(tm) Day 10

And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. (John 17:10)

This is what the cross does for us. The death of the cross, which we die as we enter the sufferings of Christ, brings us into total giving to God and total receiving from God.

We begin to desire that all we are and possess be from God and be found in God, and that all God is and possesses be found in us. We are fervently seeking total union and total image. We give all we are and possess to God and He gives all He is and possesses to us.

This is why the individual who holds back part of himself from God suffers such tremendous loss. He holds back his pittance. In return, God holds back the wealth of the Godhead. It is only as we empty our cup in God that God can fill our cup with Himself. Consider Esau, who traded the inheritance of Abraham for a bowl of lentils!

Christ will not be glorified apart from us. It is not that the Father is not able to glorify Christ apart from us; rather it is true that God has chosen to glorify Christ in the Church.

Let us think about Adam and Eve. Adam’s inheritance was that of fruitfulness—filling the earth with people in his image. But such fruitfulness was impossible apart from Eve. God made Adam dependent on Eve to obtain his inheritance.

In like manner, Christ’s inheritance is total fruitfulness—a filling of the heavens and the earth with His image. Such fruitfulness is not possible apart from His Body. God has made the Lord Jesus Christ dependent on the saints, the holy ones, to obtain His inheritance.

Christ is the Vine. We are the branches. Men gather grapes from the branches of a grapevine, not from the vine itself.

The true saints do not attempt to "get something" from God. Rather, we are being incorporated into God’s Life so all we are and possess belong to God and all God is and possesses belong to us. Because of this, the glory never leaves the Father. God never will give His glory to a person who is not an integral part of Himself.

If we are willing to share in His sufferings, in the self-denying labors of the ministry, in the reproach of the cross, we will share in His glory at His appearing with the saints and elect angels.