Today we continue our series, “As Jesus Is”, under the banner of the overall series for the year, “Supernatural Manifestation.” We have been looking at 1 John 4:16,17 for months. This week we added Colossians 1 to it. Let’s get back to both passages today.
The Apostle John said:
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
(1 John 4:16, 17 KJV)
The Apostle Paul said:
“I am happy in my sufferings for you. There is much that Christ must still suffer. And I gladly accept my part of those sufferings in my body for the good of his body, the church. I became a servant of the church because God gave me a special work to do. This work helps you. My work is to tell the complete message of God. This message is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone for ages, but now it has been made known to God’s holy people. God decided to let his people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, his people. He is our hope for glory.”
(Colossians 1:24-27 Easy To Read Version)
Today I will, once again, focus in on this statement: “I am happy in my sufferings for you. There is much that Christ must still suffer. And I gladly accept my part of those sufferings in my body for the good of his body, the church.” As I meditated on this, I was led to look at something Paul said in his second letter to the church in Corinth. As the Apostle was writing to them, he talked about a great opposition he had and how he asked God three times to remove it. Instead of giving Paul “less challenge”, God explained that He had already given him “more grace”. Paul learned, then, that God’s grace is actually made perfect in our weakness. Let’s look at the account in Paul’s own words.
The Apostle said, “I begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” (2 Cor 12:8-10 Message Bible)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Living “As Jesus is, in this world”, does not mean you will not face opposition. It may mean you face more opposition than you ever imagined, because the world will come up against you like it came up against Jesus. But you will not have to face it alone. Jesus is IN you and He has already equipped you to face and overcome every challenge on the road to the fulfillment of your purpose.
- When you acknowledge the fact that Christ lives IN you, you realize you have all it takes to become the man/woman God called you to be, and to complete the assignment you were sent to this world to accomplish.
- Paul learned that God’s power (His grace) is made perfect in our weakness. What this means is, God will not compete with you. If you want to attempt to do everything on your own, He will stand by and watch you struggle. If you work, God will rest. But if you realize you can’t do it, if you acknowledge the fact that God has called you to do things that exceed your power/ability/strength, and you yield to Him, then God’s power will kick in where your submission opened the door. If you work, God will rest. If you learn to rest, God will work through you.
- Paul taught us about a great mystery. Here is the mystery: Christ lives IN you! There is a God living on the inside of you. But this God honors your right to choose so much, that He will not get involved, unless you ask Him to. His grace will not flow, unless you yield to Him. His power will not be manifested, unless you die to self and get out of the way. If you have a God living on the inside of you and He is NOT being seen in, with or through your life, could it be because there is too much of YOU in the way?
- The purpose of you learning that God is living IN you, and the point of you seeing yourself “As Jesus is, in this world”, is so that you would yield to Him. God’s strength is only made perfect in your weakness. When you can’t, He can. When it’s bigger than you, it smaller than Him. When it exceeds your resources, it certainly does not exceed His. So you must learn to live with the God who is IN you and then learn to allow Him to do what you can’t, to say what you don’t know, and manifest His glory in your life for all the world to see. This is what it means to declare, “As Jesus is, so am I, in this world!”
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. You live IN me and I am determined to let You out! There was a time in my life when there was too much of ME in the way for You to be seen. Those days are over. I die to me. I yield to You. Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. When I can’t, You can. When it is bigger than me, it is smaller than You! When I don’t have the resources, You have already made provision. So I learn to walk with You and allow You to manifest Your glory through me! I boldly declare: “As Jesus is, so am I, in this world!” I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
