Friday, 5 April 2024

The Upper Room Discourse 84

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John 17:21 that they all may be one. Just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, so also may they be one in Us, so the world may believe that You sent Me.

The middle of this verse is like a few other verses. John 17:21b Just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. Just two verses later, the same thought is almost repeated verbatim. We also find it earlier in the Upper Room Discourse. John 14:20 In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. Now, Yeshua has changed direction. In John 14, He is speaking horizontally to His disciples. Here, in John 17, He is speaking vertically to the Father.

Yeshua speaks similar thoughts in many other places. For instance, John 15:4a Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. All that is to say, "This must be important, because Yeshua is making sure we don't miss it." The Father is in Yeshua (every father is in his son), and Yeshua is in us all through His Spirit, the born-again experience.

Scripture clearly teaches that the Temple that was destroyed (the place where God was at home) is now in us. In Messiah Yeshua, we have become the Temple of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Don't you know that you are God's temple and that the Ruach Elohim dwells among you? Take a breath and hold it in for a few seconds before exhaling. Enjoy a "Selah" moment, and appreciate that the Lord, God, Creator of heaven and earth (and everything in it), lives in you. That's His love, up close and personal.

As I'm writing this, I'm sensing that we have not yet begun to grasp the depth of the passion of God's love for us. Paul calls it a mystery. As we read this, we see part of this mystery is its inclusive nature. Non-Jewish people are included in this great unification.

Colossians 1:25-27 I became its servant according to God's commission, given to me for you, in order to declare His message in full the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His kedoshim. God chose to make known to them this glorious mystery regarding the Gentiles - which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory!

Does it get any better than that?