The Fullness of God...

Read Ephesians 3:1-21.

There are at least three major platforms in the work of redemption. There is the basic platform of forgiveness through the blood atonement. There is the development of the Life of the Spirit in us. Finally there is what the Apostle Paul sets forth as the "Fullness." These three platforms are pictured by the three levels of water, in Ezekiel, Chapter 47.

The fourth level, of Ezekiel, is that of service as a tree of life growing on the bank of the River of Life. Isaiah, Twelve, that describes the personal testimony of those who are filled with the Fullness of God, speaks of how they with joy bring forth the water of Life to the dead people of mankind. The Lord Jesus also, during the feast of Tabernacles, spoke of the living water coming from those who believe in Him.

(5/9/2010) And to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.(Ephesians 3:19)

Paul's prayer for the saved, Spirit-filled saints in Ephesus was that they might be strengthened in their inner nature until they were filled with all the Fullness of God.

As we press forward in the operation of redemption we experience three deaths and three resurrections before we can bring forth eternal life to others to the extent God desires.

The first death is our death to the world. We die this death when we are baptized in water, signifying that we have died to the world and have risen to live with the Lord Jesus in newness of life.

We experience the second death and resurrection as we resolutely put to death through the Spirit the evil deeds of our old personality and come to life in the Spirit of God.

We enter the third death and resurrection as we keep saying, "Not my will, but Yours be done." We maintain this attitude while we patiently are enduring the prisons we are placed in. Our motivations must be given over to the will of God so that His will is done in the earth. This is the Kingdom of God, the rule of God over our personality.

Throughout our lifetime on earth (and perhaps for eternity, I do not know) we are to keep on knowing more of Christ, experiencing more of Christ.

Have you noticed in the Scriptures some of the startling passages concerning our life in Christ? The following is one of my favourites.

Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57).

I can't speak for you, but it is the desire of my heart to feed on Jesus until His Life is my life. This promise is in the Scriptures, so it is available to whoever will.

Another passage that has been very meaningful to me is as follows:

That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:21-23)

Now take a deep breath and notice carefully what is being said here. This is one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible.

"That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."

The Father and the Son are totally One, because the Father is in the Son in His Fullness and the Son is in the Father in His Fullness. The members of the Wife of the Lamb are to be one in the Oneness that is God. "May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

The purpose of our being created one in God is that the world may believe that the Father is the One who has sent the Son. This is the true goal of our election. It is not that we might spend eternity in Heaven. It is that the people of the nations may come to realize that Jesus Christ is from the Father. God wants the world to hear His beloved Son and obey Him.

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one."

The Lord Jesus has received the Fullness of the Glory of God because He is an inseparable part of God. We cannot receive from Christ the Divine Glory until we are an inseparable part of Christ. God will never give His Glory to another!

"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Here is an extremely interesting statement. God's purpose is to bring the members of His Church into the oneness with Him that is true of Jesus Christ so that the world will understand that God loves His elect just as He loves His only begotten Son.

It is time for us Christians to grow up into the Fullness of Christ. We have been redeemed through the blood atonement, it is true. But the world does not see God in us.

We have been baptized with the Spirit of God, it is true. But the world does not as yet see Christ in us. In fact, in many instances the people of the world are disgusted with the antics of the church people.

But God gave His Son so that the spiritually dead of mankind might not perish in their corruption but come to Divine Life. This resurrection cannot take place until the elect are willing to do God's will rather than their own, are filled with the Fullness of God, and are in their places as trees of life growing on the banks of the River of Life.

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.(Ezekiel 47:6,7)

If you wish to be a tree of life bringing eternal life to the dead sea of mankind, then tell God about it and press forward in Christ. If you do, Isaiah, Twelve will become your personal testimony:

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2,3)

These promises are for you and me; but we are going to have to pursue Jesus with total diligence if we are to attain to all the Fullness of God!

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

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