(tm) The Father dwells in Christ in totality

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

The Father loves the Son and dwells in Him completely. All that the Father is and possesses He has given to the Son. The Father is in the Son in His fullness and the Son is in the Father in His fullness. If we can understand the relationship of the Son to the Father we can gain some understanding of the relationship of the Body of Christ to the Son.

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)

Jesus prayed for the filling of the saints with the fullness of the Father and the Son. The prayer is recorded in John, Chapter 17. "That they all may be one; "

Although various denominations have come into being over the last several hundred years, the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, is one. Its division into sects is superficial. When the Lord gives the Word the members of the Body of Christ will flow together in perfect unity.

"as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,"

The unity of the Body of Christ is a spiritual unity that comes through the impartation of the Substance of God.

The Christian Church is much more than groups of saved people. The Church is born from above; "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). The Body of Christ, the Temple of God, is, in fact, the Substance of Christ that has been imparted to people by the Holy Spirit.

Eve was Adam in another form, having been fashioned from Adam’s rib. She was not created from the dust of the ground but from a piece of Adam. In like manner the true and only Christian Church is not made from flesh and blood. It is the Substance of Christ that is taken Him and formed into people. The true Church, which is Christ in another form, always and forever abides in absolute unity because it is all created from the one Christ of God. The Body of Christ is one with the unity that exists only in the Godhead.

"that they also may be one in us:"

It is not that the Church is one that is so significant. It is that the Church is one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being one in the Godhead makes the crucial difference. If the Christian Church became one apart from the Godhead it would be the greatest enemy of Christ in the universe. It would be the worst antichrist of all time.

"that the world may believe thou hast sent me."

The churches are attempting in their own strength to influence the world for good; and certainly there are many worthy works of all kinds being performed. But God’s revival is yet ahead of us. As soon as the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, has been brought to perfection by the ministries of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians, Chapter Four), then the Body will be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead.

When the Church becomes one with the Father and the Son, the world will believe the Father indeed has sent the Son. The world will never believe God has sent Christ until the Church becomes one in the Godhead.

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;"

The Father imparted to the Son the fullness of His own Glory. Christ has passed on to us the fullness of the Glory of God. We do not as yet have the fullness of the Glory of God because we are not able to receive it. But the Holy Spirit is making us ready to receive the Glory of God, if we are moving along under His direction.

If we are not following the Holy Spirit but are idly standing by without seeking to grasp more of Christ, then we are not being made ready to receive the Glory of God. There are no limits placed on the Glory of God given to the Son by the Father. There are no limits placed on the Glory of God given to the Church by the Son.

"that they may be one, even as we are one:"

The Body of Christ will be perfect in unity. It is "one tabernacle" (Exodus 26:6). There will not be a shadow of disunity in the mature Body. The unity of the Body of Christ is being created by the Lord God. The Body will be one in the Glory and the love of God. The perfected unity of the finished Body of Christ can be compared only to the unity that exists in the Father and the Son.

"I in them, and thou in me,"

God the Father dwells totally in God the Son. The Son will dwell totally in His Body. Therefore the Body of Christ will have the totality of God because the fullness of the Father is in the Son.

The Father will dwell only in Christ. He who has Christ has the Father also. He who has the fullness of Christ has the fullness of the Father. He who does not have Christ does not have any part in the Father because the Father dwells only in the Son. The more of the Son we have, the more of the Father we have as a result. The Father is pleased to dwell in the Son because He loves the Son and has given all things into His hands.

"that they may be made perfect in one;"

Each member of the Body of Christ will be made perfect. If there were one imperfect member the Body would be imperfect. In addition, the Body has a perfection in its completeness that is not true of an individual member.

In the Body of Christ, as in the case of the physical body, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The finished Body of Christ is the new Jerusalem, and it has a perfection of design that makes it a completely acceptable tabernacle for the residence of the Lord God and for the blessing of the nations of the earth.

We cannot make ourselves perfect in these terms of perfection. Our task is to be absolutely obedient to the Holy Spirit. We are learning each day how to be obedient as the Spirit brings us through the appropriate experiences. The Spirit’s assignment is to bring each of us to the perfection Christ has ordained for us, for which He prayed in John, Chapter 17, and which is necessary for the end He has in mind. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this perfection by many methods, including the use of the ministries and gifts He alone gives and empowers.

"and that the world may know thou hast sent me,"

Today the world is confused about the Person of Christ. There appears to be general agreement that He was a good man—probably a philosopher who died in order to demonstrate the sincerity of his beliefs.

The soldiers who guarded Christ and stood around the base of the cross were typical of the people of the world: some mocked; some gambled for His clothing; some offered Him vinegar to drink; one "glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).

Although the world is not certain concerning the Person of Christ, the Church is on its way to maturity, attempting to preach the good news to every creature while it itself is growing in God’s Presence and Person.

As soon as the Church has reached maturity and has been made one in the Godhead, the world will know God Almighty has sent Christ. There will be no confusion, no uncertainty. Then the world of its own choice will go to the Church for instruction in righteousness (Isaiah 2:3).

"and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

There is no limit to the love of God for the Church. God loves the Son, and God loves the Bride of the Lamb with the same love. Notice, in the context of the above passage, that God loves the Church when Christ is in it—when it has been made perfect in the Father and the Son. If God so loved the world while yet in its sinful state He was willing to give His only begotten Son for its redemption, how much more does God love the Church that the Holy Spirit has fashioned from the body and blood of God’s Son?

There still is much of our personality that is hostile toward God. He therefore waits patiently while Christ works in the garden of our life, rooting out all that is displeasing to God and nourishing the new Plant that now is growing there.

The love of God abides on the Church because the Church has been born of Christ. The Church is loved with the same love with which the Father loves the Son.

When the world sees the Glory of the Father and the Son abiding on a Church that is completely one with the Father and the Son, the world will know the Father loves the Church with the same love with which He loves the Son.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)

Although it may be difficult for us to understand, and it may appear to conflict with our independence of thought and action (in actuality it does not conflict), the members of the Body of Christ were given to the Son by the Father. It is not a case of our choosing Christ, though from our point of view it seems we did it all ourselves. It is true, however, that it is the Father brings us to Christ.

We are a called-out people just as Israel of old. The Lord adds to the Church daily such as should be saved. Every member of the Body of Christ is a gift of the Father to the Son, and when we come to Christ He does not cast us out (John 6:37). If we are to understand the true quality of the Church, and the attitude of the Father toward the Church, we must realize every member of the Church is hand-picked and presented to Christ by the Father.

"be with me where I am;"

Christ is on the highest throne of the universe. He is at the right hand of God Almighty. There is no greater throne. Christ has all authority in Heaven and on the earth. He is exalted to a point past the ability of the mind of man to conceive. Yet, He has summoned us to this level. How can that be? It is the unfathomable love of Christ for His Bride that so commands.

"that they may behold my glory,"

When we speak of the Glory of Christ we have only a faint idea of what we are describing. The Glory of Christ is so stupendous that the most exalted of the angels in the highest level of Heaven draw back in awe and fear whenever Christ is exercised. The communication between the Father and the Son is so wrapped in Divine fire that none of the heavenly host can bear to witness the exchange. It is the Glory that upholds the stars in their courses, billions of which are larger than our sun.

The Glory of Christ is absolutely unimaginable and unapproachable in its staggering extent. It cannot be described in the language of humans. His Presence and authority fill all things and extend into infinity and eternity. He created all things and can destroy all things just as easily and quickly.

"that thou hast given me:"

The Father has given His Glory to Christ. But since the Father and Christ are in perfect unity, the Glory remains with the Father. When the Church reaches maturity it will become one with Christ and the Father and receive the fullness of the Glory of God. God will not give His Glory to another. We must become one with him in order to receive His Glory.

"for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

We do not know much about Christ as He was before the world was founded. We do know "all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). It appears the "Lord" of the Old Testament, in many instances (perhaps in every instance), was Christ, and that it was His Spirit who spoke through the Prophets of Israel (I Peter 1:11).

Back to What comes after Pentecost?