth nigh. However, we cannot rest idly on this assurance. We have to be “about the Father’s business” and ministering to perform as mandated by “The Great Commission.” Our prayer for guidance includes a leading and guidance toward the audience and the means of which we should utilize to proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross.

We pray for the ability to steer others to the cross which includes His finished work of resurrection and ascension to the Heavenly Father. We pray for the boldness because His sacred blood was applied to the Mercy Seat in heaven. The peace of the believer rests in a right relationship with the Almighty God. Additionally, we have “The Comforter.” Jesus promises in John 14:16 that he “will pray for the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” The disciples were concerned because Jesus was going to leave them in the flesh. The believer is indwelled with the Holy Spirit who serves as “the comforter.”

In Galatians 5:22, Paul wrote, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, [and] faithfulness.” This peace given through the Holy Spirit supersedes our “worldly knowledge” and wisdom. Paul assured us that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” when writing to the church in Philippians 4:7. We must pray for a leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit as to our instructions as to the where and why of our ministry upon this Earth. The same great comfort is given to our Savior as he was “about the Father’s business” is available to us when we are prayerfully engaged in it.

Prayer for More Dedication to the Study of the WordThe believer has peace through the living Word of God. These words give us great comfort in the knowledge of our sovereign God. The Holy Spirit brings both the comfort of Christ but also the recollection of the Word of God. Psalm 1:2directs us that “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.” We cannot focus our attention on Fox News, CNN news alerts, or the headlines of today’s newspapers. It is detrimental to our peace for us to consume our time reading and perusing supposed religious writings on new age prophecy. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God give us all of the prophecy necessary in order to know what is coming and our instructions for the season in which we live. The Word of God is our sustenance.

In Psalm 63:5-6, David wrote his focus on God and His word was “sweet to him as marrow.” The prophet in Jeremiah 15:16 wrote, “the words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” A portion of Samson’s riddle written in Judges 14:14 hinted “out of the strong came forth sweetness.” Indeed, peace and sweetness result when we focus on God’s strength and sovereignty. Further, His Word is a saving word. In Psalm 107:20, we are told “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” This prayer is a petition requesting a renewed desire and excitement for the Word of God. We pray for those within our church who neglect regular reading, study, and meditation on His Word. The believer realizes great peace through a prayerful dedication to the reading, study, and meditation of the Word of God.  

Prayer for Less Focus on MeIt is easy for us to get focused on ourselves, our families, our careers, and life in general. As a result, we lose a great portion of our peace. As John the Baptist declared in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We are able to see Jesus as a comfort when we “decrease ourselves.” In the story of Mary and Martha during their visit by Jesus in Luke 10, we see the importance of keeping our minds on “one thing is necessary.” We are told, “March was cumbered about much serving” while Mary was positioned at Jesus’ feet. Martha came to Jesus and complained, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to service alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.” Not affected by the “tattle-telling,” Jesus told her she is worried about many things, “but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part.” Praying that God focuses on “that good part” will give us great peace.

Consider the replies by Jesus’ potential disciples in Matthew 8 after he warned them “the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Thus, there was no promise of earthly comforts when signing on to be a disciple of Jesus. One disciple said to Him, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” Note the usage of “me first.” This convicting prayer is a dangerous prayer as it is necessary for “self” to be eliminated from our passion. We pray for a renewed eagerness for “me” to be lessened and “He” to be magnified in our lives. We must pray, “Lord, keep my mind upon that good part.” Our desire is more of He and none of “me.”

Prayer for Realization of Our Sword and ShieldIt is productive to look at the hopes and peace of David and Job in a time of supposed “last days.” The expected “ends” for each of them were not immediately in anticipation of the end of civilization, but the termination of their wealth, family, riches, worldly comfort, or position. Job, in his season of temptation, recalled the comfort of not neglecting the Word of God. In Job 6:10, he stated, “then I would still have this consolation – my joy in unrelenting pain – that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.”

David suffered similar earthly hopelessness when he was pursued by his son Absalom. In Psalm 3:3, he wrote “but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” in referring to his protection. In verse five, he noted his comfort when he was able to lie down and sleep “for the Lord sustained me.” He had the full realization of the peace and comfort in the deliverance of God by noting he “will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me” because “salvation belongeth unto the Lord.”

We are to have this same trust in our Savior and cast upon him all of our fears, issues, and worries. This prayer is a recollection and testimony of God’s provision and protection with His grace and mercy throughout our lives. By recalling His past provisions and sustenance, we have confidence and boldness that He is both able and willing to give us the armor, shield, and sword.

Prayer for the Strength of the Local ChurchWe have peace by surrounding ourselves with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When the church is strong, the surrounding communities are strong and thus are able to strengthen one another. Paul prayed for the church at Ephesians 3:14, “for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

By modeling Paul’s prayer, we should make it our heart’s desire for the unobstructed filling of the Holy Spirit. In turn, this indwelling will naturalize our love for both the church and the lost. This “filling of the fullness of God” gives us full recognition and appreciation for God’s sovereignty, immutability, justness, and holiness. As a consequence, we will have great peace no matter the circumstances of our world. When writing about the “day of the Lord”, Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica to “comfort one another with these words.” “These words” were assurances that Christ will not forget “his people.” Instead of the church focusing negatively and gloom, we should be strengthening each other with the words from scripture. By centering on these truths, we edify Him both in word and the way we live our lives as a testimony to the mortification of the empowerment of sin and the flesh over our souls.