IN HIM

Hi all,
I wonder if we understand the depth of what being "in Christ" means.

This is what I've been thinking on the past few weeks.
Try to imagine a time when Father and Son were together but they had not yet created the physical universe.

Can we imagine no universe, no stars, no planets - only the Spirit realm...

Let there be...
Suddenly the physical world is spoken into existence, flowing from the unseen to become the seen. Lower life is created, then higher life, plants then animals, yet neither plant nor fish nor cow is a spirit. It is a purely physical universe.

Now let's look at this from the Father's perspective: Because you are a Spirit (John 4:24) with a spiritual body, you have no direct way to become involved with the physical. Yet because you created it, you want to be able to operate in, function in, move in, this lower physical realm.

How can you, as God and being a Spirit, move about in a physical universe? You are used to a realm where time and distance mean nothing, where there is no such thing as being tired or hungry or even having sore muscles. How can you move about in a physical world? How would you go about solving that problem?

The answer would be to create a spirit and soul being made in your likeness and image, that is then housed in a physical body. In that way this highest of 'animals' could operate in the physical world and rule it, yet would also able to operate in the spirit realm with you. Man would (therefore) be the only creation that is able to bridge the gap between God and the physical realm, and giving God a way to manifest Himself in the physical world.

He wants to move around the physical world, experience it's richness as well as its limitations. So he thought up each person who has ever lived or will live, pouring from himself to create each person's spirit and soul, to give part of his "DNA" to each of us, so that our personalities flow from his personality. Zechariah 12:1, Hebrews 12:9 and a host of other scriptures all say the Father created our spirits - he took part of himself and created each of us.

We are 'wired' therefore to work, create, imagine, because he works, creates and imagines. We love because he is love. We desire parenthood because is a parent. All that is good within us is first found in him. By virtue of being created by him, we contain his attributes, and are therefore one with him.

As God, with these spiritual/physical children to live in and through, you could now express yourself in this physical world millions of times each day all over the planet through the infinite variety of each person's personality, each person given graces, gifts that make them unique. They become your hands and feet in the physical realm. You are able to enjoy the process that is being human, to walk with people through life and death, the agonies and ecstasies of life on planet earth.

These beings would be seated with you in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), while at the same time physically walking around the earth going through life. By the same token, while you would be seated on that throne in heaven, you would also be walking through life with them, in them, along with them, experiencing life in the physical realm, expressing yourself in the physical realm, one with your creations.

In Him, One
"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit". (I Cor 6:17)
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 2:28)

"There is one body, one Spirit, and you are called in one hope of your calling." (Eph 4:4)
"For in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him." (Col 2:10)
"In whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Eph 3:14) (one family no matter location)

Enter religion
We are one with the Lord, and he is one with us. That means prayer is first and foremost a continual dialogue, a continual communion with Him who lives in us. We are never out of his presence for we are always connected to him, he in us and we in him. We can talk to him in our natural language, in tongues, in our thoughts, in the deepest ponderings of our heart - we are one with him so we are always in him, with him; and he is in us and with us.

In whatever ways we learn about Who lives within, whatever structures we create to inspire or teach us, we are still one with Him and therefore nothing can replace the importance of continual dialogue, just talking, with our indwelling Creator.

We discipline ourselves to get up at 5:15am to pray through the Lord's prayer, we pray a 21 day guide to spiritual health, we go to prayer meetings at church, we read a daily devotion or scripture memory verses - all are structures over and above the fact that we are one with him, always, 24/7.

These are fine, yet when we depend on these structures we slip into a mind set that says THAT is the way to touch God, THAT is what I must do to come into his presence, THAT is how I gain approval from him, THAT formula will cause my breakthrough, THAT conference will bring me a word from heaven.

And we develop a way of thinking that says God is over there, in that discipline, in that formula, in that meeting, all the while ignoring the fact we are ONE with him, he is always inside, and we are always seated at the throne (Eph 2:6), opening a conversation merely by directing our thoughts down inside or our lips open to say "Father".

Jesus said "The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display...the kingdom of God is within your hearts. (Lk 17:20-21)

Say not...
Paul urges us not to forget our oneness with Christ: "Say not in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven to bring Christ down for us? Or who will descend into the deep, to bring Christ again from the dead (as if we could be saved by our own efforts). The Word is near you, even in your heart and mouth." (Rom 10:6-8)

The Word - the Greek word for "word" here is 'rhema'. It means a word from God directly to you. The word - God speaking to you, is in your heart and mouth!

Yet by stumbling over the simplicity that He is in me and I in Him, we go to this meeting and that looking for someone to bring heaven to earth, to bring me a word from heaven, chasing the spectacular thinking that is supernatural, while ignoring the supernatural work in our own hearts, in our spirit, ignoring HIM while chasing mere men who we think (or maybe they think as well) have the golden touch from God.

Equal among peers
As we move in the graces given us; mercy, giving, administration, serving, teaching, encouraging, discerning, prophecy, making things, working with our hands, healings, giving food to someone in need, seamstress or cook or nursing or whatever - it's all a manifestation of the Spirit of God because He is one with us and we with him. (I Cor 12:7)

Because he is in us and we in him, he is also in all who know him; family, friends, co-workers, therefore I need them and they need me, for when we see each other we are seeing God manifesting himself.

You must think like this
Ignore your feelings (emotions) that tell you God is far from you, that you can't feel him inside you. Let the truth of God's Word which seems to be a lie compared to what your feelings tell you, stand as the truth. Take a chance to believe the Word in spite of your feelings,and start making your feelings submit to God's Word.

Many go for years believing feelings instead of spiritual fact. And the truth is, the Lord will lay low and quiet in your spirit unless he is invited to 'speak up' so to speak. It is "according to you faith be it unto you." If you start thinking in line with the Word of God and what it says about us being one with the Lord, you will suddenly become more aware than ever of his indwelling presence. You'll get to know what he feels like, how he thinks, and you'll become sensitive to his voice. If you start thinking like this.

I remember first learning to look inside to my spirit, in my midsection/chest area, focusing my mind to see if I could feel him there. There were times my spirit was stirred and I latched onto those times. I remembered what that stirring, that peace, that excitement, that presence felt like, and desperately wanted to get back to and then stay on that "wavelength" that connected me with Him.

I practiced it - several times a day. One time, after shifting my attention several times to my spirit I suddenly heard "What are you doing?". Within myself I just said "Just checking to make sure you're still there." His response? Laughter, a chuckle really. Then I laughed within myself at the silliness of not believing the Word.

Because my prayer life is more or less continual - praying in tongues when I'm doing about anything - I see things differently. Pausing to stop before a meal isn't a case of now I come into your presence to bless this food, but rather oh, I need to interrupt our dialogue to include others who need to hear a prayer about blessing this food.

When someone stops to pray (say at church), I don't lower my head to suddenly 'come into his presence to pray', that "pause" everyone takes to pray is actually (to me) an interruption of my continuing dialogue, but I need to open that up to join others at that moment. When we are in church, or in my case most often, house church, and we begin to worship, it's not the end of one part of the meeting and start of another, just a continuation of dialogue that now shifts to music and worship.

Do you see what I mean? We are one with him, he is one with us. We live in his presence, I continually shift my mind's attention between my spirit man and what's happening there, and the physical realm and what's happening there. It is a discipline, a habit, a lifestyle, but anyone can do it.

Maybe I'm rambling a bit. My heart is to share along the lines of Psalm 103:7: He made known his ways unto Moses; his acts to the children of Israel. If I know His ways, the acts/miracles will follow. I do not want to chase the miracles, I want to know the ways.

What I've shared today is what I've been thinking on, and this "oneness" with him is a major "way".
Hope it made sense,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org