Abiding in Jesus, My Truth, My Life, My Destiny, My Reward, My All in All
Dear Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Anointed One,[i] the Son of the Most High God,[ii] the Prince of Peace,[iii] in You are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.[iv] You are now my reality[v] for in You I live and move and have my new being.[vi] You have bought me with the infinite price of Your Blood and sanctified the new me. I belong to You[vii] and am forever one with You,[viii] which gives me a new past, present and future.[ix]
Additionally, as the last Adam, the second Man[x] and Mediator of the New Covenant,[xi] You are my wisdom from God, the Author and the Finisher of my faith, my righteousness, my holiness, my redemption,[xii] my salvation, my joy[xiii] and my song, the strength of my life[xiv] and my hope of glory,[xv] the lifter of my head,[xvi] my meaning, my reason for existing, my very life.[xvii]
In You is all truth and I agree that knowing You – the Truth[xviii] – sets my outer man progressively free,[xix] being constantly sanctified in the truth of Your word[xx]* to honor You fully. Keep me ever conscious of the fact that I am abiding in You[xxi] and in Your love[xxii] and let Your word abide in me richly forever.[xxiii]
Thank you for being a precious Cornerstone for a sure foundation,[xxiv] my mighty Rock of refuge,[xxv] my Peace,[xxvi] my Sacrifice and Passover,[xxvii] my Deliverer[xxviii] and Propitiation for all my sins,[xxix] my merciful and faithful High Priest,[xxx] my Guarantee of a better Covenant,[xxxi] my true Light against all Darkness,[xxxii] my Good Shepherd[xxxiii] and Healer,[xxxiv] my Help and Shield,[xxxv] my Resurrection and Life,[xxxvi] my Truth against every lie, my Way to Father-God,[xxxvii] my Friend[xxxviii] and Advocate,[xxxix] my Intercessor,[xl] my Master[xli] and Triumphant King of an everlasting Kingdom. All glory and honor to You, O mighty Lord and Savior – Jesus, the Christ.[xlii]
[i] Acts 10:38 “Jesus, the (One) from Nazareth, how God anointed Him with (the) Holy Spirit and with power … .”
[ii] Mark 5:7 “And crying with a loud voice, he said, ‘What (is) it to me and to You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure by God, do not torment me.’”
[iii] Isaiah 9:6b “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
[iv] Colossians 3:3 “…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
[v] Colossians 2:17 “…which (are) a shadow of coming things, but the true whole (reality) (is) Christ.”
[vi] Acts 17:28 “For in Him we live and move and are….”
[vii] I Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of (the) Holy Spirit in you which you have from God; and you are not of yourselves. For you were bought with a price; then glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are of God.”
[viii] John 17:21 “‘…that all may be one, as You (are) in Me, Father, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.’” Also 1 Corinthians 6:17.
[ix] Revelation 21:6 “He said to me: ‘It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’” Also see Revelation 1:17.
[x] 1Corinthians 15:45 and 47 “So also it has been written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.’” “The first man was out of the earth, earthy. The second man, the Lord out of heaven.”
[xi] Hebrews 9:15 “And because of this, He (Jesus) is Mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having occurred for the redemption of transgressions under the first covenant, those having been called out might receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.”
[xii] Hebrews 12:2 and I Corinthians 1:30 “… looking to the Author and Finisher of (our) faith, Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured (the) cross, having despised the shame, and sat down at (the) right of the throne of God.” “It is because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”
[xiii] Psalm 43:4 “Then I will go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy … .”
[xiv] Isaiah 12:2 “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.” Also see Psalm 27:1.
[xv] Colossians 1:27 “To whom God willed to make known what (are) the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, Who is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
[xvi] Psalm 3:3 “But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”
[xvii] Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
[xviii] John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
[xix] John 8:32 “‘And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”.
[xx] John 17:17 “‘Sanctify them in Your truth; Your Word is truth.’”
*Note: The Bible speaks of the believer as already sanctified, being sanctified and who will be fully sanctified. All this is true, despite the seeming contradiction. You, as a believer, are a reborn spirit being – a new creation – who is, by definition, already fully sanctified which means set apart and holy in Christ in Whom there is no spot or wrinkle. However, your outer man is in process, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit who dwells in your spirit-self within your body or temple. And, at Christ’s return, your whole being, spirit, soul and body, will be fully sanctified, holy, blameless, and incorruptible. Also see Hebrews 9:28 that states the believer “will be saved,” referring to the full salvation and complete sanctification of the believer’s whole being – spirit, soul and body. Also see 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 7:25.
[xxi]John.15:7 “‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, whatever you desire you will ask, and it will happen to you.’”
[xxii] John 15:9 “‘As the Father loved Me I also love you; continue (remain, abide) in My love’”
[xxiii]Col. 3:16 “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and exhorting yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
[xxiv] Isaiah 28:16 “So this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts (in Me) will never be dismayed.’”
[xxv] Psalm 31:2 “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.” Also see 1 Corinthians 10:4
[xxvi] Ephesians 2:14 “For He (Jesus) is our peace.…”
[xxvii] 1 Corinthians 5:7 “ … For also Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
[xxviii] Romans 11:26 “… The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn ungodliness from Jacob.”
[xxix] 1 John 2:2 “And he (Jesus) is (the) propitiation (satisfaction) for all our sins; and not ours only but also (of) the whole world.”
[xxx] Hebrews 2:17 “For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Also see Hebrews 7:26 and Hebrews 9:11
[xxxi] Hebrews 7:22 “…by so much Jesus has become Surety of a better Covenant.”
[xxxii] John 1:9 “He was the true Light which enlightens every man that comes into the world.”
[xxxiii] John 10:11 “‘I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.’”
[xxxiv] Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Also see Luke 4:23.
[xxxv] Psalm 115:9 “O house of Israel, trust in the Lord… He is their help and shield.”
[xxxvi] John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life. The (one) believing into Me, though he die, he shall live.’”
[xxxvii] John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” Also see John 6:48.
[xxxviii] John 15:15 “I no longer call you slaves because the slave does not know what his lord does. But I called you friends because all things which I heard from beside My Father I made known to you.’”
[xxxix] 1 John 2:1 “My little children, I write these things to you so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, (the) righteous (one).”
[xl] Hebrews 7:25 “From this also He (Jesus) is able to save to perfection those who come to God through Him, ever living to intercede for them.”
[xli] John 13:13 “‘You call me Master and Lord and rightly so, for that is what I am.’”
[xlii] Revelation 17:14 and 2 Peter 1:11 “They will make war against the Lamb but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” “For you will receive a rich welcome into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Coming next week: Chapter 8: Benefitting from the Reality and Blessings of the Blood Covenant by Resting in the Finished work of the Cross
life, that is, Jesus himself.